8 Pasta Salad Recipes for Your Next Cookout

There’s a moment at every cookout — right around the time the grill starts smoking and the cold drinks come out — when someone sets a big bowl of pasta salad on the table and the whole crowd gravitates toward it. Pasta salad has that magnetic quality. It’s cold, filling, and packed with enough flavor to hold its own against whatever’s coming off the grill.

The thing is, pasta salad can go so many different directions. Italian, Mediterranean, creamy, briny, herbaceous, meaty — the structure is always the same (pasta, vegetables, dressing, something salty and bold), but the variations are practically endless. And that’s exactly what makes it such a reliable crowd-pleaser: you can dial it into exactly the vibe of your cookout without needing any special equipment or culinary training.

What separates a genuinely good pasta salad from a forgettable one usually comes down to three things: the right pasta shape (short, ridged, and sturdy enough to hold dressing in its crevices), vegetables that are fresh and chopped at the right size, and a dressing with enough acid and seasoning to punch through after the pasta absorbs some of it overnight. Get those three things right, and you’ll have a bowl that’s empty before the burgers are even done.

The eight recipes below span the full range — from a five-minute-dressing weeknight classic to a bold Mediterranean showstopper that’s won real potluck competitions — so no matter what you’re bringing to the table, there’s something here that fits.

1. Classic Italian Pasta Salad with Zesty Dressing

This is the one that shows up at every family reunion, every church potluck, every Fourth of July picnic — and there’s a reason for that. The combination of rotini pasta, crisp colorful vegetables, salty feta, and a tart Italian dressing is borderline perfect in its simplicity. It’s the baseline against which every other pasta salad gets judged.

The key to making this one actually great (rather than just decent) is letting it sit for at least four hours before serving. The pasta absorbs the dressing, the vegetables release a little of their moisture, and the whole thing melds into something far more flavorful than it tastes 10 minutes after tossing.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. rotini pasta
• 1 English cucumber, sliced into half moons
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 10 oz. grape tomatoes, halved
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 16 oz. bottled zesty Italian dressing
• ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

How to Make It

1. Cook rotini according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse briefly with cold water to cool completely.
2. While the pasta cooks, chop and prep all vegetables. Halve the tomatoes, slice the cucumber, dice the peppers, and thinly slice the red onion.
3. Transfer cooled pasta to a large bowl. Add all vegetables, parsley, and feta.
4. Pour the Italian dressing over the top and toss until everything is evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is better). Stir before serving and add a splash more dressing if the salad looks dry.

Yield: Serves 10 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 8 minutes | Total Time: 18 minutes active + 4 hours chilling

Pro tip: Reserve about ¼ cup of dressing to add right before serving. Pasta absorbs dressing as it chills, and that final toss brings the whole bowl back to life.

2. Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Homemade Red Wine Vinegar Dressing

Skip the bottled dressing on this one — it takes five extra minutes to make the homemade version and the payoff is enormous. A red wine vinegar and herb dressing with Dijon mustard and fresh garlic has a brightness and depth that no bottle can replicate. Pair that with heirloom cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, salty capers, and crumbled feta, and you’ve got a pasta salad that tastes like it came from a restaurant rather than a backyard picnic table.

Several home cooks who’ve made this version have reported taking first place in potluck contests with this exact recipe. The capers are the sleeper ingredient — they add a briny, punchy bite that most pasta salads desperately need.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1 lb. farfalle or rotini pasta
• 1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup diced cucumbers
• ⅔ cup sliced red onion
• ¼ cup pickled capers
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

For the Homemade Dressing:

• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2½ tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2½ tsp minced garlic
• 1½ tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp fresh minced oregano
• 2 tsp fresh minced parsley
• Salt and black pepper to taste

How to Make It

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until just al dente, then drain and toss with a light drizzle of olive oil. Set aside to cool.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients except the olive oil. Slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking constantly until fully emulsified.
3. Chop tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion. Add to a large bowl along with the capers.
4. Add the cooled pasta and crumbled feta to the bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to combine.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to 2 days. Toss with extra dressing before serving if the salad has absorbed most of the liquid.

Yield: Serves 8–10 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes active + 4 hours chilling

Worth knowing: Make a double batch of the dressing if you’re prepping this more than a few hours ahead. The pasta soaks up a surprising amount, and having extra on hand means your salad will taste freshly dressed at the party, not dried out.

3. BLT Pasta Salad with Creamy Ranch Dressing

Everything you love about a BLT sandwich — crispy bacon, ripe juicy tomatoes, cool lettuce — shows up here in cold pasta salad form. The creamy ranch-style dressing ties it all together and gives it that satisfying richness that the Italian-dressing versions don’t have. This one tends to disappear faster than any other bowl on the table, partly because it’s familiar and partly because bacon makes everything better.

The trick with this salad is adding the lettuce right before serving. If you toss it in hours ahead, it wilts into sad, soggy ribbons. Everything else can be prepped in advance — just fold the lettuce in at the last minute.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. bowtie or rotini pasta
• 1 lb. bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce (added right before serving)
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

For the Creamy Dressing:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 packet (1 oz.) dry ranch seasoning mix
• 2 tbsp fresh dill or chives, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It

1. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and allow to cool completely.
2. Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, white wine vinegar, ranch seasoning, and fresh herbs until smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, crumbled bacon, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and cheddar. Pour dressing over the top and toss until everything is evenly coated.
4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours before serving.
5. Just before serving, fold in the chopped romaine lettuce. Give one final toss and serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 10–12 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes active + 30 minutes chilling

Pro tip: Chop the bacon into smaller pieces rather than large chunks — you want a little bacon in every single bite, not just a few lucky forkfuls.

4. Italian Antipasto Pasta Salad with Salami and Mozzarella

This is the pasta salad for people who are tired of pasta salad. It borrows everything from a proper Italian antipasto spread — spicy salami, fresh mozzarella balls, briny kalamata olives, tangy pepperoncini — and tosses it all together with rotini and a quick homemade Italian vinaigrette. It’s substantial enough to work as a main dish and bold enough to hold its own at any gathering.

The pepperoncini deserve a specific callout: they’re the ingredient most people overlook, and they’re the one that makes people say “what’s in this?” when they taste it. Don’t skip them. And if you’re making the dressing from scratch, add a small splash of the pepperoncini brine directly into the vinaigrette — it amps up the tanginess in a way that’s hard to put your finger on but impossible to ignore.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1 lb. rotini pasta
• 8 oz. salami, cut into cubes or thin strips
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine or bocconcini), halved
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 1 cup sliced pepperoncini
• ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
• ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

For the Dressing:

• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried basil
• Black pepper to taste

How to Make It

1. Blend all dressing ingredients in a small blender or food processor until fully combined, about 30 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta in well-salted water (1 tbsp kosher salt per 4 quarts of water — this flavors the pasta itself, not just the dressing). Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
3. Add pasta, salami, mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, and red onion to a large bowl.
4. Pour the dressing over the top and toss until everything is coated. Top with fresh parsley.
5. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. If making more than 1 hour ahead, double the dressing batch and reserve half to toss in right before serving.

Yield: Serves 10+ | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes active

Worth knowing: Dry Italian salami (like Columbus brand) gives a slightly different flavor than Genoa — the Genoa is softer and a little milder, while dry Italian salami has more of a firm, snappy bite. Both work beautifully, so use what your local store carries.

5. Fresh Herb and Chickpea Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This is the pasta salad for the vegetarians at your cookout — except it’s so good that the meat-eaters won’t feel like they’re making any kind of compromise. Fusilli or farfalle gets tossed with chickpeas (which add protein and a satisfying chew), peppery arugula, cherry tomatoes, crisp Persian cucumbers, crumbled feta, and a generous handful of fresh herbs: parsley, basil, and mint. The mint sounds unusual. Make it anyway.

The dressing is a bright lemon-olive oil vinaigrette with Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. It’s got a assertive, punchy flavor straight out of the bowl — but it mellows significantly once it coats all the pasta and vegetables, so don’t be alarmed when you first taste it off the spoon.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 3 cups uncooked fusilli pasta
• 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 heaping cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups arugula
• 1 cup Persian cucumbers, sliced into thin half moons
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• ½ cup fresh parsley, minced
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• ¼ cup toasted pine nuts

For the Lemon Vinaigrette:

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pasta
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence or dried Italian seasoning
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• ¾ tsp sea salt

How to Make It

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fusilli slightly past al dente (the higher end of the package’s suggested time range) — cold pasta salad needs slightly softer pasta so it doesn’t turn rubbery after chilling.
2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl. The dressing will taste sharp at this stage; that’s expected.
3. Drain pasta and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent clumping. Allow to cool completely at room temperature.
4. Transfer pasta to a large bowl. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, arugula, cucumbers, feta, herbs, and pine nuts.
5. Pour dressing over the top and toss gently to coat. Season with additional lemon juice, salt, pepper, or a drizzle of olive oil to taste.
6. If making ahead, hold back half the herbs and all of the pine nuts. Add them right before serving so the herbs stay vibrant and the pine nuts keep their crunch.

Yield: Serves 6 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes

Pro tip: Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, until they’re golden and fragrant. Raw pine nuts taste flat by comparison — the toasting takes 3 minutes and makes a noticeable difference.

6. Greek Pasta Salad with Feta, Olives, and Oregano Vinaigrette

Greek salad and pasta salad were always going to end up together. This version takes the classic Greek combination — cucumber, tomato, red onion, kalamata olives, and feta — and anchors it with al dente pasta and a simple oregano-forward red wine vinegar dressing. It’s clean, bright, and satisfying without being heavy.

The one move that elevates this from good to genuinely craveable is soaking the red onion first. Slice the onion thinly, then submerge the slices in cold water for 10–15 minutes before adding them to the salad. This pulls out the harsh, sharp bite while keeping the flavor and color, so you get that savory onion presence without any of the eye-watering heat.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1 lb. penne or rotini pasta
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 English cucumber, quartered and chopped
• ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced and soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, then drained
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves (or 1 tsp dried)

For the Oregano Vinaigrette:

• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• ½ tsp salt and cracked black pepper

How to Make It

1. Cook pasta to al dente in well-salted water. Drain and rinse under cold water. Toss with a splash of olive oil and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning — the dressing should taste slightly salty and bright.
3. Drain the soaked red onion slices and pat dry.
4. Combine pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, bell pepper, red onion, and feta in a large bowl.
5. Pour the dressing over the top and toss thoroughly. Scatter fresh oregano leaves on top.
6. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Toss again before plating and crumble a little extra feta on top if you’re feeling generous.

Yield: Serves 8–10 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes active + 1 hour chilling

Worth knowing: Adding a small splash of feta brine directly to the dressing adds an extra layer of savory, tangy depth that you can’t quite identify but absolutely notice. If your feta comes in a container with brine, use about 1 tablespoon of it.

7. Caprese Pasta Salad with Fresh Basil and White Wine Vinaigrette

Caprese salad — sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, salt — is already perfect. This version just adds pasta to make it more substantial and adds a simple white wine vinaigrette to give it enough punch to work as a true side dish rather than a delicate appetizer. The result is something that looks stunning on a table and tastes exactly as good as it looks.

Use the ripest, most flavorful tomatoes you can find. The three-ingredient caprese combination only has so many places to hide, and watery, pale tomatoes will drag the whole salad down. Cherry tomatoes or small heirloom varieties tend to be more consistently flavorful and are the better choice here.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) or penne pasta
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes or small heirloom tomatoes, halved
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine), halved (or one large ball, torn into pieces)
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
• 3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

For the White Wine Vinaigrette:

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp dried Italian seasoning
• Salt and black pepper to taste

How to Make It

1. Cook pasta to al dente in heavily salted water. Drain well and rinse under cold water until the pasta feels cool to the touch. Toss with a little olive oil.
2. Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients until the dressing is fully emulsified and slightly thickened. It should taste bright and lightly sweet.
3. Combine cooled pasta, halved tomatoes, mozzarella, parsley, and minced garlic in a large bowl.
4. Pour the vinaigrette over the top and toss gently — fresh mozzarella tears easily, so fold rather than stir aggressively.
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Right before serving, scatter the torn fresh basil on top (don’t mix it in ahead of time — it turns dark and loses its brightness quickly).
6. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil before setting it on the table.

Yield: Serves 8 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes active + 30 minutes chilling

Pro tip: If you want to make this more of a complete meal, add a cup of drained white cannellini beans. They blend almost invisibly into the salad but add substantial protein and a creamy texture that works beautifully against the fresh mozzarella.

8. Spicy Salami and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad

This one leans into bold, punchy flavors — spicy dry salami, smoky roasted red peppers, sharp Parmesan, briny green olives, and a garlicky Italian herb dressing. It’s the most assertive pasta salad on this list, and that’s exactly the point. Mild pasta salads are fine. Memorable pasta salads have a little heat, a little brine, and ingredients that taste like someone actually made decisions instead of just grabbing whatever was in the fridge.

The roasted red peppers (jarred works just fine — this isn’t the moment to fuss over fire-roasting your own) add a sweetness and smokiness that anchors the heat from the salami and balances the acidity of the dressing. The whole thing is deeply satisfying in a way that lighter, more herbaceous pasta salads aren’t.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1 lb. penne or cavatappi pasta
• 8 oz. spicy dry salami, diced
• 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
• ½ cup pitted green olives, sliced
• ½ cup sliced pepperoncini
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

For the Dressing:

• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning (or 2 tbsp McCormick Salad Seasoning for extra depth)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¾ tsp kosher salt and black pepper to taste

How to Make It

1. Cook penne or cavatappi in well-salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and toss with a small drizzle of olive oil. Allow to cool fully.
2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until fully combined. The dressing should have a strong flavor — it’ll mellow considerably once tossed with the pasta and toppings.
3. Slice the roasted red peppers into strips. Dice the salami into bite-sized cubes (roughly ½-inch pieces). Thinly slice the red onion.
4. Combine cooled pasta, salami, roasted red peppers, olives, pepperoncini, and red onion in a large bowl. Add the grated Parmesan and fresh parsley.
5. Pour the dressing over everything and toss until evenly coated. Taste and adjust — you may want a pinch more salt, another splash of vinegar, or an extra pinch of red pepper flakes.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Toss again before serving and top with extra Parmesan.

Yield: Serves 10–12 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes active + 2 hours chilling

Worth knowing: This salad holds up particularly well at outdoor gatherings because there’s no dairy in the dressing (the Parmesan is worked into the salad rather than sitting in a mayo base), which means it’s a safer choice for warm weather tables where food sits out for a while.

Choosing the Right Pasta Shape for Every Style

Pasta shape matters more than most people think, and it’s worth a quick note before you start shopping. Short, ridged, or spiraled pasta shapes are the correct choice for every pasta salad on this list. The reason is purely mechanical: ridged and twisted shapes (rotini, cavatappi, penne rigate, farfalle) have surface texture and hollow spaces that trap dressing. Every bite is fully coated and flavorful.

Smooth, long pasta (spaghetti, linguine, angel hair) loses the dressing to the bottom of the bowl. You end up with wet pasta sitting in a puddle of dressing rather than pasta coated in dressing — a meaningful difference in both texture and taste. Rotini is probably the single most reliable choice across all eight recipes above, but farfalle, penne, and fusilli are all excellent alternatives.

One more note: cook the pasta 1–2 minutes longer than the package’s al dente recommendation when making cold pasta salad. Pasta firms up and contracts as it chills, and pasta cooked to a standard al dente will feel undercooked and slightly rubbery by the time it’s served cold. Slightly softer than al dente, but still with a gentle bite — that’s the target.

How Far Ahead to Make Each Pasta Salad

Every recipe on this list gets better with time, not worse. The dressing works into the pasta, the flavors blend together, and the whole thing develops a depth that’s impossible to achieve the moment you’ve finished tossing it.

The general guideline across all eight recipes:

• Minimum chilling time: 30 minutes for the more acid-forward vinaigrette salads; 4 hours for the heavier, dressing-saturated versions
• Ideal make-ahead window: 12–24 hours in advance — long enough to develop flavor, not so long that the pasta turns mushy or the vegetables lose their texture
• Maximum fridge life: 3–5 days in an airtight container, depending on the ingredients (salads with fresh greens like arugula or romaine are best within 2 days; the heartier Italian and antipasto versions hold for up to 5 days)

The one thing that will save you every time: make extra dressing. Pasta absorbs liquid as it sits, and a salad that looked perfectly dressed at 2pm might look dry and clumped by 6pm. Double the dressing batch, store the extra separately in the fridge, and add it just before serving. Your salad will look and taste freshly made even if you prepped it the night before.

What to Serve Alongside These Pasta Salads

None of these salads are wallflowers — they hold their own on the table. But they also pair naturally with specific mains depending on the flavor profile.

• The Classic Italian and BLT versions play well with burgers and hot dogs — familiar flavors that complement without competing
• The Mediterranean and Greek salads are a natural match for grilled lamb chops, chicken kebabs, or anything with lemon and herbs
• The Caprese version belongs next to grilled Italian sausages or a simple grilled chicken breast
• The Antipasto and Spicy Salami salads are filling enough to anchor a spread of charcuterie, crusty bread, and olives without needing a hot main at all

Cold drinks, warm weather, and a cold bowl of pasta salad. There’s really no combination that needs more improvement than that.

Final Thoughts

The best cookout pasta salad is almost always the one that someone made the night before, let rest overnight, and topped with a fresh splash of dressing before setting it on the table. That overnight chill is where the magic happens — the dressing stops tasting like dressing and starts tasting like the salad itself.

Pick one recipe that matches the flavor direction of your menu, double the dressing batch, and trust the process. Whether you go classic Italian, bold and briny antipasto, or fresh and herbaceous with chickpeas and mint, you’re showing up to the party with something people will actually remember. That’s the whole point.