Linguine Salad

The beauty of pasta salad is in how simple it can be to put one together while still yielding delicious results. Our linguine salad recipe has just five ingredients and comes together in a quick 20 minutes, including the linguine’s cooking time. Light, cool and refreshing, it’s an ideal pasta salad to bring to a picnic or potluck. If summer was a pasta salad, it would be this pasta salad.

Ingredients for Linguine Salad

• Linguine: This flat, long noodle is fun to eat—especially in a refreshing, cool pasta salad.
• Cucumber: Cut a medium-sized cucumber into quarters, then slice the quartered cucumber. The cucumber slices add a refreshing crunch to the salad.
• Tomatoes: The tomatoes add color and flavor to the dish, as well as nutrients such as folate, potassium and vitamin C.
• Green onions: Thinly sliced green onions add a little bite to the salad.
• Italian dressing: Using store-bought Italian salad dressing saves time when whipping up this recipe, but it can be even more fun to make your own Italian vinaigrette.

Directions 

Step 1: Cook the pasta

ERIC KLEINBERG FOR TASTE OF HOME

Cook the linguine according to the directions on the package.

Step 2: Prepare the veggies

ERIC KLEINBERG FOR TASTE OF HOME

Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine the cucumber, tomatoes and green onions.

Step 3: Mix and chill the salad

ERIC KLEINBERG FOR TASTE OF HOME

Drain the linguine and rinse it in a colander under cold water. Add the linguine to the vegetable mixture, then drizzle it with Italian dressing, tossing to coat the noodles and vegetables. Refrigerate the linguine salad until serving time.

ERIC KLEINBERG FOR TASTE OF HOME

Recipe Variations

• Add chicken: Chunks of cooked chicken breast turn this salad into a full meal. Use meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken to keep things simple.
• Add shrimp: Adding cooked shrimp is an easy way to pack some seafood into your diet. Small pink shrimp, sometimes called salad shrimp, are ideal for this dish.
• Use cherry tomatoes instead: Cut cherry tomatoes or another tasty, small tomato variety in half and use them in place of the larger tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes hold up well in pasta salads. If you’re planning to save some of the salad for later, remove the seeds, as they could make the linguine salad watery.
• Add bell peppers: Diced red or green bell peppers add more crunch and color to the salad, plus nutrients like vitamins A and C. Fun fact: Red bell peppers have more nutritional value because they’ve had more time to ripen.

How to Store Linguine Salad

Store the linguine salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for three to four days.

Can you make linguine salad ahead of time?

Pasta salads are excellent make-ahead dishes, as the flavors come together even more over time. Make it up to a day or two ahead of time for the best results.

Linguine Salad Tips

ERIC KLEINBERG FOR TASTE OF HOME

Could I use a different type of pasta?

Absolutely! The corkscrew shape of rotini adds a playful touch to this pasta-based salad. Small shells or elbow macaroni also work well, as does spaghetti. Check out our guide to pasta shapes for even more ideas.

Could I use a different salad dressing?

Sure! Vinaigrette-style dressings are excellent in pasta salad. Try a sesame ginger dressing for a sesame linguine salad, or even a light citrus vinaigrette.

What else could I add to linguine salad?

The wonderful thing about pasta salads is how easy it is to customize them. For extra deliciousness, add hunks of pepper jack or feta, and some black olives or capers.