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Everyone should have a go-to pasta salad recipe that comes together quickly, tastes fresh, and works equally well for dinner or lunch. This Mediterranean pasta salad fits the bill beautifully. With briny Kalamata olives, tender artichoke hearts, juicy tomatoes, and a creamy garlic-lemon dressing, it’s a flexible, flavor-filled main dish that’s sure to please.
To keep things simple, we use pre-cooked shrimp from the grocery store – no cooking needed beyond boiling the pasta. As an alternative, you could add cooked chicken, or eliminate the protein altogether and serve this as a side dish. Whatever you choose, this easy pasta salad deserves a spot in your regular rotation.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Here’s what you need to know about the key ingredients in this recipe. The complete list, including quantities, is in the printable recipe card below.
PASTA: Choose a cut of pasta with grooves or ridges to hold the dressing. Rotini, penne, and farfalle are good choices.
SHRIMP: To make this shrimp and pasta salad as easy as possible, start with pre-cooked jumbo shrimp from the seafood department of your local grocer.
KALAMATA OLIVES: Look for pitted Kalamata olives, either jarred (Mezzetta is our favorite brand) or on the olive bar at your local grocer.
ARTICHOKE HEARTS: Canned artichoke hearts are both tasty and convenient, but you can use frozen if too. Cook according to package directions and let them cool before using.
FETA CHEESE: We recommend buying feta in a block and crumbling it yourself because it’s creamier, less salty, and keeps longer.
Overview
How to Make Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Shrimp
Planning to make this recipe? Here’s a quick overview of how it’s done. Detailed, step-by-step instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
COOK THE PASTA: Cook and drain the pasta, return it to the pan, toss with olive oil and set aside to cool.
MAKE THE DRESSING: Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
COMBINE: Add the shrimp, onion, tomatoes, olives, and artichokes to the pasta. Drizzle with dressing and toss.
FINISH THE PASTA SALAD: Add the crumbled feta and parsley, toss gently and serve.
More Main Dish Salads with Shrimp
If you enjoy main dish salads that come together quickly, keep a bag of frozen shrimp in your freezer. They thaw in minutes in cool water and are ideal for creating a fresh, satisfying meals without much planning. Toss them into a Classic Greek Salad, or for a unique option, try our Shrimp Cocktail Salad.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Shrimp
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb cooked jumbo shrimp
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
- 1 can artichoke hearts (14 ounce), drained and quartered
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, or more to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Lemon wedges for serving
For the dressing:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook and drain the pasta according to package directions, return it to the pan, toss with the olive oil and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- While the pasta cools, make the dressing. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, mayonnaise, lemon zest, and garlic together until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the shrimp, red onion, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and artichoke hearts to the pasta. Pour on the dressing, toss to combine, then add the feta cheese and parsley and mix gently.
- Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with extra lemon wedges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was really good. I made extra dressing and added fresh, chopped rosemary. Definitely will make it again.
Hi Susan,
We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the pasta salad. Fresh rosemary is a nice touch too! Thanks for sharing the tip.
Awesome! Awesome! Next time, for me, I will double the dressing – but I accidentally/ on purpose made more pasta – trying to stretch the salad out a bit.
Hi there –
Glad to hear you liked the pasta salad. Thank you for letting us know!
Very nice!
I used tricolor rotini pasta & added cucumber & celery for more crunch.
Hi Joan,
I’m glad you enjoyed the pasta salad. The extra veggies are a nice touch.
Where do you put artichoke hearts? Do you cut them up? Drain? Rince? I want to make in the morning.
Hi Kori,
I apologize for that oversight in the recipe instructions (it’s fixed now). You can add the artichoke hearts along with the shrimp, red onion, tomatoes, and kalamata olives. They should be drained, but there is no need to rinse them.
Great recipe. I love this pasta salad, great for hot waves days. Even my father in law loved it. I’ll sure make it again. 🙂
Loved this dish! Easy to put together. Adding it to the rotation! Thank you for sharing!!
Hi Tori,
Glad you enjoyed the shrimp and pasta salad! Thanks for taking time out of your day to let us know.
So good! I was originally planning to do a shrimp cocktail with steaks I had planned on having for Father’s Day with a boring baked potato when I found this recipe. Big hit with the hubby!
Hi Shannon,
So happy to hear you and the hubby liked the salad. Thanks for taking the time to comment!!
Had this for lunch, it’s a B limited on the keto plan I am on however it’s very nice and a meal I will cook again for the family once in a while .