This Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad recipe is a simple cold dish for a hot summer day. It’s easy to make, with olives and sun dried tomatoes to give an extra punch of flavor. Perfect for potlucks or BBQs and holds up for lunch leftovers the next day.
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If you’re a fan of shrimp, and a fan of pasta (I mean, really, who’s not), you have to try this Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad. This is a creation of my mom’s, and it was too good to not recreate it myself and put it up on the blog for everyone to try.
Originally my mom came up with this shrimp pasta salad before either of us was gluten free, using regular pasta noodles. She was looking for something to take on a river rafting trip in Montana and needed something that she could easily assemble and would also keep in the cooler.
The sun dried tomatoes she uses are usually ones she’s made herself. In fact, I’m pretty sure this is the primary reason she helps me with my garden at home, so she can come pick the tomatoes we grow and use them to make sun dried tomatoes. And I’ll admit, they do taste amazing and when used in the salad, make it really outstanding. But at the risk of sounding like Ina Garden, if you don’t have your own sun dried tomatoes, store-bought is just fine.
Before we get to the recipe, a word about gluten free pasta.
Which Gluten Free Pasta is Best?
For my Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad I used Jovial brand capellini pasta. It tasted like “regular” pasta to me and held up pretty well when I ate the salad the next day. If you have a favorite brand you use, feel free to substitute that one in.
If you don’t have Jovial in your area, check out this review of gluten free pastas from Gluten Free on a Shoestring. It’s pretty comprehensive and gives several options. I will say though in it she states Jovial was more expensive, but for me the price was nearly half the cost than what she listed so your mileage may vary here.
Cook the pasta according to package directions, making sure not to overcook it. I’ve found gluten free pasta tends to overcook quickly and then becomes mushy, and you definitely don’t want that for this salad (or your tastebuds).
Once it’s done cooking, stick it in a large colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. Now onto the rest of the recipe. It’s really quite easy, which is great when you’re already running late to a BBQ and need something fast.
How to Make Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad
As the past is cooking, prep all the other ingredients. Get a knife and cutting board out and quarter the olives. Little tip – did you know once you drain the olives and dump them out on the cutting board you can just put them right back into the can all cut up? That way, you don’t have to dirty a bowl. I’m all about not doing any more dishes then necessary.
Next up you want to chop up the sun dried tomatoes. If they’re in oil (which most usually are), you’ll want to blot away any excess oil. Otherwise it will make your salad more oily and whatever flavor the sun dried tomatoes have will take over the whole salad.
I like to chop up my sun dried tomatoes by first slicing each piece into long strips (3 or 4), then cutting them into smaller pieces from there. See the process shot below for how I do it.
Set the tomatoes aside (in the same can as the olives if they fit) then wash and slice the scallions, using the green parts only.
While you’re doing all of this, don’t forget about your pasta! You should be stirring it every so often so the noodles don’t all stick together. By this time you’re all done chopping the fixings your pasta is probably done cooking. Stick the pasta in a large bowl (after you’ve run it under cold water and let it drain) and pour all the fixings into the bowl with it
Now comes the “dressing”. And I put dressing in quotes because there’s three ingredients, the main of which is mayo so it hardly feels like a dressing.
In a small bowl, combine the mayo, lemon juice, and salt. Mix it all up. Dump it on top of the pasta and get to stirring.
A little note about the stirring – you have to mix it for a while. The fixings are going to want to all go to the bottom of the bowl and not really integrate with the pasta. So you have to just keep mixing and kind of pulling the clumps of pasta apart with the tongs to get everything to evenly distribute. It’s worth it though – so worth it.
Pin This Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad for Later
Are you looking for some other BBQ ideas? I’ve got a whole bunch for you by some other talented food bloggers. Check these recipes out and get to cooking this summer (some of these recipes will need to be modified to be gluten free):
- Greek Bell Pepper Floats (Ruffled Apron)
- Mexican Grilled Zucchini and Corn Salad (Get Well With Em)
- Stuffed Grilled Pork Chops with Prosciutto & Asagio (Plays Well With Butter)
- Apricot Pistachio Chicken Paillard (Wellness by Kristen)
- Patriotic Red, White, & Blue Potato Salad (Bonnie Taub Dix)
- Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad (Hungry by Nature)
- Spicy Jalapeno Paloma (Miss Allie’s Kitchen)
- Pineapple Gin Cooler Cocktail (Cup of Zest)
- Easy Summer Berry Slab Pie (First and Full)
- Cookie Cup Sundaes (Sprinkles and Sea Salt)
And if those aren’t enough, check these out too:
- Gluten Free Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs
- Gluten Free Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Simple Summer Berry Paleo Parfait
- Three Ingredient Raspberry Peach Nice Cream
If you try out this Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad recipe (or any other recipe) then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below. Seriously, I love hearing from you!
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more good to eat, gluten free whole foods.
Gluten Free Shrimp Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounces capellini or angel hair gluten free pasta
- 3/4 pound cooked small shrimp 750-800 count size
- 1 can black olives 6 ounces
- 8 pieces sun dried tomatoes
- 4 scallions
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh squeezed is best
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Items Needed:
- A large pot (for cooking pasta)
- A cutting board
- A small sharp knife
- A medium-sized bowl
- Paper towels
- A large colander
- A large mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- A small whisk or spoon
- A pair of large tongs
Directions:
- Cook the pasta according to package directions, making sure not to overcook it.
- While the pasta is cooking, take a cutting board and small sharp knife and cut each olives into quarters. Put the quartered olives either in a medium-sized bowl or use the empty olive can they came in.
- Take out the sun dried tomatoes and remove the excess oil by pressing them into paper towels. Using the cutting board and sharp knife, cut them into small pieces. Set aside with the olives.
- Wash and dry the scallions, then using the same cutting board and knife, slice the green parts into small circles. Discard the white part and place the green slices in with the tomatoes and olives.
- Once the pasta has cooked, put it into a large colander and run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. After it’s rinsed and drained, put it into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Rinse the shrimp off in the colander with cold water, then drain and set them on a large plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess moisture.
- Place the olives, tomatoes, and scallions in with the pasta. Add in the shrimp once it’s drained.
- In the same bowl that held the olives, tomatoes, and scallions (or a new bowl if you used the can), measure out the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and kosher salt with measuring spoons and cups, then mix them all together with a small whisk or spoon.
- Pour the dressing into the mixing bowl with the pasta and mix everything together with a pair of large tongs. You will need to mix very well to make sure all ingredients are integrated.
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