Family Favorite Shrimp and Macaroni Salad (Video)

A family favorite, the shrimp and macaroni salad was always my dad’s choice for family parties, and now there’s a low-carb option for this popular recipe. Only 12.7 net carbs per serving. Either way, this salad is pure comfort food and perfect for the Super Bowl.

Pin the shrimp macaroni salad recipe to try later.

Today, I’m excited to update this favorite Shrimp Macaroni Salad recipe with a low-carb option! It’s about half the net carbs in pasta.

And when I used fiber gourmet pasta in recipes like baked penne with sausage, I also used a lot of low-carb ingredients in proportion to the amount of pasta, so the finished dish is pretty low in net carbs. (Remember to subtract fiber from carbs to get net carbs.)

I had already used the trick of less macaroni and more shrimp for this family favorite Shrimp and Macaroni Salad This is a dish I’ve been making for family parties for over 30 years and was definitely my dad’s favorite salad.So I recently made a salad. Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow (affiliate link) At a party at my sister’s Pam’s house. And what a great idea!

Honestly, I don’t think anyone ever imagined I made a salad with low-carb pasta. Using fiber gourmet pasta and lots of shrimp in this salad cut him down to 12.7 net carbs per serving.

It definitely makes it more carb conscious to make something for a family party. may need to be created.

What are the ingredients needed for this recipe?

(This is just a list of ingredients. Scroll down to see the full printable recipe. Or use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page to go directly to the full recipe.) increase.)

Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow (affiliate link), or use macaroni if you don’t mind carbs
Thawing Frozen Cooked Shrimp
celery
green onion
salt and pepper
Mayo
Shrimp broth (juice obtained when shrimp is boiled down to condense the umami)
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, I used fresh frozen lemon juice
celery seed (affiliate link)

What makes this shrimp macaroni salad so delicious?

Note that the name of the recipe is Shrimp and Macaroni Salad (not Macaroni and Shrimp Salad). Because this salad has more shrimp and less macaroni than most recipes for this type of salad. But other reasons that make the salad so flavorful are the idea of using a little of the shrimp “juice” that was saved by draining the frozen shrimp and adding it to the mayonnaise-based dressing, and the celery seed flavor boost. Do not skip that step. This is the game changer for this salad.

What if frozen shrimp don’t release much juice?

Occasionally drain frozen shrimp and not much liquid will be released. When that happens I use just a little Knorr Shrimp Bouillon (affiliate link) Mix with water and add to shrimp juice before reducing.

Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta Details:

For many people, the biggest drawback to Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta is the price.It’s available in stores in some parts of the country, but I couldn’t find it in a store near me. The best price I could find online was Amazon you can Buy a package of 6 boxes and get it for $6.66 per box. (affiliate link).cheap pasta prices fiber gourmet siteHowever, if you don’t buy a lot of pasta at once, the shipping costs will be quite high. For me, I was so excited to eat “real” pasta with less carbs, so he ordered 6 boxes each of 4 types of Fiber Gourmet Light His Pasta. I want to know where it is.

How to make Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta more affordable and reduce carbs:

All Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta varieties are significantly lower in carbs than other pastas made from wheat, but using this pasta in recipes high in other low-carb ingredients keeps the carbs even lower. So with this recipe, 1 cup of light elbow makes 6 servings of salad. This makes the carb count much lower and the pasta much more affordable.

How to make this family favorite shrimp macaroni salad:

(This is just a summary of the recipe steps. Scroll down for the full printable recipe, or use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page to go directly to the full recipe. increase.)

(These photos are double the amount of the recipe I took when I made a large salad for a family gathering.)
This is made with large frozen tail shrimp from Costco that have been thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
After thawing, be sure to remove the “juice” when draining the shrimp.
Put the shrimp “juice” in a small pot and simmer until the juice is reduced. (This is a really small skillet.) Don’t worry if the liquid isn’t clear. Shrimp pieces add flavor to the dressing.
to cook Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow (affiliate link) or other macaroni, drain well according to package directions.
Cut the shrimp into bite-sized pieces.
Chop the celery and thinly slice the green onion.
mayonnaise, concentrated shrimp “juice”, lemon juice, celery seed (affiliate link) Make dressing.
When the pasta has cooled, mix it with the shrimp, chopped celery, and chopped green onion.
Mix salad dressing with salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer your salad to be more dry, you may not need all the dressing.
Refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors meld.
You can store it in the refrigerator for a few days, but it doesn’t last very long.

Shrimp salad:

material

Ingredients for salad

1 cup Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow (or other macaroni of your choice)
Chop 2 cups of thawed frozen shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces (reserve juices when draining thawed shrimp).
1 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste

dressing ingredients

2/3 cup mayonnaise
Shrimp broth (juice taken when draining boiled shrimp to concentrate umami) 1T
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon whole celery seeds

procedure

Defrost the shrimp overnight in the refrigerator and place in a bag so that the “juice” comes out easily when the bag is opened. (In case of emergency, you can defrost the bag with lukewarm water.)
Drain the shrimp well and keep the liquid in the bag. (If the shrimp are very wet, dry them with a paper towel.)
Add the drained shrimp liquid to a small pot and simmer until the volume is reduced by half. (This will concentrate the flavor of the shrimp and allow the moisture to evaporate. Be careful, it won’t take long.)
Cook macaroni in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions. Be careful not to overcook it.
Drain and cool macaroni, but do not rinse.
While the macaroni is cooking, dice the shrimp, celery, and scallion into a snap-close bowl.
Mix dressing ingredients.
Once the macaroni has cooled, mix it into the shrimp mixture in the bowl and gently toss in the dressing.
Season with salt and pepper.
Best if chilled for a few hours before serving. It will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

Note

I’ve made this with small “salad” shrimp or large medium shrimp, but I much prefer the taste and texture of larger shrimp.

Nutritional information is for salad made with Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow.

A recipe that Karin devised and has been making for the Denny family’s parties for many years.

Nutrition Facts Table:

yield:

Serving size:

1

Amount Per Serving:
calorie: 262Total Fat: 19gsaturated fat: 3.2gTrans fat: 0gUnsaturated fat: 15.4gcholesterol: 112mgsodium: 710mgcarbohydrates: 29.1gfiber: 16.4gsugar: .7gprotein: 12.2g

The Recipe Plug-In I use automatically calculates nutritional information. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy as many variables affect the calculations.

Low Carb / Low Glycemic / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Our family-favorite Shrimp and Macaroni Salad uses Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow and has far fewer carbs than most macaroni and shrimp salad recipes when you use more shrimp than macaroni. strict low-carb diet. This recipe is too fatty for the original South Beach Diet, but you can use light mayonnaise if you’re following South Beach.

Find more recipes like this:
Use Seafood Recipes to discover more recipes using shrimp! Use the diet type index to find recipes that are suitable for specific meal plans.I also recommend following Karin’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on facebook, on Instagram, on TikTokagain on youtube To see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

A historical note for this recipe
This recipe is dedicated to the memory of my wonderful father and I have made it for him over and over again. I have been making this salad for my family for almost 30 years! First posted on the blog in 2007 and last updated in 2023 with the option to use the Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow.