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This cucumber and tomato pasta salad is made with an easy and fresh vinaigrette, and is perfect for any potluck or holiday gathering. Whether you’re planning to go camping, host a BBQ, or are just in the mood for some delicious pasta salad, this is your recipe!
I love this pasta salad recipe because of how simple it is. There are just 6 ingredients in the cucumber tomato pasta salad, then just 5 key ingredients in the homemade vinaigrette.
Ingredients – for the pasta salad
- rotini pasta – any short pasta works, but I find the curly shape is easy and fun to eat with the rest of the salad components
- tomatoes – try to find the best tomatoes you can for this recipe. In the winter, get vine tomatoes or campari tomatoes and let them ripen on your counter until they smell very fragrant. In the summer, use garden tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes
- persian cucumbers – thin skinned cucumbers are the best for this recipe, as they are crisp and crunchy vs sometimes american / english cucumbers can feel tough and watery
- salami – adds a punch of flavor and saltiness I crave when eating a pasta salad. You could use summer sausage instead, or grilled chicken, but salami is easy to yummy. If you’re vegetarian, swap out finely chopped olives for a similar briny, salty flavor boost.
- mozaraella – this adds a creamyness and richness to the salad. I grew up eating pasta salads with chunks of cheddar cheese, but find that cheddar is a bit strong for this combination of ingredients. Use either a whole ball of mozarella and chop / tear it into 1″ pieces, or use small ovalini mozarella and cut each tiny ball in half – they’re so fun!
- dill – I love fresh herbs in my pasta salad, and find dill is balanced and fresh in this recipe. If you’re not a fan of dill, you can use chives, flat leaf parsley, or even fresh basil
Chef Tips
- To make this ahead of time:
- Store the vinaigrette separately from the pasta salad. Dress the salad ideally right before, or up to 1-2 hours before serving.
- You don’t want the salt from the vinaigrette to pull out all the liquid from the cucumbers and tomatoes and make them soggy. However, marinating the flavors together for a 1-2 hours will make everything taste great!
- Chop all the components and toss them with some of the vinaigrette.
- Some people might recommend to toss warm pasta with some of the vinaigrette. This would help emulisfy everything, but I prefer a pasta salad that doesn’t have warm tomatoes and cucumbers, and this tends to happen if you mix the warm pasta with all the other components. You could wait until the pasta cools, but that’s going to take a while if you don’t rinse it under cold water 🙂
Video tutorial:
Cucumber Tomato Pasta Salad
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This cucumber and tomato pasta salad is made with an easy and fresh vinaigrette, and is perfect for any potluck or holiday gathering.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
For the pasta salad:
- 12 ounces of Rotini or short pasta
- 3 Tomatoes, chopped
- 6 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 5 ounces of Salami, chopped
- 6 ounces of Mozzarella, torn
- 1 bunch of dill, about 1/2 cup chopped
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water up to a boil. Once boiling, salt with a big pinch of salt and add the pasta. Cook according to package directions, about 9-11 minutes.
- Prep the salad ingredients – cut the cucumbers into 1/4 moons (in half lengthwise, then in half again lengthwise, then into 1/4″ thick pieces), chop the tomatoes, salami, and dill. Add everything into a large mixing bowl. Tear or chop the mozzarella and add this to the bowl as well.
- Make the vinaigrette by combining all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl or jar. Mix together, then add in the oil. Mix well until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Add 1/3 of the vinaigrette to the veggies, salami, and cheese and toss to combine.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Add the pasta to the veggies and pour in the remaining vinaigrette and chopped herbs. Taste, adjust seasoning as desired, and serve!
Notes
- you can omit the salami to keep this vegetarian, or substitute with olives to add an extra flavor component and punch to the dish
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: salad
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: american
