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A bowl of the best creamy seafood macaroni salad with fresh parsley, shrimp, crab, and elbow macaroni
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5 from 1 vote

Seafood Macaroni Salad

Shrimp and crab come together to make this DELICIOUS best seafood macaroni salad that's perfect a cookout summertime dish. It’s a versatile crowd-pleaser that will have your family scraping their plates and coming back for more.
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine American, Southern, Southern American
Keyword pasta salad with seafood, seafood macaroni salad, seafood pasta salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author April Boller Wright

Ingredients

Seafood Macaroni Pasta Dressing

  • 2/3 cup Miracle Whip plus add an additional 2 tbsp
  • 1/3 cup Duke Mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar plus add an additional 1 tsp
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 pinches onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard

For the Pasta

  • 2 cups elbow macaroni cooked al'dente
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp sweet relish
  • 12 oz cooked shrimp half chopped into small pieces, the other half coarsley chopped
  • 6 oz imitation crab flaked style
  • 1/4 cup parsley fresh
  • 1/4 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/4 cup red onions finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup green onions chopped
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper
  • 1 celery stalk finely chopped
  • salt for taste
  • white or black pepper for taste

Notes

While this recipe is pretty customizable and forgiving, I have some tips so that you can make the best macaroni salad possible.
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  • Save money and use imitation crab meat. If you aren't sure what imitation crab meat often called krab meat is read about it HERE.
  • When you fill a large pot with water to boil the pasta in, make sure you salt the water. This will give the macaroni salad an extra boost of flavor
  • Cook your macaroni until it’s al'dente.
  • Add about 1 tsp of olive oil to the cooked pasta. This will prevent the pasta from sticking. 
  • I like to use half Miracle Whip and half Duke mayonnaise, plus sour cream. It tastes amazing that way!
  • Eliminate the shrimp and crab and easily make it southern by adding canned tuna fish. Add in some egg for extra protein. Summertime food should be as fun as summer itself.
  • If you don't like imitation crab, eliminate it and make it a shrimp macaroni pasta salad.
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HOW TO MAKE IT IN ADVANCE 

Yes you can! However, this salad is best when it's freshly made. Sometimes when you make it in advance the pasta absorbs the dressy which in turn make it less creamy and sometimes even watery. So yes you can but you should make it the day you need it. 
That doesn't mean that you can't prep all the ingredients. I always prep them and place them in separate containers. You can even make the macaroni in advance too.
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HOW TO STORE SEAFOOD MACARONI SALAD 

Since this salad contains seafood and mayonnaise, it's best to serve keep the portions refrigerated. When you are ready to serve place it in a bowl over ice.

If you really need to store this seafood macaroni salad, Place it in a airtight container with tight fitted lid. It will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.