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30-Minute Shrimp Pesto Pasta Salad

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This zesty shrimp pesto pasta salad is the ideal recipe when you’re in the mood for something light, delicious, and easy to make.

It’s the perfect pasta salad for warm summer days, picnics, casual dinners, or when you need a side dish in a hurry.

overhead view of shrimp pesto pasta salad in a bowl with tomatoes and a lemon on the side

Why I Love This Shrimp Pesto Pasta Salad

  • It’s simple and delicious!
  • Perfect warm or cold.
  • Ideal for busy weeknights or lazy weekends (I love recipes for lazy weekends)

Welcome back for another delicious pasta salad recipe.

I absolutely love💜 this shrimp pesto pasta salad when it feats. my favorite ingredient: fresh pesto sauce.

Pesto sauce, especially when made fresh, is my absolute favorite. It’s made with fresh ingredients like basil, garlic, lemon, pine nuts or walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, a hint of parm (optional), and a pinch of salt!


Ingredient List and Substitutions

Tips

Start with good-quality shrimp that’s peeled and deveined to save time. This wild, raw Argentinian shrimp is peeled and deveined and wild rather than farmed.

Second Tip: I love fusilli pasta with pesto because the pesto tucks into the fusilli perfectly.

Pasta

  • Fusilli Pasta – or rotini pasta for a slightly larger pasta.
  • Purified Water – enough to fill a pot
  • Salt – for salty pasta water

Ingredients For The Dressing

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Fresh Lemon Juice – if you’re out of lemons, use lime juice instead. (optional)
  • Garlic – finely minced
  • Black Pepper – to taste
  • Salt – to taste

Shrimp

  • Wild Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp
  • Pepper to taste
  • Avocado Oil

Tomato & Pesto Sauce

  • Cherry Tomatoes—Grape tomatoes are also a great option. Have you seen brands called flavor bombs or sugar bombs? They’re super sweet, full of flavor, and perfect for this recipe.
  • Pesto Sauce – with either pine nuts or walnuts. Pesto sauce usually has parmesan cheese, but you can make it vegan, by making it without the parmesan cheese.

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 enough salt to make it salty, place it on the stove, and set it to boil.
  • Thaw and clean the shrimp, then pat dry.
  • Clean, rinse, and slice the tomatoes in half.

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 9-11 minutes, or as indicated on the box instructions.
  • Drain and allow to cool.
  • Place the pasta in the refrigerator and 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 black pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp is bright pinky-orange and white and no longer translucent when fully cooked.
side view of Cooked shrimp for pesto pasta salad

Vinaigrette

  • Combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl or large measuring cup and whisk.

Final Steps

  • Place the cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl. Add the shrimp, fresh pesto sauce, sliced tomatoes, dressing, and toss.
  • Top with fresh basil leaves.
  • Optional – top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
side view of shrimp pesto pasta salad with fresh tomatoes

Variations

I love to try different variations of this pasta salad, like grilled chicken, chicken cutlets, or garbanzo beans.

Shrimp

  • Add light greens like arugula for pasta or arugula salad combination.

Storage

Best Storage Option

Store the shrimp pesto pasta salad in an airtight, sealed glass container to preserve it longer.

The cooked shrimp will safely last in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.


What To Serve With A Shrimp Pesto Pasta Salad

I love this pasta salad with a side of air-fried elote (Mexican street corn) or a side of crunchy plantain chips, or air-fried yuca fries.

Looking for other recipes?

Try some of my favorites:

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Super Crispy Pollo Empanizado (Breaded Chicken)

20-Minute Elote Quesadilla

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.

overhead view of shrimp pesto pasta salad in a bowl with tomatoes and a lemon on the side

30-Minute Shrimp Pesto Pasta Salad

Olga Muñoz
This easy, delicious shrimp pesto pasta salad features fusilli pasta, fresh basil pesto, juicy and sweet cherry tomatoes, and lemon vinaigrette.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people
Calories 259 kcal

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 Fusilli Pasta or Rotini Pasta
  • Purified Water
  • ½ tbsp Salt for salty pasta water

Lemon Dressing & Pesto

  • 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Lemon Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1 pinch Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch Salt to taste
  • ½ cup Pesto

Shrimp

  • 1 lb Wild Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp
  • 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, rinse the tomato, and slice them in half, then set aside.

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.
    side view of Cooked shrimp for pesto pasta salad

Lemon Dressing

  • In a small bowl or large measuring cup, combine the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then whisk them well.

Final Steps

  • Place the cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl. Combine with the shrimp, sliced tomatoes, pesto sauce, and dressing, then toss.
    side view of shrimp pesto pasta salad with fresh tomatoes
  • Optional – top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

Notes

Tips

Start with good-quality shrimp that’s peeled and deveined to save time. This wild, raw Argentinian shrimp is peeled and deveined and wild rather than farmed.

Second Tip: I love fusilli pasta with pesto because the pesto tucks into the fusilli perfectly.

Nutrition

Calories: 259kcalCarbohydrates: 16.7gProtein: 17.5gFat: 19.2gFiber: 0.5g
Keyword cold pesto pasta salad with shrimp, cold shrimp pesto pasta salad, pasta salad with pesto and shrimp, pesto pasta salad with shrimp, pesto shrimp pasta salad, shrimp pasta pesto salad
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