With Old Bay seasoning and shrimp, this recipe gives a flavorful twist on the classic dish. It’s perfect for a summer picnic or potluck. You’ll love the creamy dressing and fresh veggies in this macaroni salad.
Table of contents
❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
- Just enough veggies. The cukes and onions add flavor and crunch
- The Old Bay! Old. Bay is so delicious in just about everything but especially perfect in this dish.
- Make ahead dish. This salad is perfect for making ahead of time. Just make sure to give it enough time to chill before serving.
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this creamy side dish.
- mayonnaise
- sugar
- black pepper
- Old Bay Seasoning
- elbow pasta, slightly undercooked
- diced fresh cucumber
- diced red bell pepper
- diced red onion
- cooked mini shrimp
🍴Instructions
Step One: Make the dressing
Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, salt, black pepper, and Old Bay in a small bowl.
Step Two: Add the pasta, veggies, and shrimp
Cook the pasta and let it cool. Put it in a big bowl and add the dressing. Add the veggies and shrimp and stir well.
Step three: chill
Let the macaroni chill for a few hours.
🥫 Storage instructions
This recipe is perfect for making ahead of time, but give it enough time to chill before serving. The salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
🔍 FAQs
Yes! You can add any cooked seafood you like. Crab, lobster, and scallops would all be great in this salad.
No, but it does give the salad a nice flavor. If you don’t have Old Bay on hand, you can use any other seasoning blend that you like.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Use cooked, cooled pasta. Slightly undercook it, as it will soften as it sits in the fridge.
- Don’t forget to chill. This salad is best when it’s cold, so make sure to give it enough time to chill before serving.
📘 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve it with
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📖 Here’s the recipe
Shrimp and Old Bay Macaroni Salad
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 8 ounces elbow pasta (half a box) slightly undercooked
- ½ cup diced fresh cucumber
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 1 cup cooked mini shrimp
Instructions
- Make the dressing. Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, salt, black pepper, and Old Bay in a small mixing bowl.
- Add the pasta, veggies, and shrimp. Place the cooked, cooled pasta in a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing on top. Add the veggies and shrimp and stir well.
- Chill. Let the macaroni chill for at least 2 hours. Serve cold.
I made it and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing ♥️
Wonderful, modernized take on a family favorite from the the 70s and beyond. Completely lost to time for me, yet your tweaks and clear improvements enticed enough to give it a try last night. Result: Both of our young adult sons (one foodie, the other def NOT), my agreeable husband, and my restaurant-crawlin’ self LOVED it, and we’re opinionated and not so easy to please these days. Thanks MUCH for one forgotten slice of childhood, my new-find fellow foodie. (Expert level, of course.) 💖
Adult ADD on full display, always… 🙄😑
Please edit my review stars to show 5 out of 5. Not sure how I messed that one up so clearly, but “not sure” is a frustrating mainstay…
thank you so very much sara for both trying the recipe and letting me know that you enjoyed it! have a lovely week! ❤️❤️🇺🇸
Made this for a cookout it was awful, and My whole family agreed.
Well i’m glad it brought you all together 🤷♀️
Random thoughts: 💯 Dig it! There really couldn’t be a better reply. That is, sadly, with an assumption of the writer’s ability to accept light-hearted banter in a society that’s fully lost its “humor” across all seven senses.
P.S. Butt-hurt bone, however, is fully engaged and ready to roar 🦁 (aka “share”).
Delightful recipe
Thanks