This Creamiest (no MAYO) pasta salad is true without any mayonnaise in it but this doesn’t mean it is not creamy and full of texture.
I first did this salad on my baby girl first birthday 3 YEARS AGO! It was hot, on the pool and I wanted something healthy and refreshing for the kids to eat in hot weather without getting sick from the mayonnaise in traditional salad. And to my surprise the grown up loved it as much as the children did!
They kept refilling and refilling from this delicious pasta salad. And from that day, this easy creamy pasta salad without mayo became my go to whenever I have a big crowd to feed and no energy to think about anything new.
I passed out this recipe for tons of friends and they loved it and I noticed that I never officially shared it to my blog. So today learn how to make your new favorite creamy pasta salad without mayo right here, right now!
Tips for making the best Creamiest (no MAYO) pasta salad:
- Go always for dry pasta for this kind of salad. Avoid the small kind of pasta like macaroni and opt for short texturized pasta like fusilli, penne or farfalle.
- Don’t over cook the pasta! Just boil it to al dente as written on the package in sea salted kid of water.
- Rinse the pasta and add the sauce and other adding right away after rinsing for a maximum absorption: Boil the pasta to al dente as recommended by the manufacturer in nicely salted water. Then drain and rinse, but don’t “shock” the pasta as it tends to water log the pasta and rinse away flavor. Instead, have your pasta salad’s dressing ready to go when the pasta is done and dress the salad soon after rinsing. The pasta will absorb more flavor this way.
Secret to the creamy no mayo sauce:
The sauce base is all about delicious extra virgin olive oil that will replace the mayonnaise and help maintain the creamy texture. And I added some extra delicious stuff to give this sauce a vibrant flavorful color. We are going to coat the pasta with half of the sauce first. This half is going to be absorbed by the pasta and seasons all the vegetables very well.
The second half we will save it for serving so whenever anyone wants to add more sauce to keep it creamy and fresh.
Adding vegetables and other flavors:
- This salad is pretty easy and with very simple ingredients. We are going to add cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onion, capsicum. And I added pineapple to give it that sweet savory delicious twist.
- This salad is pretty straight forward. You just chop your veggies and pineapple. Boil the pasta and mix it with the veggies and then add the sauce to everything and mix. Just make sure to chop all your vegetables and pineapple close to the same size as the pasta. This makes it easier to get a little of all the good stuff in each bite.
- I added some basil and parsley to this salad for more extra herby flavor. I like to add them fresh before serving to avoid turning brown. But you can also add the herb dry if you want to mix it in advance it will hold up better.
how to Make this Creamiest (no MAYO) pasta salad ahead of time:
You can cook the pasta, make the dressing and chop your veggies and pineapple in advance and mix it with half of the sauce and store it in the fridge. Just keep the fresh herbs and the other half of the sauce to add just before serving. It will help prevents the salad from getting soggy and dry and it will help it look pretty and fresh when serving.
make sure you check my other delicious salad recipes especially everyone favorite glazed halloumi, walnuts and kale salad.
Creamiest (no MAYO) pasta salad
Ingredients
- 1 bag (500g) farfalle pasta
- 1 cup cherry tomato cut in half
- 1 cup capsicum diced 3 different colors
- 1 cup cucumber diced
- 1/2 cup red onion cut into thin slices
- 1 Small handful of fresh basil leaves julienned
- 1 Small handful of fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup pineapple diced
Dressing:
- 1 cup olive oil
- ½ cup red grape vinegar
- 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1 small batch fresh parsley 1 cup lightly packed
- 1 Small batch fresh basil 1 cup lightly packed
- 4 clove garlic
- 1 cup pineapple diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- STEP 01: Cook your pasta according to instructions to al dente.(check article for tips on how to cook the perfect pasta)
- STEP 02: Meanwhile wash and cut all your veggies.
- STEP 03: In a blender or small mixer add all the dressing ingredients and blend till you have a smooth sauce. Taste and add more salt, pepper and vinegar to your taste.
- STEP 04: After the pasta is done cooking and while it’s still warm, combine the chopped veggies and pasta in large deep bowl. Pour ½ the sauce over the veggies and pasta in and mix it till everything is coated in the sauce.
- STEP 05: Set the other half of the sauce in a sauce cup to serve and pour your salad into your serving bowl. Drizzle some extra sauce just before serving and enjoy !
Notes
- You can double the sauce if you like your salad creamier and moister texture and serve aside so you can add as needed.
- This salad flavors gets even better the next day. You can cook the pasta, make the dressing and chop your veggies and pineapple in advance and mix it with half of the sauce and store it in the fridge. Just keep the fresh herbs and the other half of the sauce to add just before serving. It will help prevents the salad from getting soggy and dry and it will help it look pretty and fresh when serving.
- You can mix and play with your veggies choice also to whatever you have available, but I found over many trials that this combination work perfectly.
- Because there is no mayo in this salad, you can keep any leftovers for up to 5 days in the fridge. And for any extra sauce you can keep it also separately for a week and use with other salads also.