This easy pasta salad recipe is a light and refreshing dish, perfect for summer cookouts and potlucks. Cold pasta is tossed with juicy tomatoes, crisp veggies, mozzarella, fresh basil, and a quick lemon dressing. Bring this pasta salad to your next gathering and watch how fast it goes.
This is the best pasta salad for people, like me, that don’t care for a mayonnaise-based version. Using a quick and easy homemade dressing with olive oil and fresh lemon juice, this cold pasta salad is light and refreshing instead of feeling like a heavy side dish.
Naturally vegetarian, this pasta salad is endlessly versatile. Experiment with ingredients to suit your family’s tastes, or easily make this vegan or meaty as well. Read below for some recommended variations and tips for making pasta salads come out great every time.
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🥘 Easy Pasta Salad Ingredients
These are the ingredients I use in making this cold pasta salad recipe. Feel free to modify things to your taste or read below for some common variations.
Pasta Salad
Pasta – I like fusilli pasta for this, but other common options are rotini, tri-color rotini, farfalle (bow tie), gemelli, and even penne.
Vegetables – Grape or cherry tomatoes work best in pasta salad. I also added some red onion and bell pepper. Orange or yellow bell pepper adds a nice color and flavor.
Cheese – I love mozzarella here, but crumbled feta is another popular choice with a saltier flavor. I used an 8oz package of mozzarella pearls that can easily be cut or torn in half, but you can also use a log or ball and just slice or tear it into bite-sized pieces as well.
Herbs – I use some dried herbs in the dressing, but like to toss the pasta salad with torn, fresh basil.
Protein – Instead of meat, I use a 15.5oz can of chickpeas here for the protein, making this pasta salad naturally vegetarian. This keeps the dish a light and neutral side dish, but feel free to swap this with a meat of choice.
Lemon Dressing
Olive Oil – Use a quality extra virgin olive oil as the base for this dressing.
Lemon – Use 2-3 lemons to get a ¼ cup or so of fresh lemon juice. I use this as the acid for the dressing instead of vinegar because it adds a mild and refreshing citrus taste to the dressing.
Herbs & Seasoning – Add coarse sea salt, ground black pepper, dried oregano, and dried basil for flavor. The dressing by itself will be very salty, but this adds flavor and seasoning to all the raw vegetables and cold pasta and will mellow after tossing.
🔪 How to Make Pasta Salad
Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and adding salt and the pasta and cook until just past al dente. While the pasta cooks, prep all the other ingredients.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Canned chickpeas can be eaten as-is, as they have already been prepared, but I like to simmer them. This step is optional but bring a medium saucepan with water to a boil. Add salt and the rinsed chickpeas and lower to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water to bring the temperature down, then set aside.
While the pasta and, optionally, the chickpeas are cooking, prepare the other ingredients and dressing. Slice the tomatoes in half, dice the onion and pepper, cut or tear the mozzarella balls in half, and tear the basil leaves into small pieces. Place everything into a large, nonreactive mixing bowl and set aside.
You can whisk the dressing together or pour the ingredients into a half-pint mason jar and shake it vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Set it aside and shake again before adding it to the pasta.
Once the pasta is cooked, strain it through a colander and rinse under cold water. This will stop the cooking process and start bringing the temperature down. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the pasta and toss.
Set the pasta aside, and the chickpeas if simmered, until no longer hot. Once cooled, but still a little warm, add the pasta and chickpeas to the other ingredients and gently mix thoroughly. Now add ⅔ to ¾ of the dressing and gently mix again.
You can serve immediately, but for the best flavor, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2-4 hours or overnight. Add the reserved dressing and mix again right before serving.
📖 Easy Pasta Salad Variations
This recipe is an easy pasta salad recipe you can throw together in less than 30 minutes, but the beauty of cold pasta salads is that they’re endlessly customizable. Here’s a few suggestions.
Ingredients
Cheese – Mozzarella goes great with the tomatoes and basil, but crumbled feta works great for a saltier alternative. My mom makes a version with diced cubes of cheddar, and you can dice up other cheeses like smoked gouda, provolone, gruyere, etc.
Protein – Swap out the chickpeas for things like sliced or diced pepperoni, salami, and summer sausage. Any meat you would find on a charcuterie board are usually great options in pasta salads as well. You can also turn this into a main course by adding chicken, shrimp, or even pulled pork.
Vegetables – Other popular veggie choices include broccoli, cucumber, zucchini, pepperoncini or banana peppers, carrots, celery, artichokes, spinach, arugula, and olives. Just don’t go overboard with too many raw vegetables and try to keep it to 3-5 options in smaller quantities as you add more.
Nuts – Another popular option in some pasta salads, nuts add a nice texture and flavor. Common options include pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, and almonds. I suggest toasting them for a few and coarsely chopping larger nuts like pecans and walnuts.
Herbs – Fresh herbs are a nice touch to most dishes. Feel free to use other herbs instead of or in addition to basil, such as parsley, cilantro, and mint. You could also add finely chopped fresh minutes basil, oregano, thyme, or tarragon to the dressing.
Diets
Gluten-Free – To make a gluten-free version of pasta salad, use your preferred brand of gluten-free pasta. Some other types of pasta are also GF, like red lentil and chickpea pastas, or swap the pasta out for quinoa.
Vegan – While naturally vegetarian, you’ll need to omit or swap out the mozzarella to make this recipe vegan. Use your favorite block of vegan cheese and dice into bite-sized cubes.
💭 Pasta Salad Tips
- Pasta – Cook just past al dente. If the pasta has a range like 12-14 minutes, go with the longer time. Al dente pasta typically finishes cooking in a sauce, but in pasta salad you rinse the pasta to stop it from cooking. Just don’t overcook the pasta to a mushy texture.
- Oil the pasta – When tossed in a vinegarette dressing, the pasta will absorb a lot of the dressing while sitting in the fridge. I like to toss the rinsed pasta with a bit of olive oil so that it can start absorbing that and absorb less of the dressing.
- Dress while warm – Dress the pasta salad while the pasta is still a little warm, but not hot. Warm starches like pasta better absorb the dressing and this flavors the noodles and keeps the dressing from pooling at the bottom of the bowl. If using a mayo-based dressing, wait for it to be room temperature or the dressing can separate.
- Dress twice – When tossing the pasta salad with the dressing, reserve 25-30% of the dressing. While cooling in the refrigerator, the pasta will absorb a lot of dressing and can make things a little dry or stuck together. Add the reserved dressing and toss again right before serving for a fresh flavor and texture.
- Less acid – While regular salads can benefit from a dressing that’s more abrasive and acidic, cold pasta salads can develop an unpleasant and metallic taste. This is why homemade dressings for pasta salads use a higher ratio of oil to vinegar or acids like lemon juice.
- Make ahead – Cold pasta salad is perfect to make ahead. While the shelf-life isn’t that long, the flavor benefits from resting. Making it one day ahead of serving is perfect but try to give it at least 2-4 hours in the fridge before serving.
🍽 Recommended Equipment
This is a simple recipe for an easy pasta salad, so you don’t need any special equipment. Here’s two items I always recommend though for similar recipes.
Non-reactive Bowl – Whenever mixing fresh fruits or vegetables, I recommend using a non-reactive mixing bowl. I like large glass mixing bowls for this, but you can also use large serving bowls or plastic, basically anything but metal.
Mason Jars – When making a quick dressing that you’ll use immediately in a recipe, I love using mason pint jars or half pint mason jars. All you need to do is add the ingredients, close the jars, and shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds.
❄️ Storing Pasta Salad
This easy pasta salad is great when made a day ahead of serving it and will get eaten pretty quickly. If you do find yourself with some leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Because the dressing is acidic with the lemon juice, it can be safely consumed for up to 5-7 days when kept refrigerated, but the flavor and texture will be best in those first few days.
While it could technically be frozen, I do not recommend it. Frozen and thawed pasta typically gets incredibly mushy, and the flavors will all but disappear.
📋 Recipe
Easy Pasta Salad (No Mayo)
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 1 pound dry pasta, I use fusilli
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 10-ounce container cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half, about 2 cups
- 1 medium orange bell pepper, diced, about 1 cup or so
- ½ large red onion, diced, about 1 cup
- 8 ounces mozzarella pearls, cut or torn in half
- ½ cup fresh basil, torn into small pieces
Salad Dressing:
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, from 2-3 lemons
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
Directions
- Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and adding plenty of kosher salt and the pasta and cook until just past al dente. If the container gives a range, use the longer time, otherwise add a minute or two to the al dente directions. While the pasta cooks, prep all the other ingredients.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Canned chickpeas can be eaten as-is, as they have already been prepared, but I like to simmer them. This step is optional but bring a medium saucepan with water to a boil. Add some kosher salt and the rinsed chickpeas and lower to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water to bring the temperature down, then set aside.
- While the pasta and, optionally, the chickpeas are cooking, prepare the other ingredients and dressing. Slice the tomatoes in half, dice ½ a red onion and 1 bell pepper, cut or tear the mozzarella balls in half, and tear the basil leaves into small pieces. Place everything into a large, nonreactive mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon dried basil to a bowl or mason jar. You can whisk the dressing together or pour the ingredients into a half-pint mason jar and shake it vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Set it aside and shake again before adding it to the pasta.
- Once the pasta is cooked, strain it through a colander and rinse under cold water. This will stop the cooking process and start bringing the temperature down. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the pasta and toss.
- Set the pasta aside, and the chickpeas if simmered, until no longer hot. Once cooled, but still a little warm, add the pasta and chickpeas to the other ingredients and gently mix thoroughly. Now add ⅔ to ¾ of the dressing and gently mix again.
- You can serve immediately, but for the best flavor, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2-4 hours or overnight. Add the reserved dressing and mix again right before serving.
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