Pasta Salad

2 People
15 min

A bowl of hearty homemade pasta salad makes a perfect comfort dish!


Creamy and tangy tomato pasta salad is great as a main or side dish. This Italian-inspired pasta salad with parmesan cheese is perfect for any get-together. Bursting with wonderful flavors, this cheese pasta salad will become your favorite.


The creamy dressing and crunchy vegetables of this pasta salad make it one of the most amazing pasta salad recipes. With this dish, you get part of comforting pasta and a part of healthy salad in a bowl.


This bright and simple pasta salad gets prepared in about 15-20 minutes. So, you don’t have to spend all your time in the kitchen preparing something delicious for your family.


What’s better? Well, you can enjoy this easy delicious pasta salad with a variety of dishes. I like to enjoy my salad with eggplant parmesan, minestrone soup, pork, steak, or chicken. The salad tastes delicious both ways, hot and cold.


You can even prepare the salad ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an airtight container. Scroll down to get one of the best pasta salad recipes so you can prepare it again and again.


Healthy Pasta Salad Recipe

I have never really liked the idea of mixing salad and pasta. That’s because they are totally different dishes. Pasta is the all-time comfort dish I can eat anytime, and salad is a healthy dish.


But I have become a fan since I tried this easy pasta salad. And why not? The flavors are tasty, the recipe is simple, and it perfectly goes with a variety of dishes. Whether you see it as a main or a side dish, you certainly can’t ignore it.


Here’s a secret, it’s not a classic family recipe that I have learned from my mother, and she learned from her mother. It’s just another dish I have seen online and tried immediately. I’m glad I did because there is no other way I would have mixed my pasta and salad.


You can prepare this cheesy pasta salad many times a month without getting bored of its flavors. In fact, you can add different ingredients to the salad to make the flavors interesting. But I like to keep my salad simple. So, I don’t add multiple ingredients.


Scroll down to check the best healthy pasta salad recipe.


Steps to Prepare Parmesan Cheese Pasta Salad:


I have divided the pasta salad recipe into two sections so you can get the flavors right.


Step One:

Start the pasta salad preparation by boiling 1/2 lb pasta in salt water for a couple of minutes on high heat. Reduce the flame and let the pasta boil for 8-10 minutes on a low flame. Make sure the pasta doesn’t get overcooked, as it will lose the flavors. After cooking, stain the pasta and keep it in a separate bowl.


Meanwhile, you can chop some veggies for the dish. Start by taking one small red onion, peeling it, and washing it under running water. Then you need to nicely dice the onion in a small size.


After the onion, you need a cucumber. So, take a cucumber, wash it and cut it in half. Use one half and keep the other half in the fridge. It totally depends on you whether you want to peel the cucumber or use it as it is. Dice and keep aside.


Next, you need 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, properly washed under running water. Many recipes use tomatoes without cutting them. But for my best homemade pasta salad, you must cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Lastly, you need ¼ cup of diced olives.


Step Two:

After you have stained the pasta and taken care of the veggies, you need to mix them


together to make this delicious pasta salad. So, start by taking a large bowl and adding cooked pasta to it.


Then add diced onion, cucumber, and olives. Also, add the halved cherry tomatoes and mix everything together. For the flavor, you can add mustard, salt, pepper, chives, apple cider vinegar, salsa, parmesan cheese, salsa with peppers, and olive oil. Mix everything and serve with any dish of your choice.

Key Notes:

  • If you want more veggies in your pasta salad, boiled corn kernels and green peas are the right choices. Add them to get that extra crunch and punch of deliciousness.
  • If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can also add red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or white vinegar.
  • You can add more herbs than what I have used to make your pasta salad more flavorsome.


Can I eat salad pasta cold?

Yes, you can eat pasta salad cold. In fact, many people like it cold because then the pasta doesn’t stick together. After boiling the pasta, you need to wash it with cold water. Try adding a good amount of dressing, so your cold pasta doesn’t get dry.


What mistakes to avoid when making pasta salad?

If you want to make the best easy pasta salad, you must never overcook the pasta. Similarly, if you season your salad well, it won’t taste as good as you want it to. Try adding dressing when the pasta is still hot. Lastly, never prepare the pasta salad too early.


Equipment


Recipe details
  • 2  People
  • Prep time: 5 Minutes Cook time: 10 Minutes Total time: 15 min
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb cooked pasta
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 1/2 cucumber, diced
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup diced olives
  • 1/4 cup diced parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup salsa with peppers
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons chives, diced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, stir in the cooked pasta, red onion, diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes halved, diced olives, parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and salsa with peppers, mustard, salt and pepper to taste, apple cider vinegar, chives, and olive oil.
Mix until everything is combined and serve to enjoy.
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