A quick and easy to make pasta salad that can be taken to any party or picnic. There is no mayonnaise in this salad which makes this a salad for all seasons.
Pasta Salad Hold The Mayo
I’m fortunate to have one of my lovely daughters live nearby. I’m always learning something new when she shares with me her recipes and tips.
Over the years she has adjusted her cooking style to accommodate her family’s preferences.
She often remakes an old family favorite and very often her recipe remake turns into a keeper. That’s what happened to the summer pasta salads I used to make over the years.
We noticed no one was eating the old, cold pasta salad with broccoli dressed with an Italian dressing that always had too much oregano – oops! oregano may be the reason.
Lovely daughter is a minimalist cook. No fuss, make it quick and not too many ingredients is her style. Her pasta salad is just that, no fuss, quick and easy with a basic vinegar and oil dressing. Whenever she makes it there are no leftovers.
The best part of this dish is you can boil the pasta and cut the tomatoes a day in advance if you are very busy. Then just dress it up when you are ready to serve.
I have no doubt there are many out there who make this easy pasta salad. It’s really a basic and simple dish but I’ll share it for anyone who might be looking for a simple cold pasta salad.
When you dress the pasta just before serving it can stay on the table for quite some time without spoiling. This dish is great as a side dish with weekend BBQ’s or on a buffet table for a special celebration.
PrintPasta Salad – Hold The Mayo
Pasta Salad Hold the May is made with an oil and vinegar dressing. A very versatile salad to serve on any buffet or party. No need to worry about the heat in summer. Keep it over a bowl of ice and out of the sun with no worries.
- Prep Time: 10-15 min.
- Cook Time: 7-10 min.
- Total Time: 1-2 hr. chill time
- Yield: 4-6 servings
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 box rotelli style pasta (or your favorite pasta shape), cooked al dente
- 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or grape tomatoes quartered
- 8 oz. pkg. mozzarella cut into small chunks (optional)
- 1 cup black olives, halved (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro & fresh basil (whichever you prefer, or use all)
- 3-4 TBLS. olive oil
- 2 TBLS. red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the onion and tomatoes and add to a small bowl. Stir in the olive oil and vinegar and toss well to coat the tomatoes and onions. Taste to see if you would like to add more of either vinegar or oil and salt and pepper. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water just before draining.
- Drain pasta and add to a large bowl.
- Stir in the tomato mixture and add the mozzarella chunks, olives if using, parsley/cilantro & basil, and salt & pepper to taste. Stir well to blend. Can be served well chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Make this pasta salad your special of the house by using your favorite ingredients. Add in whatever you and your family will enjoy!
Keywords: pasta salad, no mayo, summer salad, potluck, macaroni salad
We make this cold pasta salad hold the mayo recipe quite often. To change things up we use different types of pasta. As you can see from the photos, we recently often use veggie pasta. This pasta/macaroni is made with assorted vegetables which gives the pasta different colors. The kids like it. They really didn’t question the color of the macaroni and have no idea there are vegetables in the macaroni. I like to add in that teeny tiny ‘pinch of healthy’ whenever I can.
This is the cold pasta salad you will want to take on a picnic. It has no mayo in it. When you need a side dish that will go with almost anything you are grilling this pasta salad is the one to make. Actually, this is the ‘LBD’ of pasta salads, you can take it anywhere in any season. No Mayo, perfect to place on the party buffet with no worries.
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*Recipe and photos updated 2018
Caprese is so good and I love the pasta salad version you have here, it looks like a perfect summer side!
Thank you for stopping by Michaela. This has become a summer favorite.
I love pasta salad options sans mayo, one of my kids is very pick & hates mayo! Pinning 🙂
I don’t like to use mayo in salads if possible especially in summer. This is light and my grandsons love it.
Caprese Style Pasta Salad – Hold The Mayo is a god send I am definitely not always in the mood for mayo! Awesome idea to turn caprese salad to pasta salad! I can not wait to try it.
Thanks so much Heidy.
G’day! Looks delish Joanne! Reminds me of childhood!
Cheers! Joanne
G’day! Joanne, I love foods that bring back memories of childhood. Glad you had a chance to stop by today.
Delicious! I just love the combination of pasta, tomato, mozzarella and herbs. This sounds like the perfect pasta salad 🙂
Thanks Nicole.
We love salads like this because they aren’t laden with mayonnaise and perfect for summertime meals. Sometimes we will make our pasta salad with balsalmic vinegar and I like to use the fresh mozzarella balls. Yummy!
Thanks for commenting Shelby, I like your idea of using balsamic vinegar too, grampy loves it so I’ll give it a try.
I make something similar to this, and it is soooo good. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday.
Oh my. I have just discovered your site! what a treasure trove. You’ve got a new reader now.
Yum! I’d say this one is a keeper. Found you over on Walking on Sunshine’s linky party.
Hi Sarah, Thanks so much for stopping by. We always used the dressing, it’s so easy. But I think everyone was getting tired of the flavor and then they didn’t want to eat cold broccoli. So lovely daughter changed it up based on my son-in-law’s love for tomatoes marinated in oil and vinegar.
It’s a simple dish that you can make your own adding peppers, celery, or whatever your family enjoys.
Thanks for commenting and hope to see you again soon.
Joanne
This looks delicious, and very similar to a pasta dish I make. I typically use lite Italian dressing but I like your idea of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Definitely trying this soon!