This smoky pasta salad is creamy and just a bit spicy with lots of smoky flavors. The creamy dressing has a kick from a chipotle pepper, while the pasta salad combines sweet and smoky flavors to make a new hit at your next cook out or potluck.
If you’re looking for a pasta salad that’s just a bit different, this smoky pasta salad will be your new favorite side dish at your next summer barbecue. Unlike my easy pasta salad that’s a bit lighter and made with a lemon vinaigrette, this pasta salad has a creamy no mayo dressing and includes meat.
Other than the pasta and possibly roasting the red pepper, there’s no cooking involved here. The smoky flavors here come from the choice of ingredients and not a cooking method, so you don’t need to own a smoker to make this awesome side dish.
Like most pasta salads, this smoky pasta salad is endlessly versatile, and I recommend playing around with the ingredients and making it your own. A great pasta salad is more like a roadmap than a list of requirements, though I recommend trying it as written and seeing what you like or not first.
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🥘 Ingredients for Smoky Pasta Salad
The ingredients listed here are what I used to create this recipe, but feel free to play around with other options that work for you. Where applicable, I’ll also mention common substitutions.
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 – I love small cherry or grape tomatoes for pasta salad. I also used half a sweet onion and a roasted red bell pepper. I had one on hand and roasted and peeled it myself, but you can also buy them jarred if you prefer.
Cheese – Smoked gouda goes perfect here, but you could also use smoked mozzarella or cheddar instead. I recommend creamy types of cheese here over salty ones like feta.
Meat – Optional, but summer sausage adds a nice flavor here and some protein. Other good options include pepperoni or salami. Use log shaped versions you can cube instead of pre-sliced styles.
Herbs – I use fresh torn basil in the pasta salad, but you could also try cilantro, parsley, or even tarragon instead.
Creamy Dressing
Greek Yogurt – Instead of mayonnaise, I actually use Greek yogurt in the dressing. It’s a little bit healthier and a nice substitute. Feel free to replace it with regular yogurt or mayo as well.
Milk – Whole milk works best, but feel free to use any dairy milk you have on hand.
Vinegar – I used white wine vinegar here or you can use white distilled vinegar.
Chipotle – The smoky and spicy flavor in the dressing comes from this ingredient. I used one pepper minced and a bit of the adobe sauce it’s packed in. Use just the adobo sauce to cut back on the heat or omit altogether if you don’t want it spicy at all.
Seasoning – Use a good amount of sea salt and some ground black pepper. Use more salt than you think you need since this also seasons the entire pasta salad.
🔪 How to Make Smoky 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.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and turn your oven’s broiler to high. Roast the red pepper until blackened on every side and then place it into a plastic bag and seal, or into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 10 minutes. Remove blackened skin and seeds and then dice.
Dice the sweet onion, slice the tomatoes in half, cut the cheese and sausage into bite-sized cubes, and tear the basil into pieces. Place everything to the side in a non-reactive mixing bowl.
In a bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Mix until the Greek yogurt is fully combined with the other ingredients and no lumps remain.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and cool down the pasta.
While the pasta is still a little warm, add it to the mixing bowl and toss everything together. Add about ¾ of the dressing and mix until thoroughly coated.
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.
📖 Smoky Pasta Salad Variations
This is a great pasta salad as is, but the beauty of cold pasta salads is that they’re endlessly versatile. A few of these variations are mentioned in the ingredients list, but here’s a few suggestions.
Cheese – I love smoked gouda here, but you could also used smoked mozzarella, regular mozzarella, cheddar, provolone, pepper jack, etc. Use a creamy, block cheese you can cut into bite-sized cubes. I don’t suggest crumbly, salty cheeses here like feta though.
Protein – Summer sausage works great here, but you could also use pepperoni, salami, Spanish chorizo, etc. Any of these types of cured meats used in charcuterie boards can be cut into bite-sized chunks and would work well.
Spice – The biggest contributor to the spiciness here is going to be from the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce. To cut back on the spice, you could replace the minced chipotle with another teaspoon of adobo sauce or use just 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce. If you don’t want it to be spicy, just omit both.
Creamier – The amount of dressing used here gives the pasta salad a nice coating. If you want it extra creamy, double the first 3 ingredients (the Greek yogurt, milk, and vinegar).
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.
💭 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.
❄️ Storing Pasta Salad
This smoky 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 3-4 days.
Because the dressing has dairy in it, you’ll need to keep the pasta salad cold if serving it outdoors at a cookout.
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
Smoky Pasta Salad (No Mayo)
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 1 pound dry pasta, I used fusilli
- 1 medium red bell pepper, roasted and diced, about 1 cup or so
- 1 10-ounce container cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half, about 2 cups
- ½ large sweet onion, diced, about 1 cup
- 8 ounces smoked gouda, cubed about ½”
- 8 ounces summer sausage, cubed about ½”
- ½ cup fresh basil, torn
Creamy Dressing:
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup whole milk, or any dairy milk
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar, or white distilled
- 1 chipotle pepper from can, seeded and minced
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, from canned chipotle
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
- Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and adding salt and the 1-pound dry fusilli and cook as directed until just past al dente. While the pasta cooks, prep all the other ingredients.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and turn your oven’s broiler to high. Roast the red pepper until blackened on every side and then place it into a plastic bag and seal, or into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 10 minutes. Remove blackened skin and seeds and then dice.
- Dice ½ the sweet onion, slice 10 ounces of cherry tomatoes in half, cut 8 ounces smoked gouda and 8 ounces of summer sausage into bite-sized cubes, and tear ½ cup of basil into pieces. Place everything to the side in a non-reactive mixing bowl.
- In a bowl, whisk together ½ cup Greek yogurt, ¼ cup whole milk, ¼ cup white wine vinegar, 1 minced chipotle pepper, 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix until the Greek yogurt is fully combined with the other ingredients and no lumps remain.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and cool down the pasta.
- While the pasta is still a little warm, add it to the mixing bowl and toss everything together. Add about ¾ of the dressing and mix until thoroughly coated.
- 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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