The Simply Delicious Greek Shrimp Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is an American favorite that can be enjoyed at any time of year. The beauty of this dish is its versatility, because the only ingredient that must be included is pasta. That means ingredients can be combined in countless ways and mixed with a variety of dressings to create different delicious versions. Greek cuisine, like those of many other Mediterranean countries, is characterized by the use of ingredients like olive oil, fish and meat, fresh vegetables, cheese, olives, grains, legumes, and herbs. Greek-inspired pasta salads includes similar ingredients that result in creative dishes that are perfect for parties, side dishes, or easy homemade meals.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a Greek shrimp pasta salad recipe that’s colorful, aromatic, and packed with flavor. Fusilli pasta comes together with cooked shrimp, various vegetables, rich kalamata olives, and tangy feta cheese. Fresh parsley and basil add herby brightness, and mandarin orange segments add a playful citrus touch. Finally, a Greek vinaigrette that includes honey, lemon, Dijon mustard, and dried oregano brings the whole salad together. 

For the dressing, you will need red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and dried oregano. The pasta salad calls for fusilli pasta, but other short shapes of pasta, like shells or cavatappi, could be used. You’ll need cooked shrimp — see the FAQ below about how to cook shrimp for pasta salad if you prefer to cook your own. 

You’ll also need olive oil, grape tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, kalamata olives, red onion, mandarin oranges, and feta. You can leave the feta out if you don’t like to combine cheese with seafood. Finally, gather fresh parsley and basil leaves.

Place all the dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Cook the fusilli pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain but do not rinse.

Place the pasta back in the pot, pour 1 tablespoon of the dressing over it, and toss to coat.

Spread the pasta on a large baking sheet and let cool for 5 minutes, until it turns from hot to warm.

Transfer the pasta to a large mixing bowl and toss it with half of the dressing. Let cool another 10 minutes.

Add the other half of the dressing and the remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss well. Taste and adjust for seasonings if desired.

Serve immediately when slightly warm. You can also refrigerate the pasta salad for up to 4 days and bring it back up to room temperature before serving.

If you’re confused about how to make the best pasta salad, you’re not alone. Some recipes call for rinsing the pasta in cold water, other call for cooling it without rinsing it, and still others recommend using it warm. The reasoning behind a cold rinse is to cool the pasta quickly, but we don’t recommend this method. The water washes away starch on the pasta’s surface, making it more slippery, which means the dressing is less likely to cling to it. It also washes away salt from the cooking water, making it less flavorful.

On the other end of the pasta salad spectrum is mixing your pasta with the rest of the ingredients while the pasta is still hot. We don’t recommend doing this either. Although the dressing will develop more flavor when mixed with hot pasta, delicate ingredients like fresh vegetables, greens, and herbs will wilt and the whole salad will look less than fresh.

We like to take a middle ground. This recipe calls for partially cooling the pasta so it’s mixed with the other ingredients while still a little warm. This method allows the oil-based dressing and other ingredients like feta and onion to better infuse the pasta and give it more flavor without wilting delicate add-ins. The result is richer and creamier and the pasta has a more robust texture.

This recipe calls for a pound of cooked shrimp, and shrimp can be purchased pre-cooked at the grocery store. You may prefer purchasing raw shrimp, or you may have frozen shrimp on hand and prefer to cook it yourself. In that case, it’s easy to boil or bake the shrimp. These methods are ideal for shrimp used in pasta salad because they don’t add extra flavors that could compete with the recipe.

To boil shrimp, place them in a large pot of boiling water and cook them for 2-3 minutes. They will turn from gray to pink and curl up. It’s a good idea to thaw frozen shrimp first for more even cooking, but you can boil frozen shrimp if pressed for time. Cover the pot after you add frozen shrimp, because they are colder and will lower the temperature of the water, and count 2-3 minutes after the water comes back to a boil. An easy way to check if shrimp is undercooked is to slice one in half. If you see any gray color in the middle, cook it more until it turns white.

To bake shrimp, preheat an oven to 400 F and grease a baking sheet. Place raw or thawed frozen shrimp on the sheet and bake them for 5-7 minutes. Whether you bake the shrimp or boil them, take care not to overcook them, and let the shrimp cool before you use them in the recipe.