My love for pasta salads first started when I tasted this Spaghetti Salad many years ago. Who knew cold pasta mixed with fresh veggies and a zesty Italian dressing could taste so good?! This easy spaghetti salad recipe is the perfect side dish to make for lunch, meal prep, cookouts, or any special occasion. I love making it in the spring and summer months when vegetables are super ripe and it’s always a hit at BBQs, holiday parties, and family gatherings. It’s a super simple pasta salad that only includes 8 ingredients and you can make it any time of the year!
This recipe was originally published in May 2021. It has been completely updated and refreshed with new photos and information.
Thank you for the recipe. I use to eat this salad years ago. Lately I was thinking about it. I found your recipe and it is exactly how I remembered it. It was a hit at the potluck!
Debbie
What Goes In Spaghetti Salad?
This is one of the easiest and tastiest pasta salad recipes that I’ve ever had. The ingredients are so simple and super fresh! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Pasta: This recipe traditionally uses spaghetti pasta, hence the name Spaghetti Salad. But you can easily swap this out for any pasta shape that you have on hand. Rotini pasta is another one of my favorites!
- Bell Peppers: You’ll want two bell peppers for this recipe. I like using a combination of green and red bell peppers, but you can certainly use yellow or orange if you like.
- Cucumber: I love using english cucumbers in my pasta salads, but a regular cucumber will work as well.
- Tomatoes - You can use any tomatoes you want. I like using large vine-ripe tomatoes that have been diced small, because they blend in easily with the rest of the veggies and the juices add extra flavor to the salad.
- Red Onion: Red onions are perfect for pasta salads because they are milder and slightly sweeter than yellow onions. You’ll only use half of a small red onion in this recipe.
- McCormick Salad Seasoning: This may be considered the star of the show. It’s what gives this pasta salad a TON of flavor. You’ll need roughly 4 tablespoons of McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning mix.
- Italian dressing - It wouldn’t be a pasta salad without a dressing. You can either make your own Italian dressing or you can buy a bottle of your favorite dressing from the store. I like using Wishbone or Kraft’s Zesty Italian dressing.
Let’s Make This Pasta Salad!
Here's a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this simple spaghetti pasta salad.
Step One: Start by cooking the spaghetti pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse briefly with cool water to cool off the pasta.
Step Two: While the pasta is cooking, chop and prepare the veggies.
Step Three: Transfer the drained pasta to a large bowl. Add the chopped veggies to the bowl along with the salad seasoning and dressing.
Step Four: Toss the pasta salad ingredients together until everything is evenly mixed and coated. Refrigerate for 4-8 hours so the flavors can marinate.
What Else Can I Add?
Pasta salads are so easy to customize to your own liking. You can add olives, cubed ham or salami, crumbled or cubed cheese, and even fresh herbs. This version is simple, super tasty, and the way I remember my family making it for many years. But feel free to mix and match with your favorite ingredients.😊
Spaghetti Salad Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 12 oz. spaghetti pasta* see note below
- 1 large green bell pepper
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 2 large vine-ripe tomatoes
- 1 english cucumber
- ½ small red onion
- 4 Tablespoons McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning
- 15-16 oz. bottled Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti pasta according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water to cool off the pasta. Drain again and set the pasta to the side.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the veggies. Wash the bell peppers, tomatoes and cucumber. Then chop both of the bell peppers, dice the tomatoes, slice the cucumber into fours, and dice half of a small red onion. If your onion is a bit large, only use â…“ of the onion.
- Transfer the drained pasta to a large bowl. Add the chopped veggies to the bowl along with the salad seasoning.
- Now pour the dressing over the pasta salad. Toss the salad ingredients together until everything is mixed well and evenly coated with the seasoning and dressing.
- Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4-8 hours so all of the flavors can marinate together. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use anywhere between 12 oz. and 1 lb. of spaghetti pasta for this recipe. Over the years I've noticed that 12 oz. seems to work really well, but if you want to use the entire 16 oz. box, that works too!Â
- You can also use any dry pasta of your choice. Rotini pasta also works well! If you choose to use a different pasta, use the full 16 oz./1 lb. box of pasta.
- Be sure to cover the pasta salad and refrigerate it overnight or for at least 4-8 hours so the flavors can marinate together. Trust me, it tastes way better once it has been refrigerated for several hours.
- Leftovers: Keep leftovers refrigerated and enjoy for up to 4 days.
- Nutrition information does not include the salad seasoning mix.
Nutrition
Margaret Crocker says
Margaret Crocker
rwwmmcrocker76@gmail.com
I apologize for not leaving my email address with comment I previously posted.
Margaret Crocker says
I used to make this spaghetti salad to take to pot lucks. I haven’t made it in years and now I am not able to find salad supreme with the green lid. Is what is on grocery shelves the same as that with the green lid? Thank you for your help!
Margaret Crocker
Marsha McDougal says
Hi Margaret, the one shown in my ingredient photo is the same salad supreme mix that we've used for years. They may have just changed the lid color.
Debbie says
Thank you for the recipe. I use to eat this salad years ago. Lately I was thinking about it. I found your recipe and it is exactly how I remembered it. It was a hit at the potluck.
Marsha McDougal says
Hi Debbie! You're so welcome. This has always been my favorite pasta salad. I'm glad it was a hit!😊
Debbie says
Wow, I forgot all about this recipe using Salad Supreme seasoning - it was all the buzz in the late 80's / early 90's and everyone was signing up to bring this for potluck. Thank you for bringing this back!
Marsha McDougal says
Yes! I remember my family making this all the time when I was growing up. It's a classic 🙂
Dionne Minner says
Thank you for the recipe! I cooked a 1lb box of spaghetti for another recipe and set some spaghetti aside to use make a small bowl of spaghetti salad using your recipe! (modifying the recipe amount of course) 🙂
Sharon says
I made this, this evening for my class reunion picnic tomorrow. Tastes delicious but will taste better tomorrow when it's colder. It's been a long time since l made it.
Thank you.
Marsha McDougal says
You're welcome. And yes it definitely tastes a lot better after it sits in the refrigerator overnight. I hope everyone loves it!
Jacqueline Smith says
I want to make this salad for my senior picnic tomorrow. How much will this recipe yield without changing the amount of ingredients?
Marsha McDougal says
It yields 10 very generous servings or it can easily feed 15-20 people if you're serving it with several other side dishes.