Creamy Pasta Salad

Prep Time: 25 minutes     
Cook Time: 10 minutes     
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 7 people

Creamy pasta salad is a delightful and simple dish that you can whip up in just 20 minutes. It features a luscious yogurt-mayo dressing and a colorful mix of fresh and canned veggies. You can look forward to a wonderful blend of textures, colors, and flavors, from the chewy pasta to the crunchy bell peppers and savory olives, all enveloped in our comforting signature dressing. This creamy pasta salad is perfect for a relaxed lunch, meal prep, potlucks, summer get-togethers, and barbecues.

Why you'll love this recipe:

You’ll love this creamy pasta salad recipe because it gracefully combines creamy (dressing), chewy (pasta), and crisp texture (veggies) with sweet (corn and bell pepper), savory (olives), zesty (lemon), and tangy flavors, (pickles and onions). It’s an all-American-inspired mix of flavors.
All while drastically reducing fats and calories and boosting protein. It’s the perfect intersection of luscious creaminess and healthy eating.

Ingredients:

FOR THE PASTA SALAD

• 280 grams pasta fusilli, rotini, elbows, etc.
• 240 grams white beans or 1½ cups cooked white beans / or ½ cup dried white beans. We use cannellini beans.
• 350 grams red bell pepper diced
• 150 grams cucumber diced
• 100 grams corn canned
• 70 grams pitted olives we use Taggiasche or Kalamata olives
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 rib celery chopped
• 60 grams pickles chopped
• 3 tablespoons dill or chives or parsley, finely chopped

FOR THE DRESSING

• 120 grams vegan mayo or regular mayo
• 120 grams fat-free Greek yogurt or non-dairy yogurt
• 30 grams lemon juice or apple cider vinegar + 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional
• 15 grams maple syrup or honey
• 0.75 teaspoon salt or more to taste
• 0.13 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Pasta: Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water as per package instructions.
2. Drain it and rinse it under cold water for 15 seconds so it doesn't overcook.
3. While the pasta cooks, prep dressing and veggies.
4. Dressing: To a small bowl, add vegan mayo, fat-free Greek yogurt, lemon juice, maple syrup, salt, and black pepper.
5. Optionally, add a teaspoon of grated lemon zest.
6. Whisk until combined.
7. Salad: To a large bowl, add the cooked pasta, white beans (drained and rinsed), red bell pepper (diced), cucumber (diced), corn, pitted olives, shallot (finely chopped), rib celery (chopped), pickles (chopped), dill (finely chopped).
8. Mix: Toss well, taste and adjust for mayo, salt, and lemon juice based on your preference.
9. Serve immediately or store in the fridge covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.

Tips & Notes:

• You don’t have to cool the pasta completely, it’s actually better if it’s still a little warm as you add the dressing and the other ingredients. While the pasta cooks, you can prepare the veggies.
• The vegetables should be cut into small bite-size pieces. Avoid large chunks.
• Avoid overcooking or undercooking the pasta.
• We always recommend undercooking the pasta when making warm pasta recipes.
• However, for cold pasta salads, you should cook the pasta as per the package instructions. Avoid undercooking and overcooking. Why?
• The pasta gets stiffer, harder, and chewier as it cools under running cold water, so there’s no need to cook it al dente.
• Taste and adjust for salt: Cold pasta dishes require more salt than warm ones. You must taste and adjust before serving.
• For example, you might need to add more mayonnaise, salt, black pepper, pickles, or lemon juice.
• Rinse, but not for too long.
• Rinsing the pasta under cold running water after draining is essential to prevent the pasta from overcooking.
• However, rinse only for 15 seconds to remove excess heat. You don’t want to cool down the pasta completely, it should still be slightly warm. 
• Dry Italian pasta is best for making pasta salad because it stays al dente.
  You can use most short pasta types. Some shapes that work well are fusilli, rotini, conchiglie, farfalle, penne, ditalini, cavatappi (corkscrew), and elbows.
  In general, noodles with holes and crevices that help the mayo stick to it will work.
  I would avoid larger or longer shapes like rigatoni, spaghetti, linguine, paccheri, tagliatelle, etc. Also, avoid fresh pasta because it won’t keep al dente.
  Use gluten-free pasta to make the recipe gluten-free.
   

SUBSTITUTIONS:

• Pasta: substitute gluten free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free.
• Red bell pepper: substitute yellow, orange, or green bell pepper or cherry tomatoes.
• Cucumber: substitute thinly sliced zucchini.
• Olives: substitute marinated artichoke hearts or sun-dried tomatoes in oil.
• Canned corn: substitute cooked frozen corn, baby corn, or yellow bell pepper.
• Celery: substitute radishes, fennel, or green apple.
• Shallot: substitute red onion or spring onions.
• White beans: we use cannellini beans but any other white bean variety is delicious here. Try lima beans, butter beans, or substitute black beans or chickpeas for white beans.
• Pickles: substitute quick pickled red onions or pickled jalapeños.
• Fresh herbs: dill is incredible here but parsley, chives, basil, and cilantro work well too. You can mix two herbs together if you like.
• Vegan mayo: substitute regular mayo.
• Fat-free Greek yogurt: substitute a thick, unsweetened non-dairy yogurt.
• Maple syrup: substitute honey, agave, or date syrup.
• Lemon juice: substitute apple cider vinegar.

STORAGE:

• Make ahead: This creamy pasta salad is an excellent recipe for meal prep or to bring to potlucks and picnics.
• However, we would not recommend making it more than 36 hours ahead of time because the veggies release water, making your pasta salad soggy.
• Refrigerator: Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. For the best flavor, take them out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
• Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.

Nutrition:

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 serving of creamy pasta salad out of 7.

Calories: 396kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 680mg, Potassium: 530mg, Dietary Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 1738IU, Vitamin B6: 0.3mg, Vitamin C: 69mg, Vitamin E: 2mg, Vitamin K: 9µg, Calcium: 83mg, Folate: 70mg, Iron: 2mg, Manganese: 1mg, Magnesium: 62mg, Zinc: 1mg