When I can get fresh crab, I make this creamy seafood pasta salad! Loaded with fresh shrimp and crab, in a creamy mayonnaise dressing flecked with fresh dill, it’s such a treat. Rotini is my favorite pasta to use here, because the dressing clings to each noodle so well.
I absolutely love fresh crab, and it’s abundant here in Oregon, where dungeness crab season runs from December well into the summer. Even here, it’s never inexpensive, but that’s why making this salad for a potluck or summer BBQ is a great way to indulge your friends (and yourself!). For a more every day pasta salad recipe, try tuna pasta salad. And when the temps drop in the fall? Take that crab and mix it in to seafood fettuccine alfredo!
Seafood Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Crab: I can’t use imitation crab meat because it contains gluten, but it’s OK to sub that in for fresh crab to make this pasta salad more budget-friendly. Fresh crab has such a wonderful meaty and delicate flavor, though, so use it if you can!
- Shrimp: Buy the cooked shrimp from the seafood counter, or steam the shrimp yourself for an ultra-fresh flavor.
- Pasta: I love to use bite-sized shapes for pasta salad, and particularly like the ones that ‘catch’ the other ingredients in their little crevices, the way that rotini or cavatappi do.
- Celery
- Red Onion
- Fresh dill: This livens up the salad so much! You can use dried dill if you need to, but use a bit less.
- Mayonnaise: Use a rich great quality mayo, like Duke’s or Best Foods. I really think it makes a big difference in flavor.
- Lemon: I never, ever serve seafood without lemon! Even when it’s mixed into a creamy seafood pasta salad!
- Seasonings: Sugar, Old Bay, onion powder, salt and pepper.
How To Make Seafood Pasta Salad
- Cook the pasta.
- Add the crab, shrimp, celery, onion, and dill.
- Mix the creamy dressing! Just whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, Old Bay, onion powder, salt, and pepper until smooth.
- Toss the pasta and seafood with the dressing.
- Chill for an hour.
- Eat up!
Tips For Success
- The pasta salad needs to chill, so mix it up at least an hour or two before you’d like to serve it. Flavors will actually improve a bit as it sits!
- I don’t eat gluten, and so I can vouch for how delicious this recipe is with gluten-free pasta!
- Remember, mayo-based salads like this are NOT safe to eat if they’ve been left out in the heat for more than two hours. That number drops to one hour on very hot (over 90 degrees) days. Keep it chilled until it’s time to eat.
- Don’t make this recipe a day ahead of time. If you’re trying to work ahead, prep all of the ingredients (cook the shrimp, cook the pasta, chop the onions and celery) and store them separately in the fridge. Mix them together an hour or two before serving, chill and then serve.
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