The Only Basic Pasta Salad Recipe You'll Ever Need (2024)

A solid, no-nonsense bowl of pasta salad at a cookout is like the bass riff in a great Country song: It may not get all the attention, but everyone would notice if it was missing. And while there are plenty of ways to innovate on pasta salad, sometimes you just want the classics. So here it is: The classic Italian-style pasta salad, with all the stuff folks love, and none of the stuff they tend to pick out, and a dressing that balances perfectly between tangy, sweet, and just the right amount of herby. Set this cold pasta salad out at your next barbecue, picnic, potluck, or cookout and watch as, without saying a thing about it, folks clear their plates and back for seconds.

Should I Make Pasta Salad from Scratch?

To be perfectly honest, you don't have to make pasta salad from scratch. Your local supermarket deli likely carries it, and you could certainly buy it there. But it'll be a lot more expensive, and likely not as good. And this recipe is really easy. Plus, you can make it exactly the way you want, with only the ingredients you want. That's pretty hard to beat!

What Ingredients Should I Add to Pasta Salad?

For a truly unbeatable pasta salad, you want to offer a combination of both textures and flavors. It's important to have creamy, crunchy, and chewy textures, as well as sweet, salty, and tart flavors. We've found that a combination of crunchy sweet pepper, fresh grape tomatoes, mild artichoke hearts, spicy red onion, creamy mozzarella, salty olives and yummy salami offers the perfect assortment of flavors and textures. But know that this is just a starting point! You should be free to add or remove anything you want to this recipe. Other ingredients you may want to consider include zucchini, chives, cucumber, or even broccoli. The sky is the limit!

What’s the Best Pasta Salad Dressing?

The classic dressing for pasta salad is a basic oil-and-vinegar combo—also known as Italian dressing. While you can use any store-bought brand you like, we find that freshly made dressing tastes better, is easier to adjust to your taste, and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand. We tried to zero in on a combo of ingredients that gives you the classic flavor without being overly sour or overly oily. A mild Dijon mustard adds flavor but also helps keep the dressing from separating, and a touch of sugar tempers the vinegar, and makes it extra yummy!

Pro tip: Taste the dressing after making it and before using it in the salad. That way you can add a little more sugar, or more vinegar or oil to get it just the way you like!

What Goes with Pasta Salad?

It might be easier to list what doesn't go with pasta salad! This dish has been a classic for generations because it goes so well with practically anything you want to grill or bring to a cook-out, including chicken, burgers, hot dogs, kebabs, grilled veggies, corn on the cob, bratwurst, slow cooker beans, pork chops, and more!

Should I Rinse Pasta for Pasta Salad?

Rinsing your pasta after cooking it (or adding oil to it) is one thing grandma used to do that we don't recommend. Especially for something like pasta salad, where you want all that lovely dressing you just made to coat the pasta, soak in a little, and make it extra yummy. So instead, our directions suggest marinating the onions in half the dressing to temper them a little, then adding the just-cooked pasta to the onions without rinsing anything, and then tossing both in the rest of the dressing. This will ensure that the pasta doesn't stick to itself and that no one gets a bite of slimy, unflavored pasta either. It's a win-win!

How Long Do Pasta Salad Leftovers Last?

In general the USDA recommends not letting any food sit unrefrigerated (or unheated) for longer than two hours—and less if it's outside on a warm, sunny day. That said, this is a sturdy salad, so any leftovers that are promptly refrigerated should last up to a week before you need to worry about it going bad.