Healthy Living

Summer is upon us, and so is pasta salad season. These pasta salad recipes are the perfect addition to any barbecue, potluck or weeknight dinner menu. They’re also the most popular among EatingWell readers, so we’re confident they won’t disappoint. Featuring fresh seasonal ingredients like cucumber, tomatoes and corn, recipes like our High-Protein Pasta Salad or our Cucumber Pasta Salad are sure to become your new summer staples.

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High-Protein Pasta Salad

This high-protein pasta salad is a satisfying dish packed with plant-based protein from chickpea pasta and chickpeas, with an extra boost coming from fresh mozzarella cheese pearls. Tossed with fresh veggies and flavored with zingy za’atar seasoning, this salad is perfect for meal prep, a quick lunch or a satisfying dinner.

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Cucumber Pasta Salad

This light and tangy cucumber pasta salad is fresh and bright. The orecchiette pasta holds the dressing for flavor in every bite, but you can use another small pasta shape if you like. This easy salad is perfect for a warm day or to serve as a lunch dish for company! For a fruitier flavor, try apple-cider vinegar in place of white distilled vinegar.

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Pasta Salad with Black Beans & Avocado Dressing

Everyone will love this pasta salad recipe that's packed with tomatoes, corn and black beans. We lighten up the creamy dressing with avocado for a healthier version of a picnic favorite.

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Easy Tomato & Balsamic Pasta Salad

This easy pasta salad is packed with fresh flavor from tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. It takes just 10 minutes to make and while you could eat it right away, it tastes even better the longer it sits, so plan to leave at least an hour of marinating time before serving. Make a batch to have for lunch this week, serve it alongside a healthy protein source for dinner or bring it to your next potluck.

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Caprese Pasta Salad

This light and fresh Caprese pasta salad is brought together by a bright and tangy dressing, with fresh mozzarella pearls adding creaminess to every bite.

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Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

This scrumptious and healthy salad combines elements of Caesar salad, pasta salad and chicken salad for an easy weeknight dinner that comes together in less than 30 minutes (and most of the prep can be done ahead). Use your blender to whip together the tangy buttermilk-based dressing, which would also be great on a salmon or chickpea salad.

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Broccoli & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

We've loaded this healthy pasta salad with vegetables and bright flavors. Sun-dried tomatoes and a touch of lemon zest jazz up the dressing, while tender-crisp broccoli florets cook alongside the pasta, making assembly (and cleanup!) a breeze.

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Elote-Inspired Pasta Salad

This zesty pasta salad draws inspiration from the flavors of elote—a Mexican recipe with grilled corn on the cob that's smothered in a creamy mayo-based sauce and sprinkled with chili powder, cotija cheese and lime.

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Dill-Pickle Pasta Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing

If you're a fan of pickles, this easy pasta salad will become your go-to. If you want to give it some extra kick, an additional teaspoon or two of hot sauce will do the trick. Pair it with anything hot off the grill or pack it up for a picnic. It can also easily translate from a side dish to an entree by adding a can of flaked tuna or shredded chicken.

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Walnut Pesto Pasta Salad

This cold pesto pasta salad will cool you off on a summer day. Fresh tomatoes and roasted red peppers add a pop of bright color and juiciness here, but any of your favorite pasta-salad veggies—like blanched broccoli and fresh bell peppers—would be delicious too.

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Pesto Pasta Salad

A creamy pesto sauce turns this simple pasta salad into a delightful dinner. Adding broccoli to the pasta cooking water just before the pasta is done is a convenient way to briefly cook it so that it turns a vivid shade of green and softens slightly.

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Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad Bowls

Pasta salad is a classic summer side dish, but adding protein (leftover grilled chicken is perfect here) and extra greens makes it a super-satisfying lunch. We use baby spinach, but arugula or baby kale works too. Top with a bright and tangy basil vinaigrette just before serving. The great news is that these easy meal-prep lunches take just 20 minutes to prepare—that's 4 days of lunches in less than 30 minutes.

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Curried Chicken & Pasta Salad

This crowd-pleasing pasta salad is potluck-perfect for barbecue season.

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Southwest Black-Bean Pasta Salad Bowls

Meal-prep a week's worth of delicious and satisfying high-fiber lunches with just 5 simple ingredients and 20 minutes. In this Southwestern-style pasta salad, we're using pasta made with black beans to bump up the fiber to an impressive 14 grams per serving. Paired with seasoned chicken strips and a flavorful corn salad--shortcut ingredients you can often find at your local specialty grocery store--this meal-prep lunch is one you'll get excited for.

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Shrimp Pasta Salad

This fresh and bright cold shrimp pasta salad features classic shrimp scampi flavors. Lemon and Dijon mustard brighten the dressing, and asparagus adds a nice crunch. Farfalle pasta works well with this dish, but any medium pasta shape will work.

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Artichoke, Chickpea & Mozzarella Pasta Salad

This healthy pasta salad draws inspiration from a traditional antipasto platter. Artichoke hearts and pepperoncini add briny flavor, while fresh mozzarella lends a creamy note. Serve this pasta salad at your next dinner party or backyard get-together.

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