The main ingredients in pasta salad are a short and sturdy pasta base like rotini or farfalle pasta, which is then tossed with some crisp vegetables, proteins, cheeses and a tangy dressing.
The foundation of pasta salad includes pasta, which is often Rotini, fusilli, farfalle (bow tie), penne or cavatappi pasta.
Then other ingredients of pasta salad include vegetables which include.
Tomatoes, like halved cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes or you can even chop of other regular tomatoes.
Peppers, liked diced bell peppers, which include red, yellow or green bell peppers.
Finely diced red onions or shallots.
And cucumbers, which can be any cucumber you like, although sliced English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers are best for pasta salad.
For briny add-ins for your pasta salad you can add in some sliced black olives, green olives or kalamata.
And peppers like pickled pepperoncini peppers or banana peppers.
You can also add in some artichokes like marinated artichoke hearts if you want or you can leave them out.
For the cheese, cubed mozzarella cheese, fresh mozzarella pearls, cubed cheddar cheese or crumbled feta cheese goes great with pasta salad.
For meats in your pasta salad, sliced hard salami, pepperoni or diced deli ham are great.
And if you want to add some seafood to your pasta salad, canned tuna, cooked shrimp or imitation crab or even regular crab goes great in pasta salad.
For dressings for your pasta salad, vinaigrette, works great and is a healthy Italian dressing that is made of simple ingredients like olive oil, red wine vinegar, regular vinegar, garlic powder and or Italian seasonings.
For creamy dressing for pasta salad, mayonnaise or Greek yogurt that is mixed with some Dijon mustard and a splash of vinegar is great.
And herbs like freshly chopped basil, parsley and mint go great in pasta salad.
You can vary the ingredients in the pasta salad to your liking and taste.