The Ultimate Pasta Salad

Once summertime hits, this salad is one of the first recipes I make! It’s perfect for those hot summer days, picnics, days at the lake, to bring to summer BBQs & potlucks, you name it! Not to mention, the ultimate pasta salad is easy to make, full of flavor, and quite affordable too. I find it stays about five days or so in the fridge.

Additionally, you can add whatever you’d like in here! If I’m craving them olives, I’ll throw in black olives with the green olives. Or, if I have extra herbs or veggies in the fridge that I think will pair nicely, those will go in too. It’s fun to experiment and make it your own. What is more, making a big batch, in advance, is the way to go here. Normally, I will do this recipe the day before I need it so it can sit overnight in the fridge. Although, it usually won’t be able to sit that long without someone digging into it, haha! Oftentimes, that someone is me 😉

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Ingredients

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 4-8 hours

Lasts For: About 5 Days

• 1 lb. small seashell pasta*
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup frozen English peas, thawed
• 1 cup shredded (vegan) cheese
• 1 package of either tempeh or tofu, cooked and seasoned as desired, let cool
• 1/2 cup sliced green olives*
• 1 bunch (100g) green onions, chopped
• 1 cup (vegan) mayo*
• 1/2 cup (vegan) sour cream
• 1 1/2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp Frank’s Redhot sauce*
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• Paprika

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Directions

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Rinse under cold water, drain, then set aside.
2. Cook tempeh or tofu as desired, set aside to cool.
3. In a large serving bowl of choice, combine the pasta, corn, peas, cheese, tofu or tempeh, and green olives.
4. In a small separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, hot sauce, ground pepper and green onions together. Stir well.
5. Use about 3/4 of the dressing in the pasta, mix well. For the remainder of the dressing, spread it evenly over top of the pasta to the edges. Sprinkle paprika on top.
6. Cover the pasta salad and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours to overnight. The longer is sits, the better it tastes 😉

Notes

• Penne is another pasta that works well with this recipe.
• If you are an olive lover like me, add more than this amount. I usually do, and sometimes add black olives in addition to the green olives!
• I find Hellman’s mayo to be the best in this recipe, they have a plant-based one too!
• If you don’t have Frank’s Redhot sauce, another cayenne pepper sauce will do.

Servings: 8 / Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 20 minutes / Additional Time: 4-8 hours

Finally, if you make this ultimate pasta salad recipe, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below! What are some of your other favorite summer pasta salads to make?

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