Southwest Pasta Salad with Shrimp

This Southwest Pasta Salad with shrimp is a delicious twist on traditional pasta salads with southwest flavors and chilled shrimp.

You will be everyone best pal if you roll into your next tailgate or backyard bbq with this fantastic pasta salad.

Adding shrimp to this pasta salad really bulks up the recipe and makes it eat like a meal so its not only a tasty side dish but its great for a quick lunch one the go.

all of the pasta salad ingredients in a bowl

Southwest Pasta Salad Recipe

Ingredient List

1 lbs Farfalle Pasta
8 oz Shrimp small peeled and deveined cooked
1 cup Corn
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
½ cup Black Olives
1 cup Shredded Cabbage
½ cup Shredded Cheddar
½ cup Scallions
¼ cup Chopped Cilantro
1 cup Southwest Ranch See Recipe Link Above
2 tsp Taco Seasoning
2 tbsp Kosher Salt For pasta water

for exact amounts see recipe card below

pasta salad ingredients on a cutting board

Instructions

Boil farfalle in salted water for 8-12 minutes until tender, Once pasta is fully cooked rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
While pasta is cooking saute corn in a pan with taco seasoning just untl slightly charred then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl add all of your ingredients including cooked shrimp, pasta and all your veggies and cheese.
Pour in southwest ranch dressing and toss together. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

Southwest Ranch

for this Southwest Pasta Salad it only made sense to use my Southwestern Ranch as the dressing.

The flavor combination matches up perfectly and its a dressing that I keep in the fridge at all times.

If you don't want to make this dressing g you could buy any remade spicy ranch or use a regular ranch and just add hot sauce and taco seasoning for a quick version on the fly.

Main Dishes to serve with Southwest Pasta Salad

Southwest pasta salad is perfect for cookouts and tailgates, you can serve it alongside smoked chicken, pulled pork and brisket or Pork Ribs.

It really goes well with everything and also makes a great lunch with the leftovers the next day

Pro Tips and Variations

Storage: The pasta salad will last about 5 days in the fridge, I do not recommend freezing

Seafood: You can add seafood like crab, scallops or lobster to the pasta salad

Other Proteins: If you don't like seafood Chicken or bacon would be a great substitute

Pro Tip: When serving only serve a small portion at a time instead of the entire bowl to keep fresh. If serving outside place the bowl into a larger bowl with ice to keep cold for food safety.

Low Carb: Replace the Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and this recipe will be much lower in carbs, take out the corn and the east of the ingredients will be keto friendly

Ingredients: I leave ingredients like tomatoes and black olives whole because some people don't like those ingredient in my family so its easy to pick them out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use another type of Pasta?

Sure, you can use any type of pasta you like, Shells, Cavatappi, Macaroni or spiral pasta would all work great. Even tortellini would be tasty in this recipe

Is pasta salad good for you?

This pasta salad has healthy protein from the shrimp, lots of veggies and overall is a fairly healthy recipe. you can use light mayo and sour cream to reduce the fat in the dressing and use whole wheat pasta or roasted cauliflower to make the recipe even healthier.

How long to cook Pasta?

Most dry pasta takes around 8-12 minutes to cook. The best way to tell if its done is to bite into a piece of the pasta and see if it feels tender all the way though. Make sure once the pasta is cooked to immediately rinse under cold water to stop the pasta from overcooking.

side view of the southwest pasta salad with shrimp

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Southwestern Ranch Recipe

southwestern pasta salad made with farfalle pasta , cheddar cheese, tomatoes and black olives

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