OWNSummer Recipes pastaPasta Recipes

5 Not-Your-Typical Pasta Salad Recipes

Every one of these potluck staples gets better as it sits, tastes great at room temperature -- and offers up a little something different.
By Lynn Andriani
The Salad Where Every Forkful Is Perfect
The Jewels Of New York
Pasta shape may be one of the most important aspects of the dish in question, but it's one we often gloss right over when we're just grabbing whatever's in the pantry. This rendition, though, is a terrific example of how pasta shape can make or break a salad. It has you use orecchiette, a pasta the size of a thumbprint that's shaped like a cupped hand and perfect for catching the dish's other components -- lemon zest, garlic, tomatoes, cannellini beans, chopped hazelnuts and torn mint leaves -- so every bite delivers maximum flavor and texture.

Get the recipe: Summer Pasta Salad
A Healthy Salad With A New Kind Of "Pasta"
Paul Sirisalee
No-cook noodles that pack fewer than 20 calories per serving may sound impossible -- until you meet shirataki noodles. These are springy when served al dente and made from Japanese white yams (look for the noodles near the tofu in your grocery store). The strands are very mild tasting, so this recipe has you toss them with a creamy, Southeast Asian-inspired sauce that packs a fiery punch; as well as a verdant mixture of fresh herbs, including basil and cilantro.

Get the recipe: Spicy Peanut Shirataki Noodles
The Goes-With-Anything Grilled Side
Erin Kunkel
If you're cooking dinner outside over the coals, odds are this orzo salad will complement your main course nicely. It includes yellow squash and zucchini (and, if you'd like, cherry tomatoes) that you grill for about eight minutes, until tender. Their subtle smoky taste is a nice pairing for any meat or fish cooked using the same method.

Get the recipe: Grilled Squash and Orzo Salad with Pine Nuts and Mint
A Rich And Creamy Dish Without Mayo
Alison Gootee
Tahini, a Middle Eastern paste made from ground sesame seeds, isn't just for hummus. Having the consistency of smooth peanut butter, tahini blends well with olive oil, soy sauce, honey and garlic; it also makes a savory dressing that can stand up to whole grain pasta, which has a more robust flavor. The other ingredients in this healthy, vibrant salad: cucumber, red bell pepper, yogurt and a squirt of lemon juice.

Get the recipe: Creamy Tahini Pasta Salad
An Asian Classic With A Trick Up Its Sleeve
Alison Gootee
A tangle of angel-hair pasta; thin strips of sweet red bell pepper; half-moons of refreshing cucumber; and, bright green, crisp-tender edamame are reasons enough to love this main-course noodle salad. But what makes it sing is its dressing, which, in addition to the usual soy sauce, sesame oil and Dijon mustard, includes rich, syrupy molasses, an ingredient that adds fantastic flavor and also helps the sauce stick to every ingredient. Finally, a smattering of sliced scallions and sesame seeds on top gives the dish even more color and texture.

Get the recipe: Edamame, Red Pepper and Tofu Sesame Noodles

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Before You Go

3-Ingredient Pasta Dinners Anyone Can Make
The Anytime Pomodoro(01 of05)
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This bright and colorful sauce is delicious with fresh, or canned, plum tomatoes; the one thing we insist upon is making it with fresh basil, since its peppery-sweet, vibrant taste just doesn't come through if you use the dried version of the herb. The other element here is garlic; don't skimp on it, since when you cook it in olive oil it mellows and loses any of its harshness.

Get the recipe: Quick Pomodoro Sauce (credit:Thinkstock/jenniferknowles1)
A Light And Citrusy Meal That'll Fill You Up(02 of05)
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Lemon juice and zest, thinly sliced pancetta and pitted black olives give this spaghetti dish a lovely balance of tart and salty flavors. Any black olive will work, though we find that the fruity taste of kalamata and Gaeta olives nicely complements the flavors of the lemon and ham.

Get the recipe: Spaghetti with Lemon, Olives and Pancetta (credit:Thinkstock/al62)
Creamed Spinach, Reinvented With Carbs(03 of05)
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A bag of fresh spinach has infinite possibilities -- omelet, salad, quiche, side dish -- yet one we don't often think of is tossing it with hot pasta. Its heat (fettuccine is particularly good with this sauce) quickly wilts the nutritious green and the pasta takes beautifully to rich, smooth cream and a smattering of grated Parmesan.

Get the recipe: Creamy Spinach Fettuccine (credit:Thinkstock/alisafarov)
The Fast Track To A Dish That Tastes Like It's Been Cooking For Hours(04 of05)
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Sausage is a flavor bomb on its own; use it to build a pasta dish and you won't need to do much to end up with a perfectly salted, savory meal. Remove the meat from the casing and crumble it into the pan, cook it until it browns then add parboiled broccoli florets (you can also use cauliflower or broccoli rabe). It's great tossed with orecchiette, shells, or any other pasta shaped like a cup that can scoop up bits of meat and vegetable.

Get the recipe: Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli (credit:Thinkstock/marcomayer)
A Use For Sage That Anyone Will Love(05 of05)
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Sage is known for how well it pairs with meat, yet it shines in this vegetarian dish thanks to one very supportive partner: butter. It doesn't take long to make a silky, herbaceous sauce out of the two; and while rich, cheese-filled ravioli is the obvious choice for pasta, any medium-size cut pasta, such as mezze rigatoni, orecchiette or gnocchi are great, too.

Get the recipe: Pasta with Sage-Butter Sauce (credit:Thinkstock/Oliver Hoffmann)
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