Shrimp Macaroni Salad: A shrimp pasta salad, using simple, everyday ingredients like mayo, and a few spices, that can be made in only 20 minutes!
We absolutely LOVE pasta salads around here and when it’s as easy as this one, it’s definitely one of our favorite side dishes to go with just about any dinner recipe!
Why you’ll love this recipe
It doesn’t matter if you’re accustomed to midwest living, southern living, or living somewhere else- I’m pretty sure that barbecued meat and cold side salads are a universally beloved thing. This shrimp pasta salad with mayo would be the perfect side dish to whip up for your next cookout! (As well as this tuna pasta salad!)
Let me ask you this – do you like tender pasta? Do you like fresh shrimp (or frozen shrimp that’s been thawed and cooked)? Would a good creamy mac salad make the list of your favorite salads?
If you answered yes to ALL of those questions, then this macaroni and shrimp salad with mayo dressing will probably be one of your new favorite recipes!
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Ingredients for shrimp pasta salad
You really only need a few simple ingredients that you can find at any grocery store to make this shrimp salad! So scan over the ingredient checklist below, check your cupboards, or head to the grocery store and get started!
- 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1 cup cooked salad shrimp (small shrimp you can find in most grocery stores- if you buy it frozen, you’ll need to thaw it before using it in this recipe)
- 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup celery, chopped
- fresh parsley (optional)
Dressing ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions to make macaroni and shrimp salad
- Put some cold water in a small pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and cook pasta until al dente (or simply cook macaroni according to package directions). Drain and set aside to cool.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, seasoned salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine macaroni, mayo mixture, green onions, celery, parsley and cooked salad shrimp.
- Gently stir until evenly combined and it’s ready to serve!
- Serve cold and refrigerate any leftovers!
Substitutions & variations
Do you know why, in my opinion, salads are one of the best foods to make? They are very forgiving! If you are missing an ingredient or want to adjust the flavor profile a bit, you can substitute it with something else and the end result will still be delicious!
For this macaroni and shrimp salad…
Instead of elbow macaroni, you could use shell pasta (or really any other kind of small pasta).
Don’t have any celery? Try adding 1/2 teaspoon celery seed to the dressing mixture in its place. You could also use 1/4 cup chopped bell peppers (we’d recommend green pepper) instead of celery.
No mayonnaise? You can use miracle whip or sour cream (although each of these will adjust the flavor profile so it’s a good idea to sample the dressing and adjust it to your taste before mixing it with your macaroni and shrimp).
Out of seasoned salt? You could replace it with old bay spice!
Can’t find salad shrimp? You could use larger shrimp and simply cut them into smaller pieces.
Looking for lots of flavor? Replace the white vinegar with white wine vinegar for an extra kick!
There’s no “perfect way” to make a pasta salad- the options are endless, really! You could get creative and add hot pepper sauce, sweet pickle relish, red onion, creole seasonings… See what I mean? SO. MANY. OPTIONS.
Storage
Store your shrimp pasta salad with mayo in an airtight container in the fridge and it should stay good for 3-5 days (honestly, sometimes I find I like pasta salad even better the next day).
Read the expert tips and FAQs below to find out the best way to freeze this creamy shrimp macaroni salad…
Expert tips and FAQs
Technically, yes, you can freeze macaroni salad (with or without shrimp). Be warned though – it never tastes quite as good after you’ve frozen it. If you need to make your macaroni salad ahead of time, we would recommend freezing the ingredients all separately (after you have cooked the noodles and chopped the veggies) and combining them when you are ready to serve them.
While you could freeze the dressing, the mayo will likely separate in the freezer. If you do combine the dressing ingredients and freeze them (separate from the rest of the ingredients), you will need to give it a really good stir to recombine it before putting it on the dressing. It’s much easier to make the dressing when you are ready to serve it instead.
As we said above, you technically can freeze it but the mayo will likely separate a bit in the freezer and that will change the texture. We would recommend freezing the other ingredients separately and making the dressing when you are ready to serve the salad instead of freezing it.
Homemade macaroni salad should last 3 – 5 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
You may be wondering, “Ok, but how long does pasta salad with mayo last in the fridge?”. The answer is the same. Whether it’s a vinaigrette dressing or a mayo-based dressing, it should still keep for 3-5 days in the fridge if stored properly.
The key to keeping your macaroni salad from getting watery, is the pasta! Make sure not to overcook or undercook it- undercooked pasta won’t cling to the sauce as well, and overcooked pasta will make your salad watery. Al dente is usually best for pasta salad (that’s where your pasta is cooked/soft but still has a bit of firmness when you bite into it).
Related Recipes
If you loved this shrimp pasta salad with mayo, you’ll love these other shrimp recipes like The BEST Fried Shrimp Recipe, this loaded shrimp baked potato or this Incredible Shrimp Marinade!
Or, if you’ve never had crab salad before, it’s a definite “must” to try for an easy side dish recipe too!
📖 Recipe
Shrimp Macaroni Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup elbow macaroni uncooked
- 1 cup salad shrimp cooked (small shrimp you can find in most grocery stores- if you buy it frozen, you'll need to thaw it before using it in this recipe)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt adjusted to your taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup green onion chopped
- 1/4 cup celery chopped
Instructions
- Put some cold water in a small pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and cook pasta until al dente (or simply cook macaroni according to package directions). Drain and set aside to cool.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, seasoned salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine macaroni, mayo mixture, green onions, celery, parsley and cooked salad shrimp.
- Gently stir until evenly combined and it's ready to serve!
- Refrigerate any leftovers.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
April says
This was delicious! I made it exactly as the recipe states – wouldn’t change a thing, it was perfectly tangy and slightly sweet, nom nom nom.
Jessica says
Woo hoo!! Haha, I’m so glad you liked it April. Thank you for letting us know!
wilhelmina says
This was so good! We always have some type of pasta salad and this was a great new twist. Really delicious!
Jessica says
Excellent!! Pasta salads are so delicious, aren’t they!? So glad you liked it!
Andrea Thueson says
My husband and kids love shrimp, so they were excited when they saw what I was whipping up, and it was a huge hit! They keep begging me to make it again.
Jessica says
Haha, that’s so great! I’m so glad that you all liked this shrimp pasta salad! Thank you for letting us know!
Yajaira G. says
This was such a delicious and simple recipe to make. I just substituted the vinegar for lemon juice, used fresh garlic paste instead of powder & just used the parsley for decoration. (My family doesn’t like the taste of Presley) Served it with garlic bread and it was a hit with my seafood loving family…..
Jessica says
This is so wonderful to hear, and I’m so glad that you liked it too! Serving this shrimp pasta salad with garlic bread sounds delish!! Thank you so much for sharing and for leaving a review!
Karen says
Out of this world. Yum 😋 was wonderful for a dish to take and share. Thanks I only added fresh garlic. And lemon pepper. Because l Love both of them
Jessica says
Hello Karen! I’m so glad that you liked this shrimp pasta salad! Love what you added too, thank you for sharing!
Linda Lorenzo says
This was really good. I’m not a huge fan of pasta salads but loved this. I did add a couple. tablespoons of Caesar salad dressing and did regular salt instead of seasoned.