Mediterranean Shrimp and Pasta Salad

Artichokes, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and a creamy lemon dressing add fresh Mediterranean flavor to this easy shrimp and pasta salad.

Everyone should have one or two pasta salad recipes in their repertoire for when they want a quick, easy dinner, or a healthy pack-and-go lunch.

Our shrimp and pasta salad has a creamy garlic and lemon dressing that blends perfectly with Mediterranean-inspired ingredients to make a fresh, flavorful dish that looks as good as it tastes.

Key ingredients

To make this shrimp and pasta salad as easy as possible, start with pre-cooked shrimp from the seafood department of your local grocer.

We generally buy jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound) sold for shrimp cocktail.

When it comes to choosing a cut of pasta, pick one with grooves or ridges that will hold the dressing well. Our favorite is rotini, but penne and farfalle are good choices too.

In addition to the shrimp, pasta and a few kitchen staples like olive oil, garlic, and mayonnaise, you’ll need:

• Red onion: Red onion is a classic ingredient in Greek salads. Its flavor holds up well against other bold ingredients like olives and artichokes.
• Cherry tomatoes: A favorite choice for pasta salad, cherry tomatoes hold their shape when tossed with other ingredients. You can use wedges of tomato too, just add them right before serving and toss gently so they don’t break up.
• Kalamata olives: This variety of Greek olive has a dark purple color, fruity flavor, and come marinated in red wine vinegar and olive oil. If your local grocer has an olive bar, look for them there, but if not, jarred is fine. Mezzetta Pitted Kalamata Olives are our favorite
• Canned artichoke hearts: We often use canned artichoke hearts in salads. While not as good as fresh or frozen, they’re still pretty tasty and you can’t beat the convenience. As far as brands go, we’ve used both Cento and Reese. They’re easy to find and we’ve never been disappointed.
• Feta cheese: This is another classic Greek ingredient and it adds creamy, salty goodness to this salad. We recommend buying feta in a block and crumbling it yourself as the pre-crumbled variety can be overly salty.
• Parsley
• Fresh lemons

More shrimp salad recipes:

• Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Creamy Tarragon Dressing
• Classic Greek Salad with Shrimp
• Shrimp Cocktail Salad
• Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad (from SkinnyTaste)