5 Great and Easy Pasta Salad Recipes
Pasta salad is a meal that is often eaten during the spring or summer but can also be served in any season throughout the year. It is frequently eaten as either a main course or simply an appetizer. The dish is generally served chilled, and usually, the salad is tossed in a dressing based on oil, vinegar, or mayonnaise.
Common ingredients
Pasta salad can be made in many different ways, with a variety of recipes being available. First, we cover some of the common ingredients. If you don’t like one of these, that’s fine, as you can prepare a version without it — just don’t leave out the pasta!
Pasta
Shell, elbow, and penne are all regularly placed in these recipes as the “staple ingredient.”
Cheese
Feta and parmesan are two types of cheese commonly used.
Vegetables
In this category, items such as broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, olives, baby corn, and onions are frequent additions to the dish.
Legumes
Various types of beans can be used in a pasta salad. Garbanzo beans, or chickpeas, are often added.
Others
These are only several of the frequently used ingredients. Some others include various herbs and spices for flavoring, meat (including seafood and poultry), and nuts.
Different variations of the meal can be made to cater to different tastes. Some could be almost entirely distinct dishes, with pasta being the lone ingredient common to both. There are also kinds based upon traditional ethnic food, such as Greek, Italian, and Asian versions. Many people will find that they like at least one option for a cold pasta salad recipe — or perhaps a warm one.
Some basic classifications of choices are mentioned here. Vegetarian forms can be made without any meat or even meat products. On the other hand, for those who enjoy bacon, it is an interesting addition to the dish. Selections of spices can also be used to add zest.
Easy pasta salad
Easy Pasta salad can be prepared within minutes and it can be enjoyed by your guests in a beautiful way. There will be great longing for salads during the summer seasons. They are ideal for lunch as well as dinner. You can use these salads to serve at pool parties, barbecues, and picnics. In order to prepare a colorful salad that will be loved by kids as well, you can use rotini noodles.
You can add as many vegetables as possible into the bowl so that there is no compromise on the nutrition proportion. In order to bring a bright appearance, you can add tomatoes, green, and red pepper. By going for a premade dressing, the salad will be attractive. Fresh basil and Parmesan can be added as well.
How to prepare easy pasta salad?
In order to prepare an easy pasta salad, you should procure the required ingredients. The ingredients include rotini pasta (one box), chopped green pepper, chopped red pepper, small cucumber, 5 tomatoes in chopped form, balsamic dressing (1 cup), fresh basil leaves (10 to 15 numbers), Parmesan cheese (half cup grated). You will need salt and pepper to add to the taste.
Rotini pasta can be added to a large pot of boiling water. It should be properly cooked and dried after rinsing with cold water. Take another large bowl to which pasta and vegetables should be added. The balsamic dressing should be stirred until vegetables and noodles are well cooked.
Other ingredients such as Parmesan cheese, basil, salt, and pepper should be added. After stirring well, the pasta should be served cold. You can also try the salad with Italian dressing. You are encouraged to add extra vegetables and chicken as per the availability and taste that you would like to get from the salad.
Easy pasta salad with noodles and bacon bits
You can also prepare easy pasta salad by using the shell as well as vegetable noodles and bacon bits. As a measure of proportion, you need to include shell or chicken noodles of 16 Oz, 1 pack of bacon bits, onion (medium size), peas (1 can), and ranch dressing or peppercorn dressing (1 bottle).
The shell noodles should be cooked as per the directions given on the package. It should be transferred to a large bowl and it should be refrigerated. Onion, peas, bacon bits, and ranch dressing of your choice should be added.
Green onions should be chopped and they should be added to the mixture so that the right kind of taste can be obtained. The easy pasta salad should be served after keeping it in the refrigerator so that it will be in chill condition.
It is very easy to prepare healthy pasta so that you will not only enjoy great taste but also great nutrition when they are prepared as per the directions. You can entertain your guests as well as prepare them at your convenience. By going away from the routine food, it is possible to keep your taste buds in good condition.
Greek pasta salad
Greek pasta salad is a fairly popular variety of this meal. One of the versions which are often made is orzo, however, this is somewhat different and does not require orzo pasta.
This Greek pasta salad recipe makes servings for 8 people.
The total time required for cooking, preparation, and chilling afterward is between 3.5 to 4 hours.
Ingredients
2 c. pasta (a type of your choice)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp. oregano, dried
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh or pre-made)
2/3 c. olive oil
10 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
2 bell peppers, any colors you prefer, chopped
1/2 medium cucumber, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 c. black olives, sliced
1/2 c. feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper, as preferred
Directions
- Take a large pot, and fill it about two-thirds of the way with water, lightly salting it if you like. Bring the water to a boil. Add the pasta, and allow the water to begin boiling again. Then let the pasta cook — do not cover the pot while the pasta is cooking — and stir occasionally. It should be cooked thoroughly, yet still somewhat firm. The time required may vary based upon the type of pasta, how hot the water gets, etc. Afterward, rinse the pasta in cold water and drain it in a colander.
- Mix the next five ingredients together, as well as salt or pepper if you want to add those. You can use a whisk to mix them well. We’ll call this mixture the dressing — put it away for a few minutes while the rest of the recipe is being worked on. Take the pasta and add in the next six ingredients (cherry tomatoes through feta cheese). Once this pasta salad is distributed evenly, then pour the dressing into it and once again mix it well. Allow it to cool for 3 hours in the refrigerator, while covered.
Chicken pasta salad
Pasta salad can be made with poultry, such as, in this case, chicken. Something else can be substituted for mayonnaise if it is not preferred. For instance, sour cream could be used — or it could simply be added to the rest of the current ingredients. This chicken pasta salad recipe makes 8 servings which are a little over 1 cup each in size. The time required for cooking, preparing, and chilling this recipe, not including the time needed to cook the chicken if it has not been already, is approximately 80 minutes.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta of your choice
- 3 cups cooked chicken (such as boneless, skinless breasts), cubed
- 1 cup zucchini or cucumber, diced
- 3/4 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
Optional ingredients
- 2 tbsp. dried basil
- 3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. oregano, dried
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- The chicken should be cooked prior to the beginning of this recipe.
- Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil.
- Place the pasta in the pot and cook it as stated in the directions for that particular pasta.
- After it is cooked, drain it, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
- Remove as much water as possible in the draining process.
- Add in the chicken, zucchini/cucumber, celery, and tomatoes, and mix well.
- Place the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and any of the optional ingredients you use in a food processor and blend them together.
- Before adding this dressing to the pasta salad, chill it in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Toss the salad, making sure the dressing is evenly distributed.
A summer recipe – Pasta with Aubergine
We all love aubergine, queen of our kitchen. Here is a pasta recipe with tomatoes and green pepper.
Ingredients
- 2 aubergine – 400gr
- 4 tomatoes – 500gr
- 10 green pepper – 200gr
- 250gr farfalle pasta
- 2 branch rosemary
- Salt, pepper
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- Some parsley and cheese for dressing
Tips & Tricks
- The most important part of this recipe is the way we cook aubergines. We cut the aubergines in cubes and bake them in the oven with olive oil and a pinch of salt & pepper.
- We put them separately a baking paper and keep them in the oven for 20 min at 220°C,
- Don’t forget to peel the tomatoes not to feel them on your tongue while eating,
- I don’t prefer but if you like you could add 1 teaspoon of tomato puree and 2 cloves of garlic for intense aroma
Directions
- Cut your tomatoes, aubergines, and green peppers in cubes,
- Put the aubergines into oven initially
- Boil water and cook pasta al dante
- Saute first peppers than tomatoes and add baked aubergines
- Add pasta top sauce and serve with minced parsley and grated cheese
Classical but Special – Three Cheese Pasta Recipe
Today is Sunday again. This is the only great day that I cook for my blog. In my routine, I would determine the dish I will cook on weekdays, search it from different resources, plan my personal recipe, and shop accordingly.
But this week I couldn’t find time to do my checklist. I also couldn’t leave my blog without a recipe. So I decided to prepare a taste I tried before. Three cheese pasta, a classical but special one.
My mother’s cheese pasta is simple.
250 gr of white butter cheese blended with 1/2 bunch of minced parsley. Oiled pasta served on a dish with cheese topping on it.
Like in my former recipes I keen on blending the sauce to all of the pasta instead of a topping on it. So my cheese pasta recipe is also a little bit different.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 300 gr fusilli pasta
- 100 gr Labne cheese
- 1/2 cup of grated cheese
- 100 gr white cheese
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 grated nutmeg
- 3 glass of milk
- 2 fine minced scallion
Tips & Tricks
- Fusilli pasta is picked in order to saturate the intense cheese flavor to each pasta grain
- Nutmeg caters softness to your cheese, milk, cream mixture.
- Make sure the sauce is liquid enough to avoid sauce burns.
Directions
- Cook you pasta Al-Dante.
- Blend all cheeses, milk, and creme in the blender, formerly at a slow speed then faster.
- Then we add olive oil, black pepper, and nutmeg and mix until smooth.
- Warm sauce in a pot with low heat, add pasta, and make sure saturate all of the liquid.
- Serve with some red pepper and minced scallion.
