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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

Click here to leave a star rating!

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. Tina Dupus Avatar
    Tina Dupus
    12/16/2020

    I added tomatoes, really good

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      12/17/2020

      I’m glad you enjoyed it Tina, adding tomatoes sounds tasty! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Carly Avatar
    Carly
    09/03/2020

    I added lemon and a little sugar and it was fab!

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      09/04/2020

      Sounds lovely! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

      Reply
  3. Pat Avatar
    Pat
    09/08/2019

    Oh I am so making this. It looks absolutely delish!!! We are experiencing the last days of summer. This will go perfect with my barbque’d baby back ribs.

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      09/09/2019

      It does sound like they will go perfectly Pat!

      Reply
  4. Jacquelyn Hastert Avatar
    Jacquelyn Hastert
    08/02/2019

    This is perfect for potlucks, BBQs, and picnics! I love that this can be made ahead for a quick and easy lunch.

    Reply
    1. Erren's Kitchen Avatar
      Erren’s Kitchen
      08/07/2019

      There is nothing like being prepared!

      Reply
  5. Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert Avatar
    Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
    08/02/2019

    This is seriously making me hungry!

    Reply
  6. Sara Welch Avatar
    Sara Welch
    08/01/2019

    What a hearty and flavorful recipe! Served this for dinner and it has quickly become a family favorite recipe!

    Reply
  7. Taylor Avatar
    Taylor
    08/01/2019

    I love the flavors in this pasta salad! So creamy and delicious!

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

      It is one of our favorite recipes, so quick and easy too!

      Reply
  8. Lora Avatar
    Lora
    08/01/2019

    Perfect pasta salad for a summer barbecue…it has such great flavor!!

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

      It really is a hit, Thank you glad you think so Lora!

      Reply
  9. Beth Pierce Avatar
    Beth Pierce
    08/01/2019

    What a flavorful and easy recipe! A restaurant worthy dish, indeed; my family loved it!

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

      That is awesome to hear, Beth!

      Reply
  10. Dorothy Reinhold Avatar
    Dorothy Reinhold
    08/01/2019

    THis is everything a pasta salad should be. I loved the balance of flavors!

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

      I’m glad you enjoyed it, Dorothy.

      Reply
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