On the subject of potlucks and events, a standout pasta salad can steal the present. Whether or not you are aiming for a mayo-free possibility, experimenting with distinctive dressings, or just must understand how a lot to arrange for a crowd, we have you coated.
Let’s be sincere—we love pasta salad year-round. It performs nicely with creamy, comforting flavors in colder months, then graciously welcomes hotter temperatures with vibrant, recent zest.
From soba noodles wearing citrus ginger to tender bow ties sprinkled with crimson pepper flakes and tomatoes, a cool, massive bowl of pasta salad is endlessly versatile. You’ll be able to plop in no matter farmer’s market bounty you discover: cucumbers, carrots, corn, or radishes. Plus, they maintain up (even enhance!) over time as dressings and substances marinate—no wilting or getting soggy.
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How A lot Pasta Salad to Make for a Crowd
Whenever you’re prepping for a celebration or potluck, the very last thing you need is to expire of meals—or be left with a mountain of leftovers. So, how a lot pasta salad must you make per particular person?
As a normal rule of thumb:
• Aspect dish serving: ½ to ¾ cup per particular person (about 4–6 ounces)
• Principal dish serving: 1 to 1½ cups per particular person (8–12 ounces)
For instance, in the event you’re feeding 20 individuals and serving pasta salad as a facet, purpose for 10 to fifteen cups whole, or roughly 2 to three kilos of dry pasta. Don’t overlook to account for add-ins like chopped veggies, cheese, or protein, which bulk issues up too.
Tip: Pasta salad is tremendous make-ahead pleasant—simply give it a fast toss with further dressing earlier than serving, since pasta tends to soak up flavors because it sits.
Mayo-Free Pasta Salad Choices
In search of a pasta salad with out mayo? Whether or not it’s for dietary causes or simply to maintain issues safer at a warm-weather cookout, there are tons of flavorful alternate options that maintain up fantastically at room temp.
A few of our favourite mayo-free pasta salad dressings embody:
• Lemon-Dijon French dressing – vibrant, tangy, and excellent with veggies or grains
• Italian dressing – a crowd-pleaser that goes with nearly something
• Tahini or yogurt-based sauces – creamy however lighter and extra heat-stable
You’ll discover loads of mayo-free pasta salad recipes in our roundup under, filled with substances like roasted greens, olives, herbs, and tangy cheeses that don’t want mayo to shine.
Ideas for Transporting and Serving Pasta Salad at Occasions
Pasta salad is a go-to for events for a purpose: it is easy to make, exhausting to mess up, and travels like a champ. That mentioned, a number of good tips may also help your dish arrive recent and party-ready.
Hold it cool
In the event you’re heading to an outside occasion, pack your pasta salad in an hermetic container and nestle it in a cooler with ice packs. That is particularly key if there’s any dairy, meat, or egg-based dressing concerned.
Wait to decorate (or redress)
For the perfect texture, toss the salad with half the dressing earlier than chilling and reserve the remaining for simply earlier than serving—this retains the pasta from drying out or getting mushy.
Serve it good
Use a large, shallow serving bowl to assist it chill sooner and serve extra simply. Bonus factors if it has a lid to maintain issues coated between bites.
Our Finest Pasta Salad Recipes
1. No-Mayo Peperonata Pasta Salad
“Need to know how you can change hearts and minds about pasta salad? Make this one in your subsequent yard BBQ or picnic with associates,” writes Food52 contributor EmilyC. “Peperonata—the basic Southern Italian facet dish of candy peppers, onions, and tomatoes melted in olive oil—is a swell companion to pasta. It’s packed stuffed with greens and serves because the dressing (a win for pasta salad, a giant win for you). Higher but, the peperonata could be made a number of days prematurely and tossed with freshly-cooked pasta everytime you’re prepared.”
2. Basic Italian Pasta Salad
The key to this springy, satisfying, completely textured pasta salad? Overcooking the noodles—significantly! Just a little little bit of science inform us simply why (retrogradation, to you!), however TL;DR: Belief us. It really works!
3. Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad
Recent basil, garlic, and almonds are blended right into a creamy pesto, enhanced with Parmesan, mayonnaise, and white balsamic vinegar. Tossed with rigatoni, cherry tomatoes, and mini bocconcini, it is an ideal addition to any potluck or gathering.
4. Chilly Vegetable & Noodle Salad With Ponzu Dressing
It is a nice option to get acquainted with tart and salty ponzu sauce: tossed with silky udon and a medley of crunchy, recent greens and herbs.
5. Caprese Pasta Salad
“I bear in mind many a heat summer time evening when, motivated by a powerful aversion to turning on the oven, my mom would whip up a fast pasta with a no-cook sauce,” Co-Founder and President Merrill Stubbs writes. “One among my favourite iterations was a variation on a preferred theme: pasta with uncooked tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and generally basil.” In the event you love caprese salads but in addition need to be full an hour after dinner, simply add all these tasty elements to pasta.”
6. Orzo Salad With Scallions, Hazelnuts & Golden Raisins
A make-ahead masterpiece if we’ve ever seen one! You’ll be able to combine the dressing, plump the raisins, and toast the hazelnuts the evening earlier than.
7. Miso Peanut Pasta Salad
Macaroni salad will get a brand new character. As an alternative of creamy cheese, coat noodles in peanut butter and miso, then add some spice with vinegar and chile-garlic sauce.
8. Bow Tie Pasta Salad With No-Prepare dinner Tomato Sauce
Have a good time tomato season with Michel Guérard’s Genius Sauce Vierge, a stunning no-cook tomato sauce. The mix of recent tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, and herbs shines on this simply-dressed pasta salad.
9. Chilly Sesame Noodle Salad
This is an nearly no-cook, five-ingredient pasta salad that can truly enable you to calm down. “A word on noodle alternative: any lengthy, skinny pasta will do,” recipe creator Kendra Vaculin advises. “Vermicelli or skinny rice noodles (like these pictured right here) are nice gluten-free choices, and maintain up a lot better than brown rice noodles when cooked after which chilled. If it is what you will have in your pantry or all you could find, plain ol’ spaghetti works simply as nicely.”
10. Jaengban Guksu
In the meantime, some individuals wish to eat sizzling meals in the summertime. In the event you’re in search of a spicy kick, gochujang takes this pasta salad to the following degree.
11. Lemon-Dill Orzo Pasta Salad With Cucumbers, Olives & Feta
“The flavors on this pasta salad are gentle and refined—excellent for complementing grilled salmon or a roasted rooster with pan juices,” writes Food52er viblanco. “At first, the grated shallot and Dijon within the French dressing could seem to be they might overwhelm the dish, however each settle in and not using a trace of chunk. The usage of feta and olives additionally brings a little bit of salty taste with every style.”
12. Beet-Dressed Pasta With Golden Raisins & Poppy Seeds
Heat or chilly, this velvety, earthy, completely distinctive pasta’s stuffed with attention-grabbing flavors and textures. Simply you should definitely add a pinch of salt in the event you strive it on the chilly facet.
13. Pasta Salad With Roasted Peppers, Inexperienced Olives, Walnuts & Anchovies
With simply 5 substances, it is a surprise that this humble pasta salad packs all of the punch it does. However every of the 5 has a darn good purpose for being there—and every brings a complete lot to the desk.
14. Grilled Okra Pasta Salad
A visit to the grill helps crisp and char silky okra—then it is thrown right into a super-savory combination of mozzarella, basil, and cherry tomatoes with pasta, all dressed with a zingy garlic-infused French dressing.
15. Antipasto Orzo Pasta Salad
“The jars in your fridge door have joined forces in a pasta salad that tastes like the perfect components of an antipasto platter (or an Italian hero),” claims recipe creator Sarah Jampel. “To bulk it up, high it with folded prosciutto, or combine in cubes of salami or Parmesan. When you have every little thing available, this salad can be prepared as quickly because the orzo is boiled (10 minutes!).”
16. Herby Pasta Salad With Tempeh Bacon & Roasted Veggies
A medley of roasted broccoli, bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes is tossed with al dente pasta and a vibrant dressing constituted of olive oil, white wine vinegar, brown sugar, and a beneficiant mixture of recent herbs like mint, basil, oregano, and chives
17. Panzanella Pasta Salad
Consider this as a love youngster between pasta salad and bread salad—aka the perfect of each worlds. Brief pasta joins forces with crusty torn bread, juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs in a vibrant, punchy French dressing. It is a recent, mayo-free possibility that travels nicely and will get even higher because it sits—excellent for any potluck or picnic unfold.
18. Pasta Salad With Crispy Salami & Cherry Tomatoes
This recent, flavor-packed pasta salad hits all the correct notes—vibrant, herbaceous, and just a bit salty because of crispy salami. The genius transfer? Scorching the salami till golden, which provides a savory crunch you’ll need to steal for each pasta salad going ahead. It’s mayo-free, travels like a champ, and comes collectively quick
19. Oil-Free Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad
You’d by no means guess this creamy, flavor-packed pasta salad is each vegan and gluten-free. The oil-free pesto makes use of cashews and lemon for richness and brightness, making it simply as luscious because the basic model—no compromises right here. It’s a terrific possibility for combined dietary crowds and holds up fantastically at room temp, making it party-ready.
20. Our Finest Pasta Salad
We saved the perfect for final—actually! That is our pasta salad to write down dwelling about: with buttery olives; bouncy pasta; chewy cured meats and crunchy pickled bits; herbs and tender greens galore. Eat it at room temperature, or sizzling, or chilly—any which manner, you will not be sorry.
Summer season’s a time free of charge spirits. Riff in your favourite pasta shapes and flavors to create your individual masterpiece. This is a easy method to observe: 3/4 to 1 cup of dressing for every pound of dried pasta. Add in your entire favorites (greens, nuts, herbs, and cheeses) and blend gently.
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What’s your favourite pasta salad recipe? Please share within the feedback under!
Editor’s Word: This piece was up to date in April 2025 with much more recipes & ideas.
