The Easiest Pasta Salad Ever
This bright, zippy pasta salad is packed with crisp veggies, creamy mozzarella, and a homemade Italian vinaigrette.
Serves10 to 12
Makesabout 14 cups
Prep30 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Is there a more quintessential warm-weather side dish than pasta salad? This cool salad keeps well so you can make a big batch to eat for no-cook lunches throughout the week, and just about everyone from your kids to your mother-in-law will eat it!
Pasta salad is truly as easy as boiling water and tossing in a few key ingredients. Just stick to this simple formula, cool the pasta correctly, and lean on this flavorful dressing every time you need to whip one up. Here’s the one pasta salad recipe you need right now.
The Ultimate Easy Pasta Salad
There are a lot of pasta salads out there, but here’s why you should memorize this one: The dressing is easily made from things already in your pantry (and totally tastes like your favorite bottled Italian dressing). Plus, there’s no mayo to worry about sitting out at a picnic or potluck.
This recipe is based on a formula that you can easily adapt to your favorite mix-ins. Don’t like olives? Add sun-dried tomatoes. Use feta instead of mozzarella. My favorite thing, though? From start-to-finish, this whole recipe only takes 30 minutes to pull together. It’s perfect for last-minute get togethers or for a quick lunch to eat throughout the week.
A Simple Pasta Salad Formula You Can Memorize
Here’s an easy way to make sure that your pasta salad feels robust rather than skimpy on the mix-ins: For every 8 ounces of dried pasta, plan on about 1 pound of mix-ins, with at least half of that being cheese, meat, or other savory mix-ins. Remember that the pasta will plump as it cooks, and you want pasta salad to have a generous combination of pasta and vegetables in each bite. Dress this amount of pasta and add-ins with about 3/4 cup of dressing.
Key Steps to Pasta Salad
- Marinate red onions in the dressing. We’re going to avoid adding raw red onions straight in this salad, mainly because their bite can steal the show in a bad way. A simple way to combat this is to mix up the dressing first and add the diced red onions to the dressing before you do anything else. The red onions will add flavor to the dressing, but they will also mellow out and become sort of like a quick-pickle while soaking into the vinaigrette.
- All add-ins should be roughly the same size. Cucumbers, tomatoes, and even mozzarella should be chopped in some way before making their way into the salad, because the goal is to make this salad as easy to eat as it is to make.
- Shock the pasta. Unlike potato salad, which loves to be dressed warm, pasta will soak up all the dressing and become dry and gummy if you toss it with the dressing while warm. But also you don’t want to wait around while the pasta cools and potentially sticks to itself. The simple solution? After draining, dunk the strainer of pasta in an ice bath (equal parts ice and water in a large bowl) and get it cold fast!
- Mix and chill before serving. Pasta salad get better as it rests, so for the best pasta salad, all you have to do is mix and chill the salad for at least 30 minutes. It’s why pasta salad is even better the next day.
Serving and Storing Pasta Salad
As pasta salad chills, it can taste a little less flavorful (cold dulls our sense of taste just a tad), so be sure to taste the salad and season again just before serving. Pasta salad keeps well in the fridge for about five days, so it can easily be made in advance.
Pasta Salad Recipe
This bright, zippy pasta salad is packed with crisp veggies, creamy mozzarella, and a homemade Italian vinaigrette.
Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes
Makes about 14 cups
Serves 10 to 12
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup
extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup
red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 ounces
Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1/3 cup)
- 2 tablespoons
plus 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons
Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves
garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons
dried oregano or Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces
fresh mozzarella cheese pearls, drained
- 8 ounces
grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large (1 1/2 cups)
- 1
medium English cucumber, quartered lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise (2 1/4 cups)
- 1
medium bell pepper (any color), thinly sliced, then cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
- 1/2
small red onion, thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
- 1 pound
dried short pasta, such as fusilli, rotini, radiatori, or farfalle pasta
- 1/2 cup
fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced or roughly torn
Instructions
Whisk 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1 teaspoon black pepper together in a large bowl.
Add 8 ounces drained fresh mozzarella cheese pearls, 8 ounces halved grape tomatoes, 1 thinly sliced medium English cucumber, 1 thinly sliced medium bell pepper, and 1/2 thinly sliced small red onion. Toss to combine. Let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, so the flavors meld while you cook the pasta.
Bring about 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 pound dried short pasta and the remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes more than the package directions for al dente so the pasta is tender throughout.
Drain and rinse under cold water until chilled. Drain well again. Transfer to the bowl with the vegetables and toss to evenly coat the pasta. Let sit at room temperature for least 30 minutes, or refrigerate up to overnight to let the flavors meld. Stir in 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves before serving.
Recipe Notes
Substitutions
Use white wine vinegar instead of red wine vinegar for a slightly milder tang.
Swap mozzarella pearls for chopped bocconcini or halved ciliegine.
Replace cucumber with zucchini for a softer, less crisp bite. (I know so many are trying to figure out what to do with their surplus of zucchini this time of year!)
Make ahead
The dressing can be made up to 1 day in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature and re-whisk before using.
The pasta salad can be made up to 1 day in advance without the basil, covered, and refrigerated. If refrigerated overnight, let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. Stir in the basil just before serving.
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: How To Make the Easiest Pasta Salad