Easy Pasta Salad Recipes for Lunch, Picnics & Summer
If you’re looking for easy pasta salad recipes for lunches, picnics, barbecues or summer dinners, there are so many different combinations you can make that you really don’t need to eat the same one every time. I love pasta salad when the weather is warm because I still want something that feels like a proper meal, even when I don’t particularly fancy hot food. There are only so many bowls of lettuce I can get enthusiastic about!
Pasta salad is also brilliant for using whatever you’ve already got in the fridge. Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, olives, cheese, chicken, tuna, beans and fresh herbs can all turn a bowl of pasta into something completely different, and you can make it as simple or substantial as you fancy.
These are some of my favourite pasta salad ideas, including Greek pasta salad with feta and olives, tomato and mozzarella, bruschetta pasta salad and even a fruit pasta salad that sounds slightly odd until you actually try it!
Easy pasta salad recipes
Greek pasta salad with feta and olives
My Greek pasta salad recipe combines pasta with tomatoes, cucumber, olives and feta, along with a homemade lemon and oregano dressing. You can also add chicken if you want to make it more substantial.
I love feta and olives anyway, so this is exactly the sort of lunch I’d choose when I want something fresh but still filling enough that I’m not looking for something else to eat half an hour later.
It’s also easy to adapt. If you’re vegetarian, simply leave out the chicken and you’ve still got plenty going on with the feta, olives and vegetables.
Tomato and mozzarella pasta salad
Tomato, mozzarella and basil is one of my favourite combinations and my tomato and mozzarella pasta salad turns it into a more substantial lunch by adding pasta.
I regularly make a very basic tomato and mozzarella salad using halved cherry or baby plum tomatoes, mozzarella, shredded fresh basil and a good drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I buy mozzarella pearls because they’re convenient, but a normal ball of mozzarella chopped into pieces usually works out cheaper, so it depends entirely on what I’ve picked up at the supermarket.
Add some cooked pasta and you’ve got an easy pasta salad without needing loads of different ingredients.
Bruschetta pasta salad
If you like tomatoes, basil and garlic, have a look at my bruschetta pasta salad.
It has all those lovely fresh flavours with pasta to make it more substantial. It’s particularly nice in summer when tomatoes actually taste of something rather than the slightly disappointing ones we sometimes end up with during the rest of the year!
It’s an easy one to have for lunch or to serve as part of a bigger spread if you’re having a barbecue.
High protein pasta salad
If you’re looking for something a little more substantial, my high protein pasta salad guide has lots of ideas for adding protein, so you can choose what works for you rather than following one combination.
There are ideas using chicken, tuna, beans, tofu and cheese, along with vegetarian options and suggestions for higher-protein pasta. There’s also a simple yoghurt-based dressing if you fancy something creamy.
This is particularly useful if you’re making pasta salad for lunch and want to use whatever you’ve already got rather than going shopping for six specific ingredients.
Fruit pasta salad
Yes, you read that correctly. Fruit pasta salad.
I know my fruit pasta salad sounds slightly odd if you’ve never tried anything like it before, but I really enjoy it. Mine predominantly uses berries and it’s refreshing when the weather is hot as well as being something completely different from the usual savoury pasta salads.
You can change the fruit depending on what you’ve got too. It’s useful if you’ve got berries that have become a little softer than you’d choose to eat straight from the punnet but are still perfectly fine to eat.
You’ll just have to trust me on this one!
Orzo salad
Orzo looks a little like rice but is actually a tiny type of pasta, so my orzo salad definitely belongs here.
Because orzo is so small, it mixes really well with finely chopped vegetables, herbs and dressing. You get a little bit of everything in each forkful rather than spending half your lunch chasing a cherry tomato around the plate.
If you’ve never tried orzo before, it’s a nice way of making something a little different without using any particularly unusual ingredients.
What is the best pasta for pasta salad?
I usually choose short pasta shapes such as fusilli, penne or farfalle because they’re easy to mix with vegetables, cheese and dressing and they’re much easier to eat cold than long strands of spaghetti.
Shapes with twists, ridges and little gaps are particularly good because bits of dressing and other ingredients get caught in them, but I wouldn’t go out and buy a special packet of pasta just because somebody has declared it the official pasta-salad shape.
If I’ve got half a packet of something suitable already open, that’s probably what I’m using.
The main thing is not to cook it until it’s so soft that it falls apart when you start mixing everything together. If cooking pasta seems like something that should be incredibly simple but somehow isn’t always, my guide to cooking pasta covers cooking times, sticking, rinsing and all the other things that can go wrong with a saucepan of pasta.
How do you make a good pasta salad?
Start with pasta you actually like, then think about what sort of salad you’re making rather than throwing random ingredients into a bowl.
Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil naturally work together. Feta, cucumber and olives work together. Chicken, vegetables and a creamy dressing can work together. The ingredients don’t have to be complicated, but having some sort of idea where you’re going usually gives you a nicer lunch than emptying the contents of the fridge into your pasta!
I like having different textures too. Pasta is quite soft, so crunchy cucumber, peppers or onions can make a big difference, while cheese, beans, chicken or another protein can make the finished salad feel much more substantial.
Then add a dressing that suits the ingredients rather than automatically reaching for the same bottle every time.
What can you put in pasta salad?
This is one of the reasons I like pasta salad so much because there really are loads of options.
Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, red onion, sweetcorn, olives, spinach and roasted vegetables can all work well. You can add chicken, prawns, tuna, eggs, chickpeas, beans or tofu if you want something more substantial, while feta, mozzarella, Parmesan and other cheeses can completely change the flavour.
Fresh herbs are worth adding too. Basil is an obvious choice with tomato and mozzarella, but parsley, oregano, mint and chives all have their place depending on what else you’ve put in the bowl.
It’s also a brilliant way of using small amounts of ingredients. Half a pepper, a few cherry tomatoes and a bit of cheese might not look like much sitting separately in the fridge, but suddenly they’re lunch when you’ve got pasta in the cupboard.
Easy pasta salad dressing ideas
You don’t have to make a complicated dressing for pasta salad.
Olive oil, lemon juice, herbs and seasoning can be enough for a Mediterranean-style salad, while balsamic vinegar is lovely with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.
If you prefer something creamy, Greek-style yoghurt can make a good base for a dressing and you can add lemon, mustard, garlic or herbs depending on what else is in your salad. Mayonnaise works too if that’s the flavour you want.
I wouldn’t choose a dressing simply because somebody has labelled it the healthiest option. I’d much rather use an amount of a dressing I actually enjoy than eat a bowl of pasta covered in something I don’t particularly like because it’s supposedly better for me.
How do you stop pasta salad going dry?
If you’ve ever made pasta salad that looked lovely when you put it in the fridge and rather less lovely when you took it out again, you haven’t necessarily done anything wrong.
Pasta absorbs some of the moisture from the dressing while it sits, which means a salad can seem much drier several hours later or the following day.
Give it a good stir before serving it. Depending on the salad, you might want to add a little more dressing, a splash of lemon juice or another spoonful of whatever dressing you’ve used.
I wouldn’t compensate by absolutely drowning it in dressing when you first make it because you can always add more later, but taking it back out again is rather more difficult!
Should you rinse pasta for pasta salad?
I don’t normally rinse pasta when I’m serving it hot with a sauce, but pasta salad is a little different because you actually want the pasta to cool rather than continue cooking.
Rinsing can help cool it quickly and stop the pieces sticking together while you’re getting the rest of the salad ready.
Don’t leave cooked pasta sitting in hot water while you chop all your other ingredients either, because it’ll continue softening and you could end up with pasta that’s much softer than you intended.
If you want more help with the basics, I’ve covered this properly in my how to cook pasta guide.
How can I make pasta salad more filling?
If pasta salad is going to be your main meal rather than something on the side, adding a good mixture of ingredients can make it much more satisfying.
Chicken, tuna, prawns, eggs, beans, chickpeas, tofu and cheese are all possibilities depending on what you eat and what works with the other flavours in the salad.
Adding plenty of vegetables gives you more texture and variety too.
This doesn’t mean every pasta salad has to contain everything. Sometimes tomato, mozzarella and pasta is exactly what I fancy, and that’s fine. If you’re specifically looking for ideas with more protein, my high protein pasta salad guide has lots more suggestions.
Are pasta salads healthy?
They can certainly be part of a healthy, balanced diet, but pasta salad isn’t one specific food, so I don’t think there’s a useful yes-or-no answer.
A pasta salad might contain pasta, loads of vegetables, beans and a simple dressing, or it might contain cheese and a creamy dressing. Both can have a place in your diet without needing to decide that one bowl is “good” and the other is “bad”.
I lost 10 stone while still eating pasta. I’ve also regained some of that weight since, and one of the things I’ve become much more aware of is how unhelpful it can be to get obsessed with making every individual meal as low calorie as possible.
I’d rather make a pasta salad I enjoy, add ingredients that make it satisfying and look at what I’m eating overall.
If it’s pasta itself that you’re unsure about, my is pasta healthy? guide goes into much more detail about pasta, carbohydrates, wholewheat pasta and weight loss.
Can you make pasta salad the night before?
Yes, many pasta salads are really handy for making ahead, which is one reason I like them for lunches and picnics.
The main thing to remember is that pasta can absorb dressing while it sits, so give the salad a good stir before serving and see how it looks rather than assuming it’ll be exactly as you left it.
Some ingredients also keep better than others. If your salad contains things such as cooked meat, seafood, eggs or dairy products, make sure you’re following appropriate storage advice for those ingredients.
If I’m making a particular pasta salad recipe, I’d follow the storage advice for that recipe rather than assuming every pasta salad can be treated in exactly the same way.
How long does pasta salad last in the fridge?
This depends on what’s actually in your pasta salad, which is why I don’t like giving one storage time and pretending it applies to every recipe.
A pasta salad containing cooked prawns isn’t the same as pasta with tomatoes and vegetables, for example.
Whatever you’ve made, cool food appropriately, refrigerate it promptly in a suitable covered container and follow the storage guidance for the ingredients you’ve used.
I’d also use a bit of common sense when planning quantities. If there are only two of you eating it, making an enormous mixing bowl because you’ve somehow convinced yourself you’ll happily eat the same pasta salad for every meal for the next week probably isn’t the best plan!
Summer pasta salads for picnics and barbecues
This is probably when I eat pasta salad most often. When it’s hot, I don’t particularly want the oven on and I definitely don’t want to spend an hour standing in a hot kitchen.
Pasta salads are useful for barbecues because you can make a bowl for everyone to share, and they’re easy to pack for picnics too. Just remember that if your salad contains ingredients that normally need refrigeration, it still needs to be kept properly chilled while you’re out.
I like having a few different cold dishes rather than one enormous salad, particularly if there are quite a few people eating. My couscous salad recipes, cold rice recipes and quinoa recipes for summer are all good alternatives if you want a bit of variety.
It also means you’re covered when somebody waits until you’ve put lunch on the table before announcing that they don’t fancy pasta. There’s always one!
Pasta salad FAQs
Can pasta salad be a main meal?
Absolutely. Add whatever ingredients you need to make it work as a meal for you. Protein such as chicken, tuna, prawns, beans, chickpeas, eggs, tofu or cheese can make it more substantial, along with plenty of vegetables.
What pasta shape is best for pasta salad?
I usually choose short shapes such as fusilli, penne or farfalle because they’re easy to mix and eat cold. Use a pasta shape you enjoy though; there’s no need to buy something different if you’ve already got a suitable packet open.
Can you eat pasta cold?
Cooked pasta can be used for cold pasta salads, but it needs to be cooled and stored properly rather than being left sitting around at room temperature.
Can you make pasta salad without mayonnaise?
Definitely. Plenty of pasta salads don’t contain mayonnaise at all. You could use an olive oil and lemon dressing, balsamic vinegar, a yoghurt-based dressing or something else that suits your ingredients.
What goes well with pasta salad?
That depends on whether you’re eating it as a meal or serving it as a side. Pasta salad works well with vegetables, salads and barbecue food, or you can add enough ingredients to the pasta itself and simply eat a bowl of it for lunch.
Is pasta salad good for lunch?
I think it’s brilliant for lunch because you can make it ahead and change the ingredients so you don’t feel as though you’re eating exactly the same thing every day.
More easy pasta recipes
If you love pasta but fancy something hot instead, have a browse through my Slimming World pasta recipes for tomato-based dishes, creamy pasta recipes and lots of family meal ideas.
My healthy pasta bake recipes are good when you want something straight from the oven, while my healthy pasta alternatives guide has ideas ranging from chickpea and lentil pasta to vegetable noodles if you fancy trying something different.
Pasta salad is still one of my favourites, though. You can keep it simple, pile in loads of different ingredients, use up odds and ends from the fridge or make something specifically for a picnic or barbecue.
And when it’s ridiculously hot outside, anything that lets me avoid turning the oven on gets bonus points from me.
