Shrimp Macaroni Salad with Bacon
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Shrimp Macaroni Salad is a delicious twist on your favorite summer side. With succulent shrimp and smoky bacon, this recipe is perfect for barbecues, potlucks, and parties. In fact, this bacon pasta salad is the perfect summertime dinner too!
Shrimp Macaroni Salad
Cold pasta salad recipes are great for the warmer weather months, and creamy dressings are just so refreshing.
Loaded with vegetables, protein, and fresh herbs, this shrimp and bacon pasta recipe is a flavorful side or satisfying meal.
Pasta salad with shrimp is a salty, sweet, and savory combination that can’t be beat. You’ll love this version that tastes just like a Po’ Boy sandwich!
Craving a hot meal instead? Try Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese or Cajun Shrimp Pasta when you need something to warm you up inside and out.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Shrimp – As a shortcut, use frozen shrimp that is already peeled, deveined, and cooked. Just thaw and rinse before adding to the bacon pasta salad!
- Pasta – You don’t have to use elbows for shrimp macaroni salad — in fact, I prefer large bowtie noodles because they are similar in size to the shrimp.
But, any short pasta will work. - Bacon – Save your kitchen from splatters and cook bacon in the oven or in the air fryer! Once cooked, let it cool and crisp up before chopping it into smaller pieces.
- Veggies – Celery, bell pepper, and red onion add plenty of crunch to shrimp and bacon pasta, plus it makes it extra colorful as well!
- Dressing – This starts with a creamy oil and mayo base, with plenty of tang from Dijon Mustard and lemon juice.
Feel free to swap some or all of the mayo with Greek yogurt instead.
Tips for Making Pasta Salad with Shrimp
- Salt the water. This goes for just about any pasta salad recipe! Salted water adds flavor to the pasta and helps enhance the other flavors in the shrimp macaroni salad.
- Fresh vs frozen shrimp. While I prefer using frozen because it saves time, you can certainly use fresh if you prefer.
You’ll need to peel and devein the shellfish (if it doesn’t come that way), then boil until shrimp turn pink and are a loose ‘C’ shape. - Add extra veggies. This is an easy way to bulk up bacon shrimp pasta even more.
Fresh peas, tomatoes, spinach, zucchini, cucumbers, or broccoli would all be great additions.
Serving Suggestions
Bacon shrimp pasta salad is the fresh and savory dish you didn’t know you needed!
Enjoy it as an easy weeknight dinner alone or with a side of crusty bread. It’s also easy enough to throw together for last-minute picnics and potlucks.
I think shrimp and bacon pasta would be tasty alongside smoker recipes like chicken wings and pork belly burnt ends too.
Kitchen Tools You’ll Need
- Large Colander – You will need this to drain both the pasta and shrimp.
- Sharp Knife – This recipe requires some chopping. A good, sharp knife is always handy to have in the kitchen.
- Measuring Cup – You want to get the dressing measured and mixed up completely before adding it to the pasta salad.
Bacon Pasta Salad FAQ
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do once everything is combined. The noodles will soak up any liquid in the bowl, including the mayo.
If you want to make shrimp macaroni salad ahead of time, toss with half of the dressing and store the other half separately. Then, combine and toss just before serving.
Sure! I know seafood isn’t everyone’s jam. To keep this bacon pasta salad nice and simple, chop up a rotisserie bird and toss in your preference of light and dark meat.
Pasta salad with shrimp will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container. Reserve some of the dressing to freshen up leftovers.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Pasta Salad Recipes
Shrimp Macaroni Salad with Bacon
Ingredients
Salad
- 16 ounces bow tie pasta – cooked according to package instructions, drained & cooled
- 16 ounces large cooked frozen shrimp, deveined & peeled – thawed & rinsed
- 12 ounces cooked bacon , chopped
- 4 celery stalks , chopped
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded & chopped
- 1/2 small red onion , finely chopped
Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- handful fresh parsley – chopped
Instructions
- In large bowl, combine all salad ingredients.
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients until fully combined.
- Pour dressing over pasta salad. Gently toss until salad ingredients are evenly coated with dressing.
- For best results, refrigerate 2+ hours before serving.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published July 2018, updated and republished July 2023
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A very satisfying and creamy pasta salad with a great smoky taste. Very tasty.
This is such a fresh incredibly flavorful pasta. At the last minute I added 2 avocados I had that were ripe. Grazie for sharing your recipes. I’ve tried quite a few and all of them were great. Blessings, Robin in Houston.