Quick and Easy Pasta Salad Recipes with few Ingredients

Quick and easy pasta salad recipes with few ingredients

Creamy and Tangy Homemade Pasta Salad is a versatile recipe that's great to make as a main or side dish with any Italian-inspired meal. Bursting with slightly sweet and wonderfully sour flavors, it features a mayo dressing and lots of crunchy fresh veggies.

About This Pasta Salad

Part healthy salad, part comforting pasta, this bright and delicious pasta salad recipe has everything you love in one dish.

It's perfect for customizing with your favorite veggies, and can easily be made with lots of convenient swaps. Want olives? Add the olives! No fresh herbs? Add the dry herbs! What you've got is great for making a simple yet satisfying pasta salad

Serve fresh or make ahead for an easy meal, and enjoy hot or cold I love having it with some of my other favorite Italian recipes like eggplant parmesan or a comforting minestrone soup.

Or eat it right out of the jar for a snack! There really is no wrong way to enjoy a pasta salad with vegetables and herbs

How to Make Easy Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is incredibly easy to make! It's just a matter of mixing all the ingredients together and chilling them in the fridge for a couple of hours until ready to serve. Check it out!

Step 1: Boil the water with the pasta until it's cooked, then drain the pasta if you haven't already. When pre-cooking your pasta, make sure you only cook it in a large pot, so you don't end up with mushy pasta. Rinse the paste in cold water to cook it longer

Step 2: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix Cut your veggies into bite-sized pieces, which will make the pasta salad look more similar and each portion bite-sized.

Step 3: Cover the pasta and refrigerate until the pasta salad is completely chilled. Top with fresh coriander leaves before serving for presentation

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy pasta salad with homemade focaccia bread or other Italian-inspired sides like cheese breadsticks.

Serve with fresh greens for a light meal - like spinach or kale in a raw salad or steamed.

For brunch or afternoon lunch, or as a hearty snack between meals!

Helpful Tips

Veggies: Add a handful of boiled corn kernels or green peas for extra veggies You can also add sauteed or blanched dark leafy greens, such as spinach, chard or kale. Some lettuce would also be great

Vinegar: I use red wine vinegar, but feel free to use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar instead.

Pasta: Small pasta or macaroni of any medium can be used to make this salad. While this recipe calls for pasta, you can include fusilli, botti, rigatoni, shell or Farrell pasta
.
Herbs: Add your choice of fresh or dried herbs You can also increase or decrease the amount of herbs

Ground Spices: Omit black pepper or sweet paprika if you don't like it. Add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper instead of sweet paprika

Gluten-free: Make a salad with a gluten-free pasta variety

Key Ingredients for Easy Pasta Salad

The pasta salad ingredients in this dish cover a variety of flavors that blend so beautifully. You can easily find all the ingredients in your nearest grocery store

Pasta: We use the triangular type as it adds a lot of color to the dish You can use regular colored pasta as well

Cheese: Mozzarella is a wonderful cheese that is delicious and mild in taste. Buy fresh for best taste! If you can find mini mozzarella balls, they are easy to work with and ready to go

Olives: Crushed black olives are an essential ingredient in this recipe

Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes are easy to cut in half and add to your pasta dish

Clothing: If you always wear your own The taste and freshness of homemade Italian dressing is exceptional But, you can use the inclined type in a spoon

Bell Peppers: We use red and green peppers (aka capsicum) in this dish to bring out the different colors.

How to Make Creamy Italian Dressing

This healthy dressing contains no artificial preservatives and is super duper easy to put together Mix all the ingredients together and freeze Pro tip: You can reuse an empty glass dressing container that has been cleaned for this dish. This is the best way to recycle!

Components

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ tsp dry gram flour
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon marjoram

Instructions: Combine olive oil, white wine vinegar, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, dried basil, dried oregano, and dried marjoram in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. This dressing will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days

Variations for Easy Pasta Salad

There are a ton of variations on this recipe! Additions and subtractions, styles and spices - the list is (almost) endless Check it out!

Pasta: You can make this recipe with penne pasta or any type of pasta you have in your pantry. The tri-color pasta in this recipe adds a nice pop of color to the presentation of the dish

Vinegar: Add balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar for some flavor changes. You can also use apple cider vinegar in the dressing

Seasoning: Spice up this easy pasta salad with some red pepper flakes, diced red onion, or chili powder.

Dressing: You can use store-bought Italian dressing, but the homemade dressing above has more flavor.

Additions: Add more antipesto ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, or aged provolone to this pesto salad recipe. Add some grated Parmesan on top, or serve extra on the side

Flavor Boosters: Italian dressing has plenty of seasoning, but you can add some fresh flavor to this Italian pasta salad with basil, dill, coarsely ground black pepper, or raw chives.

Greek Style: Add feta cheese to make it a Greek pasta salad Bonus points if your olives are Kalamata olives from Greece!

FAQs

Can you eat pasta salad cold?

Yes, you can eat this pasta salad cold if you cook the pasta a little soft and rinse the pasta in fresh water. Washing the pasta will not make them stick Check out the above tips in the step-by-step guide Eating a pasta salad cold also depends on your recipe If the dressing is creamy and has plenty of fat and moisture, your pasta salad can be eaten cold because it won't dry out.

Should you wash pasta for pasta salad?

Yes it is better if you wash the cooked paste while making cold salad Washing them ensures that they don't get sticky or fuzzy If serving the salad warm or hot, there is no need to wash

How do you keep pasta salad moist?

The key to a moist pasta salad is the dressing you include If the dressing is moist, slightly thin and has a little more oil, your salad won't be dry. A helpful tip is to sprinkle some olives over the paste and mix before season and add the dressing sauce. Adding a little extra dressing also helps keep the salad moist

Why is my pasta salad bitter?
Use fresh ingredients in your salads A cooking mustard or too much vinegar can make your salad bitter or sour

How to Store Easy Pasta Salad

Serve: The pasta salad should be refrigerated for about an hour before serving Do not leave at room temperature for more than two hours

Store: After serving, store pasta salad in an airtight container for up to 4 days and toss well before serving.

Store: Oil-based dressings don't freeze well, so don't bother freezing this recipe, just throw it away and make a new batch.