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Home / Mains

Best Ever Easy Pasta Salad

This delicious pasta salad is packed full of bacon, green onions, and cucumber. A quick and delicious idea for lunches, picnics, or barbecues.

Erren Hart

|

last Updated:

06/17/2025
4.80 from 43 votes
Jump to Recipe
Serves: 4
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
A photo of a bowl of pasta salad with curly pasta, chopped bacon and green onions
a promotional pin of a close up of pasta salad with chopped bacon and spring onions.
pasta added to salad vegetables and dressing
pasta salad with bacon ready to eat

a bowl of pasta salad with bacon

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This recipe for simple Pasta Salad makes a quick and delicious lunch or is perfect for preparing ahead for picnics or barbecues.

Why not serve with Moroccan spiced vegetable couscous for the perfect picnic partner?

pasta salad with bacon ready to eat
Pin This Recipe For Later!

Today was my son’s last day of school (finally).  They finish quite late in the UK and I start itching to have my son home with me in mid-June when friends back home start to post on Facebook that school’s out.

They have a family picnic on the last day of school.  It’s a really nice day for the kids and parents alike.  I made a huge batch of this salad for it and it was the only thing that was eaten without a trace of anything left in the container (except my chocolate chip cookies)!

  • Why This Recipe Works
  • Ingredient Notes
  • How To Make Best Ever Easy Pasta Salad
  • Tips & Variations
  • Food Safety For Warmer Weather
  • FAQs
  • Other Great Summer Recipes
  • Rate This Recipe
  • Recipe

Why This Recipe Works

  • The vinegar and mayonnaise are a creamy and tangy base for the pasta.
  • Bacon and cucumbers make for a salty and crunchy texture everyone will love.
  • It’s perfect for making it into a lunch to take to work and eat at your desk.  

Ingredient Notes

a collage of ingredients for pasta salad
  • Pasta: I used curly pasta, but you can use any pasta shape you like.
  • Bacon: Thin sliced bacon is perfect for this because it’s wonderfully crispy when cooked.
  • Cucumber: Seedless work best. I like to cube my cucumber into a pasta salad, but you can shave it in ribbons or slices.
  • Mayonnaise: This recipe calls for full-fat mayonnaise, but you can use light mayonnaise or even sour cream.
  • Vinegar: I have used white, red and balsamic. Please note that balsamic vinegar will change the color of the dressing.
  • Herbs: I use parsley, but others have reported cilantro and basil are both great options.

There is nothing better than a big bowl of delicious pasta salad on a hot day!  This is my favorite recipe, the bacon & green onions, add a different spin on your everyday macaroni salad.

It’s one of my favorite things to make in the summertime because you can eat however much you like, and it’s a very fresh and light meal in the hot weather, especially when you don’t feel like cooking or heating up the kitchen.

Just throw it all into a bowl and mix it up! Super easy, and super delicious!

How To Make Best Ever Easy Pasta Salad

  1. Put cooked pasta in a large bowl.
  2. Add diced cucumber, bacon and green onions.
  3. Mix in mayonnaise, mustard, and balsamic vinegar.
  4. Season to taste.
  5. Serve and enjoy!

Step By Step Instructions

Chop the salad ingredients and place in a large bowl.

pasta salad ingredients chopped in a bowl

Place the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and seasoning in a bowl.

ingredients for salad dressing

Whisk until fully combined.

salad dressing being beaten with a whisk

Pour the mayonnaise mixture into the salad ingredients.

dressing added to the salad ingredients

Mix the mayonnaise dressing into the salad ingredients until fully coated.

pasta added to salad vegetables and dressing

Serve and enjoy!

pasta salad with bacon ready to eat

Tips & Variations

  • Have leftover chicken? Chop it up into cubes and add to make this a main meal.
  • For a lower fat option, use low-fat mayonnaise.
  • Use your favorite salad dressing, there are no hard and fast rules here!
  • Bulk it up with some crumbled feta cheese or mozzarella balls.
  • Spice up your pasta salad with some flaked red pepper.
  • Make the pasta salad ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for a day before to let the flavors soak in.

Food Safety For Warmer Weather

  • To prevent rapidly growing bacteria from forming, Food shouldn’t be unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours or limit the time to one hour if the outdoor temperature is higher than 90° F.

FAQs

Can Pasta Salad be made the day before?

You can make this pasta salad the day before, it tastes even better when it’s left in the fridge to rest.

How long will Pasta Salad last in the fridge?

You can keep your pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Other Great Summer Recipes

  • Chicken & Red Pesto Pasta Salad
  • Quick and Easy Corn & Tuna Pasta Salad
  • Bacon Quinoa Salad with Lemon Dijon Dressing
  • Tomato Avocado salad
  • Strawberry Salad

Rate This Recipe

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a bowl of pasta salad with bacon

Recipe

Best Ever Easy Pasta Salad

This delicious pasta salad is packed full of bacon, green onions, and cucumber. A quick and delicious idea for lunches, picnics, or barbecues.
4.80 from 43 votes
Print
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 20 minutes mins
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 12 strips of bacon (cooked and chopped)
  • 2 cups dried pasta (cooked, cooled, and drained)
  • ½ teaspoon mustard
  • ½ cup mayonnaise ( plus more to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar (white, red or or *balsamic)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
  • Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 3 green onions (sliced into rounds)
  • ½ cup cucumber (chopped)
  • 1 stalk celery (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt & pepper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl combine the bacon, pasta, cucumber, and green onions.
  • Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Store covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.

Tips

*Please note that balsamic vinegar will change the color of the dressing from white to a browner color.
Tips:
  • Be sure not to overcook your pasta to avoid bloating.
  • Make the pasta salad ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for a day before to let the flavors soak in.
Show Nutrition Hide Nutrition

Nutrition

Calories: 583 | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 916mg | Potassium: 245mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 2.2mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.8mg
Created by Erren Hart
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Update Notes: This post was originally published in July of 2014, but was republished with tips, FAQs, and variations in June of 2021.

4.80 from 43 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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75 responses

  1. Carmelita Puno Avatar
    Carmelita Puno
    07/10/2019

    Just by the look of it, I already love it. This will be my 2nd best in the pasta salad family. My first is the Chicken Macaroni salad. Thank you very much…

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      08/01/2019

      Glad I could help Carmelita!

      Reply
  2. Martha Avatar
    Martha
    08/10/2015

    hello thank you but i have a question like we dont have red wine vingar or balsmic vingar should i try just vingar ?

    Reply
  3. CWoods Avatar
    CWoods
    07/25/2015

    This is so good!!! I just made it and had a bit for lunch. I can’t wait until it’s chilled and I have it for dinner.

    Reply
  4. Linda Powell Avatar
    Linda Powell
    05/09/2015

    Awesome! Had an overload of spring onions, so I found this recipe. I didn’t have any cucumber so I substituted with tomato. This recipe will be passed down as a family favorite! Thank you for this great twist on pasta salad! Can’t wait to try it with cucumber! The Balsamic is the bomb! Shared it on Facebook…hope you don’t mind!

    Reply
    1. Erren Avatar
      Erren
      05/12/2015

      Hi Linda, so glad you liked it! 🙂 I don’t mind at all if you share on FB, but I do ask that you link to my site rather than list the recipe. Thanks so much!

      Reply
      1. Linda Powell Avatar
        Linda Powell
        05/12/2015

        Absolutely! Making this again today!

      2. Linda Powell Avatar
        Linda Powell
        07/03/2015

        I have made this at least 5 times now…I just can not get enough!

      3. Erren Avatar
        Erren
        07/06/2015

        Hi Linda, That’s so great to hear! So Happy you are enjoying it! 🙂

  5. Ann Avatar
    Ann
    04/15/2015

    Hi Erren. This looks so good. I can’t wait to make it. Your measurements for pasta, is it 2 cups cooked pasta or 2 cups before it’s cooked? Also your salad looks so creamy but balsamic and red wine vinegars are dark. How do you keep yours so creamy? Did you use regular yellow mustard or brown mustard or a French mustard? So sorry for all of the questions, I just want to make it correctly. Thank you again! Ann

    Reply
    1. Erren Avatar
      Erren
      04/16/2015

      Hi Ann, it’s 2 cups dry pasta before being cooked. For the photos I used red wine vinegar, so the balsamic will give it a brown tone (but it tastes great). I used yellow mustard. I hope you like it!

      Reply
      1. Ann Avatar
        Ann
        04/17/2015

        Hi Erren,

        Thanks so much for responding so quickly! I can’t wait to make it. It looks soooo good! I know I’ll love it. I will let you know how good it is after I make it! :)…Ann

  6. Karen Avatar
    Karen
    04/01/2015

    Did you use a white balsamic vinegar? My salad, though delicious, had a brown tone from using balsamic vinegar.

    Reply
  7. Kristin Avatar
    Kristin
    03/26/2015

    I just wanted to know if you have a mistake in the recipe. Do you really use 12 strips of bacon? I had 5 strips and for the quantity of pasta, it was still quite a bit (and I am a fan of bacon!) However — We loved this pasta salad and I’m so glad I found it on Pinterest!

    Reply
    1. Erren Avatar
      Erren
      03/30/2015

      Hi Kistin, It’s not a mistake. It’s what I use, but it is a matter of taste. I’m so glad you liked it!

      Reply
      1. Linda Powell Avatar
        Linda Powell
        05/09/2015

        I LOVE the bacon!

  8. Sandra Avatar
    Sandra
    12/27/2014

    Hi Erren, I am making this now and wanted to know how your mayo mixture is cream coloured when you have used balsamic vinegar, my mixture is like a coffee latte colour, tastes fine though and what mustard type, I only had french mustard…..

    Reply
  9. Sandra Avatar
    Sandra
    12/26/2014

    I am making this to take to a BBQ tomorrow, nice and simple and looks great. thank you for sharing..

    Reply
    1. Erren Avatar
      Erren
      01/23/2015

      So sorry for the late reply. I haven’t been well for some time and the app on my phone doesn’t allow me to reply to comments. I don’t like posts to go unanswered though so just wanted to say thanks for the feedback and I am so glad you like the recipe. I hope it worked out well for you!

      Reply
  10. Karen Avatar
    Karen
    10/22/2014

    This salad is wonderful After I made it a couple times my son suggested that I add tomato. It is a great addition and I will be doing that every time I make it. As of right now it is a weekly addition to our menu.

    Reply
    1. Erren Avatar
      Erren
      10/24/2014

      Hi Karen, I’m so glad you and your family like it! I’m not that keen on raw tomatoes, but I can see how it would work really well with it. Thanks so much for letting me know!

      Reply
      1. kim Avatar
        kim
        03/11/2015

        Erren,
        Did you use mustard powder or the mustard out of a bottle? I am assuming the latter, but I want to make sure.

        Kim

      2. Erren Avatar
        Erren
        03/11/2015

        Hi Kim,
        Mustard out of the bottle. Hope you like it!

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