• Recipes
  • Travel
  • Life
  • The Little Things
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Life
  • The Little Things
  • ABOUT
  • Contact

barefeetinthekitchen.com

A family cooking and food blog housing over 1200 recipes with photographs and easy-to-follow instructions.

get the latest in your inbox

Tasty Recipes Straight To Your Email!

You are here: Home » Salads » Creamy Pasta Salad

Creamy Pasta Salad

March 23, 2017 · 98 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Pin
Share
Tweet
Yum
Email

Light and slightly tangy Creamy Pasta Salad, with just enough creamy dressing to coat the noodles and vegetables, this is one heck of an awesome pasta salad.

Perfect on its own for a light meal or as a side dish for all the summer potlucks and barbecues. This cold pasta salad is better than any deli salad you can buy at the store!

A few years ago, while visiting my aunt and uncle, we were fortunate enough to arrive around dinnertime. (My aunt is a fabulous cook, so I tend to time my arrivals that way. You know, accidentally on purpose?)

Speaking of Aunt Judy’s amazing foods, have you tried her Almond Bars yet? Put them on your holiday baking list right now.

Her pasta salad was so simple and so delicious, I had to recreate it for my family as soon as I got back home. Thanks once again for the inspiration, Aunt Judy.

Creamy Summer Pasta Salad recipe by Barefeet In The Kitchen
 Love this recipe? PIN IT to your Dinner Board to save it!
Follow BAREFEET IN THE KITCHEN on Pinterest for more great recipes!

This pasta salad is filled with broccoli, cucumber, red pepper, black olives, and green onions. Everything gets tossed in a light creamy dressing and the result is a fresh, slightly tangy pasta salad with plenty of different flavors.

I love salads with more vegetables than pasta. Recipes like this Asian Pasta Salad and this Summer Couscous Salad are great salads that thrill my vegetable loving heart.

Cooking the broccoli just long enough to brighten the color and soften the crunch gives this salad a little something extra. (So, I highly recommend that you don’t skip that step.)

Last time I made this, I shot a video to share with you. Check it out at the top of this post.

If you haven’t tried the salad yet, I hope that you’ll love it every bit as much as we do. Every time I make this salad, I stash containers of it in the fridge for my lunches all week.

With the temps here in Phoenix already hitting the high 80s, I’m ready for this easy dinner to be a staple on our meal plans once again.

Pasta Salad Recipes

If you love pasta salad for easy meals all year round, you’ll want to try this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad and the Italian Artichoke and Tomato Pasta Salad after you’ve finished the last bite of this Creamy Pasta Salad.

Many of you are still going crazy over the Spinach Pasta Salad as well. I make that simple salad on repeat all year long. I have this Greek Pasta Salad and this Tuna Pasta Salad on my list to try soon too. You just can’t have too many great pasta salads at your fingertips, right?

 

Creamy Cold Summer Pasta Salad recipe by Barefeet In The Kitchen

How To Make Pasta Salad

  1. In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, adding a generous tablespoon or so of kosher salt to the water as it cooks.

  2. Just before the noodles are done cooking, add the broccoli to the pot. Let the broccoli boil for about 30 seconds and then drain everything into a large strainer. Rinse well with cold water.

  3.  Stir together the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

  4. Add the cooked pasta and broccoli to the bowl and stir well to coat.

  5. Add the cucumber, pepper, and onions and stir again.

  6. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir again just before serving.

4.56 from 9 votes
Print
Creamy Summer Pasta Salad
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 min
Total Time
11 mins
 

This is a fresh, slightly tangy pasta salad with plenty of different flavors.

Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: creamy summer pasta salad
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 297 kcal
Ingredients
  • SALAD INGREDIENTS:
  • 8 ounces salad macaroni or ditalini pasta
  • 1 cup tiny broccoli florets
  • 1/2 cup diced cucumber
  • 1/2 cup finely diced red pepper
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives
  • 1/4 cup very thinly sliced green onion
  • DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons white wine or plain vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
  1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, adding a generous tablespoon or so of kosher salt to the water as it cooks. Just before the noodles are done cooking, add the broccoli to the pot. Let the broccoli boil for about 30 seconds and then drain everything into a large colander. Rinse well with cold water.
  2.  Stir together the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked pasta and broccoli to the bowl and stir well to coat. Add the cucumber, pepper, and onions and stir again. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir again just before serving. Enjoy!
Notes

If you forget to toss the broccoli in the boiling water at the end of the pasta's cooking time, you can also steam it in the microwave. Place the broccoli in a glass bowl along with a tablespoon of water. Microwave for 60-90 seconds, until the broccoli is bright green and barely softened.

(originally published 6/6/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 3/23/17}

The BEST Creamy Pasta Salad is everyone's favorite! Get the recipe at barefeetinthekitchen.com

 

Pin
Share
Tweet
Yum
Email
get the latest in your inbox

Tasty Recipes Straight To Your Email!

Filed Under: Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged With: Pasta

Previous article:
« Hawaiian Muffins
Next article:
Weekly Meal Plan for March 27 – April 2 »

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Doris says

    July 5, 2018 at 9:39 am

    My husband does not like cucumber - I had lots of yellow crookneck squash from the garden so I used that instead.
    Reply
  2. Jessie says

    July 22, 2018 at 1:22 pm

    the first time I made this dish my family went crazy over it. We are not a huge olive fan so instead I put in cherry tomatoes and that made the dish colorful and tasty. I am sure the olives are tasty. Thanks for This dish is quick and easy to make and once you make it you can pretty much memorize it for the next time. sharing the recipe!
    Reply
  3. krystal says

    August 14, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    I really love the flavor of this but after refrigerating it's like the salad sucks up all the tasty sauce :/ Then I have to make more and mix in. Thinking of not adding the mayo mixture until ready to serve to prevent that.
    Reply
  4. Anna Finch says

    October 19, 2018 at 3:30 am

    Thanks for the great recipe! My children never liked the paste, but in this interpretation with the salad, they really liked it. They say that when they come from school and do all the lessons, I would have prepared a dish for them again. I am just in joy!Sincerely, Anna
    Reply
  5. Andy Reed says

    October 19, 2018 at 3:30 am

    thank you! I like it!
    Reply
« Older Comments

Trackbacks

  1. 5 Simple Pasta Salads For Your Next Summer BBQ - Karen Sincerely says:
    July 9, 2018 at 3:48 am
    […] Creamy Pasta Salad by Barefeet In The Kitchen […]
    Reply

Sign Up Here for FREE recipes!

archives

search

home · about · work with me · disclosure & privacy policy

Copyright ©2019, barefeetinthekitchen.com. All Rights Reserved. Design by Pixel Me Designs


Barefeet In The Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Please respect my work, recipes and photographs. If you do use a recipe in your own writing, please give proper credit and link back to the original post.

Proud Member of:
Mediavine Publisher Network
Food Innovation Group: Bon Appetit and Epicurious