Pasta salad is the ideal dish for the summertime, because you want pasta, but you don’t want a big ol’ steaming, hot meal. With pasta salad, you can have the best of both worlds and pasta salad is great because you can make a massive batch of it and then keep it in the fridge for a bit, thus giving you days of meals that are super tasty and easy to take on the go.
Plus, pasta salads are also a great BBQ or Potluck dish that everyone will enjoy, because who doesn’t love pasta in their salad? Either make one of these recipes for yourself to enjoy or bring it to your next gathering and impress your friends.
1. Basil-Balsamic Pasta Salad
Photo by Katherine Richter
This pasta salad is literally a Caprese salad, but in pasta salad form. If the combination of mozzarella, grape tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar doesn’t make you excited, then there’s something wrong with ya.
2. Chopped Veggie Pasta Salad
Photo by Elizabeth Emery
The beauty of this recipe is that it uses minimal ingredients, the main one of which (not the pasta) you can conveniently buy from Trader Joe’s.
3. Peanut Sesame Noodles
Photo by Julia Liang
Sure, the recipe says eat it while it’s hot — but chilled peanut sesame noodles will not only make it more like a pasta salad, but also take the dish to a whole other level.
4. Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil and Ham Pasta Salad in a Mason Jar
Photo by Max Bartick
This recipe is perfect for people who want to make a pasta salad that’s super easy to take on the go, be it to your internship or the beach. If you want to make this dish more sharable, just multiply the ingredients by the number of people you want to serve, and there ya go. Yum.
5. Literal Pasta Salad
Photo by Parisa Soraya
The ideal recipe and guide for anyone who really needs to go grocery shopping, but can’t be bothered. The budget-friendliness of this pasta salad is only another reason to give it a try.