Valentina Ablaev
This easy pasta salad recipe is the perfect side salad for any occasion. Its delicious combination of textures and flavors, all brought together with a delicious homemade caesar dressing, makes it a winner.
Adding pasta to a salad is the perfect way to add heartiness to a classic salad. Our caesar pasta salad has quickly become one of our favorites, along with our italian pasta salad.
Pasta can be simple, or you can load it up! Along with the pasta shells, we have crisp cucumbers and juicy tomatoes, and our personal touch is small cheese squares. Crunchy bacon is another unique addition that adds so much texture and flavor to this salad.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make ahead. This is the best pasta salad to prep in advance and dress when ready to serve.
- Bbq ready. This side dish pairs perfectly with any grilled meat recipe making for the perfect bbq potluck.
- Customizable. Add all of your favorite vegetables to this salad to make it your own!
Ingredients for Pasta Salad
Simple ingredients make this the most easy and delicious salad:
- Pasta – mini elbow pasta makes the perfect small pasta shape for this pasta salad.
- Dressing – our homemade caesar dressing is super easy and makes a delicious pasta salad dressing.
- Vegetables – a delicious combination of cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and red onion.
- Bacon – Our air-fried bacon recipe makes this salad extra delicious.
- Cheese – colby jack cheese, cubed. You can also use parmesan cheese or even mozzarella, as in our easy caprese salad.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
All of the add-ins, substitutions, and different variations to the recipe you want to make.
- Add protein: Make this salad extra hearty by adding pan-seared chicken to the top!
- Dressing: This salad would taste incredible with a homemade avocado ranch dressing and even our easy italian dressing.
How to Make Pasta Salad
It doesn’t get simpler than this salad recipe.
- Cook the pasta: Boil the pasta in a large pot of salt water, according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Dressing: To a small jar, add all the dressing ingredients and mix to combine.
- Prep ingredients: While the pasta is boiling, chop up the vegetables. Our air-fried bacon is the perfect, mess-free bacon recipe.
- Assemble: Add everything to a large salad bowl and top with salad dressing. Toss to incorporate. Refrigerate until ready to serve!
Pro tip: This salad tastes best when sitting in the fridge for about an hour. This gives the pasta a chance to soak in all that dressing.
Expert Tips:
- Don’t be shy with the dressing: At first glance, it might seem like a lot of dressing, but the pasta will continue to absorb the dressing as it sits. Adding a bit of extra dressing helps keep the salad moist!
- Uniform ingredients: To get the best bite, it is important to cut the ingredients uniformly in size. Keeping everything the same size ensures you get everything in one bite!
- Don’t overcook the pasta: Once the pasta is cooked, rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Serving Suggestions
- Barbecue: A pasta salad pairs beautifully with a classic outdoor barbecue like our grilled bbq chicken. You can’t forget a side of grilled corn on the cob to perfectly balance it!
- Salad & sandwich combo: Pair this tasty pasta salad with a pulled pork sandwich for a tasty combination.
Recipe FAQs
You can absolutely use a store-bought caesar dressing as a substitute if you want to shortcut your time prepping.
This is the perfect salad to make in advance. Simply assemble the salad without the dressing.
Rinsing the pasta helps to prevent the pasta from overcooking and then sticking to each other, so it is a necessary step.
Yes, use your favorite gluten-free pasta to make this the perfect salad for you!
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Store leftovers of this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze. We do not recommend freezing this salad.
More Salad Recipes
If you enjoyed this easy pasta salad recipe, be sure to try our other popular salad recipes; here are some of our favorites:
If you tried this easy pasta salad recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Easy Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
pasta salad-
- 6 oz uncooked mini pasta shells
- 2 mini cucumbers, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 oz colby jack cheese, cubed
- 3 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
- 8 oz bacon, cooked
pasta salad dressing-
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- In a jar or a small bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Air fry the bacon and cut into small pieces.
- Cut the vegetables into small bite-sized pieces.
- Cube the cheese into uniform bite-sized pieces.
- To a large salad bowl, add all the ingredients. Top with the dressing and toss thoroughly to incorporate.
- Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
Notes
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- To make in advance, assemble the salad without the dressing and store in the fridge. Add the dressing when ready to serve the salad.
