20-Minute Shrimp Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
Argentinean shrimp cilantro lime pasta salad is bright, fresh, and perfect all year round.
It has a zesty lime cilantro dressing, finely diced red onion, minced garlic, pan-seared red shrimp with black pepper, and a touch of salt and pepper.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad with Shrimp
Welcome back for another pasta salad!
I hope you’re loving these quick and easy pasta salad recipes. I love to cook, but there are days when I prefer quick and simple recipes that only require a little cleanup. I also love a recipe that can last over a couple of days and can be made with different proteins like chicken or steak.
I have days of the week when I want to do less cooking or prefer light recipes. So these pasta salads are perfect for light cooking days, and are the perfect leftovers.
Ingredient List and Substitutions
Let’s start with the details of this recipe. First tip: To save time, start with good-quality shrimp that’s peeled and deveined.
I love this wild, raw Argentinian shrimp because it’s already peeled and deveined. It’s also wild rather than farmed.
Second Tip: I love farfalle or bow-tie pasta because it’s the perfect vessel for the dressing. The lime cilantro dressing tucks into the bow tie and perfectly dresses the pasta. It’s also the perfect size with the wild shrimp.
Pasta
- Farfalle Pasta or Bow tie pasta
- Purified Water – enough to fill a pot
- Salt – for salty pasta water
Ingredients For The Cilantro Lime Dressing
A good tip for dressings is to whisk all the ingredients well, before adding salt and pepper to taste.
Savory flavors like garlic and onion will dim the tartness, a bit, which will help dim the aggressiveness of the lime and vinegar without having to add too much oil.
Traditional vinaigrette recipes usually use a 3:1 ratio, but I prefer a bit lighter, brighter vinaigrette, and garlic, onion, and cilantro help balance the vinegar.
Sweet ingredients also help, so you can play with the recipe by adding honey for a hint of sweetness to reduce the tartness.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fresh Lime Juice – if you’re out of lime juice, use lemon juice instead. (optional)
- Red Wine Vinegar – optional, or distilled vinegar for extra tartness
- Fresh Cilantro – cleaned, rinsed and chopped.
- Garlic – finely minced
- Red Onion – finely diced
- Black Pepper – to taste
- Salt – to taste
Shrimp
- Wild Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp
- Pepper to taste
- Avocado Oil
Tomato
- Cherry Tomatoes – I also love the small tomato flavor bombs because they’re bursting with flavor.
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Large Pan
- Pasta Drainer
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Tongs
- Paring Knife
- Wooden Cutting Board
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare
- Fill a large pot with water and salt, place it on the stove and set it to boil.
- Thaw and clean the shrimp, then pat dry.
- Clean and rinse the cilantro. Then, give it a rough chop and set aside.
- Finely dice a quarter of a red onion.
- Mince the garlic with a microplane grater.
Pasta
- Fill a large pot with water and lots of salt, and bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta to the pot.
- Boil the pasta until it’s al dente, roughly 10-12 minutes. Follow the instructions on the box. Every pasta has slightly different cooking times depending on a couple of factors.
- Drain and allow to cool.
- Place the pasta in the refrigerator and allow it to cool until you’re ready to make the pasta salad.
Shrimp
- Preheat a large pan on medium to high heat, then coat the pan with avocado oil.
- Once the pan and oil are hot, add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp is bright pinky-orange and white, no longer translucent when fully cooked.
Cilantro Lime Dressing
- In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the finely chopped cilantro, diced onion, minced garlic, lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and mix.
Final Steps
- Place the cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the cooked shrimp and dressing, and toss.
- Optional – top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Variations
I love to try different variations of this pasta salad, whether it’s a combination of proteins or a slightly different dressing.
Shrimp
- Coconut Shrimp would give the recipe a crunch and slightly coconutty flavor.
- Add fruit, mango, or pineapple for a tropical pasta salad.
- Add light greens like arugula for a pasta, arugula salad combination.
Storage
Best Storage Option
Store the shrimp cilantro lime pasta salad in an airtight, sealed glass container to preserve it for a longer period of time.
The cooked shrimp will safely last in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
What To Serve With This Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
I love this pasta salad with a side of this air fryer elote (Mexican street corn) or a side of crunchy plantain chips.
Looking for other recipes?
Try some of my favorites:
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Super Crispy Pollo Empanizado (Breaded Chicken)
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment or rate it. I would love to hear from you and try my best to respond to all comments.
20-Minute Shrimp Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 Large Pan
- 1 Pasta Drainer
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Tongs
- 1 Paring Knife
- 1 Wooden Cutting Board
Ingredients
Pasta
- ½ lb Farfalle Pasta or Bow tie pasta
- Purified Water
- ½ tbsp Salt for salty pasta water
Cilantro Lime Dressing
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Limes Fresh Lime Juice
- ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
- ½ bunch Fresh Cilantro
- 1 clove Garlic
- ¼ small Red Onion
- 1 pinch Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
- 1 pinch Salt to taste
Shrimp
- 1 lb Wild Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp
- ⅛ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
Tomato
- 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
Instructions
Prepare
- Fill a large pot with water and salt, place it on the stove, and set it to boil.
- Thaw and clean the shrimp, then pat dry.
- Clean and rinse the cilantro.
- Then, give it a rough chop and set aside.
- Finely dice a quarter of a red onion.
- Mince the garlic with a microplane grater.
Pasta
- Fill a large pot with water and lots of salt, and bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta to the pot
- Boil the pasta until it’s al dente, roughly 10-12 minutes. Follow the instructions on the box. Every pasta has slightly different cooking times depending on a couple of factors.
- Drain and allow to cool.
- Place the pasta in the refrigerator and allow it to cool until you’re ready to make the pasta salad.
Shrimp
- Preheat a large pan on medium to high heat, then coat the pan with avocado oil.
- Once the pan and oil are hot, add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp is bright pinky-orange and white, no longer translucent when fully cooked.
Cilantro Lime Dressing
- In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the finely chopped cilantro, diced onion, minced garlic, lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and mix.
Final Steps
- Place the cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the shrimp and dressing, and toss.
- Optional – top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
