Happy Father’s Day! We hope all the dads out there get to enjoy a relaxing day with delicious comfort food, surrounded by loved ones. We can certainly help with the comfort food part of this Father’s Day equation—with our tips and recipes for refreshing pasta salads.
Why pasta salads on Father’s Day?
First, if you’re grilling your main course today, chances are good that pasta salad will complement whatever meat is cooking up a nice sear on the grill. Second, it’s finally summer! Which means that a cold pasta salad is a sight for summer eyes. And third, you can make pasta salads well before they’re meant to be eaten and save any extra for the next day. It won’t lose its texture and will taste just as good the next day.
So let’s get going!
Easy Pasta Salad Recipes
Follow these easy pasta salad recipes for a nice side dish to add to your Father’s Day table. They’ll pair perfectly with grilled steak, BBQ chicken, or cheeseburgers.
Start with our Dill Pickle Chopped Salad Kit, then add cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, and even more luscious pickles—chopped up and tossed in—for a new classic side dish. If Dad is a pickle fan, this is the pasta salad to serve for the man of the day.
Fresh, cheesy, and smoky thanks to the touch of bacon, this salad can be put together in minutes! For this recipe, you’ll combine al dente cheese tortellini with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and the makings of our Bacon Caesar Chopped Salad Kit. The dressing is a creamy Caesar dressing, making this a pasta salad that will win over the crowd.
Farfalle pasta, canned mandarins, and dried cranberries are the stars of the show with this recipe. You’ll start with the Sunflower Crunch Chopped Salad Kit, with its fresh green leaf lettuce, kale, sunflower seeds, and crumbled bacon, topped with a sweet onion coleslaw dressing. Combine with farfalle noodles and top with sunny mandarin orange segments and cranberries for a truly summery side dish.
Make Your Own: The Elements of a Great Pasta Salad
Looking to make your own signature pasta salad instead? We have the perfect plan below!
Cold, cooked pasta
Small, compact pasta shapes do best in a pasta salad, such as macaroni, rings, shells, rotini, or farfalle (bowties). Cook the pasta several hours before serving (or the night before), douse with olive oil, and set it in the refrigerator to cool. Mix every hour while cooling to distribute the olive oil and the cool temperature!
Chopped, flavorful vegetables
A pasta salad should have lots of flavor and freshness in every bite—and what better source than fresh, chopped veggies? Our favorite vegetables for pasta salad are finely chopped red pepper, halved grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, cucumber, celery, and olives. But one vegetable you absolutely can’t forget: chopped onion! We suggest green onion, red onion, or white onion for that classic pasta salad flavor.
Oil-based or creamy dressing
To bring it all together, you’ll need to add a dressing. Many prefer oil-based options like Italian dressing, lemon herb vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, and Greek dressing. Others go with creamy dressings such as ranch, Caesar, creamy Italian, blue cheese, or avocado dressing, which pair well with heartier ingredients like bacon, cheese, and roasted vegetables. Which do you prefer?
Texture and contrast
This is where people hang their hats. Try a few of these added ingredients to make your own specialty pasta salad recipe:
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Blanched green beans
- Pan-fried (and cooled) Brussels sprouts
- Dried fruits like cranberries or raisins
- Fresh baby spinach or chopped kale
- Cheese, such as shredded cheddar, feta crumbles, mozzarella pearls, or grated parmesan
- Bacon crumbles
- Broccoli florets
- Artichoke hearts
Bonus add-ins
Looking for something to take your pasta salad up a notch? Consider these unexpected add-ins for your next batch!
- Capers are actually pickled peppercorns and provide a burst of potent flavor.
- Red cabbage adds a bit of color and crunch, not to mention fiber and vitamin C!
- Avocado, assuming you can find one that isn’t too soft, will add a delicate flavor and a pleasant texture.
- Chickpeas, whether roasted or from the can, have a mildness that makes pretty much every recipe better.
- Fresh herbs, such as dill, tarragon, cilantro, or parsley
Whatever you choose to add to your pasta salad recipe, have fun with it!