15 Really Good, ‘Go Back for Seconds’ Pasta Salads

They keep well, welcome all sorts of modifications and, most important, are super delicious.

Hot take: The best pasta salads are, simply put, really good salads that happen to have pasta in them. Take away the pasta and the dish still works, with lots of textures and flavors to keep things interesting and delicious. The pasta isn’t the star, but rather a strong supporting player, there to enhance the entire production by adding sustenance and carby comfort.

These 15 (mostly vegetarian) pasta salads are ready to accompany your favorite protein or potluck main, but they’re also excellent on their own, making for particularly good meal prep. Pick a salad, make a big batch, stash it in the fridge and help yourself to happy bowlfuls throughout the week. Repeat all summer.

1. Orzo Salad With Lentils and Zucchini

Ready in: 40 minutes

Thinly sliced raw zucchini, snappy and sweet, meets nubby lentils and orzo, pickled pepperoncini and loads of chopped herbs in this easy Ali Slagle number. As it sits in the fridge, the zucchini softens slightly in the lemon vinaigrette, which is a very good thing.

Recipe: Orzo Salad With Lentils and Zucchini

2. Extra-Green Pasta Salad

Ready in: 30 minutes

Or: Here’s how to turn baby spinach, basil, miso, lemon and garlic into a velvety green sauce that you’ll want to use on everything, as evidenced by the many reader notes that detail all sorts of vegetable swaps. This is an Andy Baraghani recipe, so you know it’s elegant and doable.

Recipe: Extra-Green Pasta Salad

3. Kale Caesar Pasta Salad

Ready in: 45 minutes, plus at least 4 hours’ chilling

Take away the pasta in this Dan Pelosi recipe and what do you have? An excellent kale Caesar salad. But you really should keep the pasta — it loves that garlicky, anchovy-rich dressing just as much as those sturdy greens do.

Recipe: Kale Caesar Pasta Salad

4. Corn and Miso Pasta Salad

Ready in: 50 minutes

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve made this craveable, sweet-salty-spicy salad from Ham El-Waylly. I like to play with the spicy element (finely chopped Calabrian chiles one time, sambal oelek the next) and the crunchy vegetable (chopped radishes for the celery work very well). Add a drained can of tuna for a bit of protein.

Recipe: Corn and Miso Pasta Salad

5. Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad

Ready in: 35 minutes

You don’t need to be vegan to appreciate this emerald-green number: Anyone who likes sweet, fresh basil, punchy lemon and capers and buttery, earthy nuts will be pleased. Use this crowd-pleasing Ali Slagle pesto to dress anything else you like, such as blanched green beans or grain bowls.

Recipe: Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad

6. Orecchiette Salad With Halloumi Croutons

Ready in: 45 minutes

Halloumi croutons! Yes, the juicy tomatoes and cucumbers are nice, as are the fresh herbs and tangy vinaigrette, but let’s not kid ourselves. We come to this Yossy Arefi recipe for those crispy, squeaky, salty seared cubes of cheese.

Recipe: Orecchiette Salad With Halloumi Croutons

7. Cold Noodle Salad With Spicy Peanut Sauce

Ready in: 20 minutes

I’ll let Peter, a reader, tell you about this Hetty Lui McKinnon winner: “I’ve made a lot of recipes from NYT Cooking, and this was perhaps the best. Very fungible with ingredients. If it’s fresh and crunchy, it’ll work here.”

Recipe: Cold Noodle Salad With Spicy Peanut Sauce

8. Tuna-Macaroni Salad

Ready in: 15 minutes, plus 3 hours’ chilling

A classic macaroni salad is a summer nonnegotiable, and Millie Peartree understands this. Her mix of mayonnaise, sweet relish, mustard and onion powder creates the perfect savory sauce for little noodles and chopped celery and onion. Tuna and smashed hard-boiled eggs add protein heft. For the utmost “creamy unctuousness,” be sure to serve this very chilled.

Recipe: Tuna-Macaroni Salad

9. Dan Dan Noodle Salad

Ready in: 25 minutes

Make this five-star stunner from Hetty Lui McKinnon in the summer, when that spicy, soy-sesame dressing will play really nicely with sweet corn and crisp baby bok choy. Then make it again in colder weather with mushrooms, broccoli or cauliflower, because every season is dan dan noodle salad season.

Recipe: Dan Dan Noodle Salad

10. Tortellini Pasta Salad

Ready in: 20 minutes

This Ali Slagle dish answers the question, “What if my Italian sub sandwich were a pasta salad?” Tortellini contributes the carb and cheese factors, and the rest of the crew is here, too: salami, roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar, red onion and arugula. Of course, you could always use plain pasta or cooked grains instead of the tortellini if you would like, or add more vegetables or briny things like capers or olives.

Recipe: Tortellini Pasta Salad

11. Pasta e Ceci Salad

Ready in: 25 minutes

Hetty Lui McKinnon shows up a lot in this list, which is to be expected: She really knows her way around salads. Here, she turns pasta e ceci, the classic Roman dish, into a bright kale salad, with a handful of toasted slivered almonds for crunch. To make the dish vegan, swap out the Parmesan for nutritional yeast.

Recipe: Pasta e Ceci Salad

12. Herby Pearl Couscous and Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Ready in: 30 minutes

Tabbouleh is the inspiration for this bubbly Hetty Lui McKinnon salad. And I do mean bubbly — the way the bouncy pearl couscous plays off the crisp sugar snap peas and tender herbs is so pleasing. This is best served at room temperature, making it an easy, breezy side to bring to your next gathering.

Recipe: Herby Pearl Couscous and Sugar Snap Pea Salad

13. Pasta Salad

Ready in: 30 minutes

Melissa Clark takes favorite finger foods — balls of mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, cucumber coins, Kalamata olives — and tosses them with pasta and an oregano red-wine vinaigrette that’ll remind you of the kind you might find at your favorite red-sauce joint. A slam dunk.

Recipe: Pasta Salad

14. Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad

Ready in: 50 minutes

Remember this Kay Chun recipe when you have 1) a lot of zucchini, 2) a craving for something tahini-creamy and 3) a need for a dish you can make ahead of time. Golden raisins add surprising pops of sweetness; sunflower seeds contribute crunch.

Recipe: Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad

15. Citrusy Couscous Salad With Broccoli and Feta

Ready in: 20 minutes

And here’s a delightful Yasmin Fahr dish with lots of verve from orange, lime and rings of Fresno chiles or jalapeños. Leave out the feta, and you have a crowd-pleasing salad that’s great hot, cold or at room temperature.

Recipe: Citrusy Couscous Salad With Broccoli and Feta

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