This Cucumber Pasta Salad is a light and refreshing take on classic pasta salad. Made with just a few simple ingredients, you can whip this recipe up in no time for a quick dinner side dish or a new picnic/party favorite.
Cucumber Pasta Salad
This Cucumber Pasta Salad is another one of those recipes I’ve been wanting to share on the blog for years. This is a recipe I got from my dad’s wife, Michelle. Over the years, she has made this recipe many times for family gatherings. It has always been a favorite of mine and still is today. A couple of weeks ago we were talking about the pasta salad and I finally remembered to ask for the recipe. I’m excited to share it with you today.
As you might already know, I’m a big fan of pasta salad recipes. I’ve made and shared many of them on the blog over the years. You can find the full collection of my pasta salad recipes here.
I’m thrilled to be adding this Cucumber Pasta Salad to my collection because it’s totally different when compared to the other recipes I’ve shared. It’s really light and refreshing. Plus, you only need a few ingredients to make it. You won’t be spending an hour in the kitchen chopping up all of the ingredients for this recipe.
It’s also worth mentioning that this is a soupier pasta salad — which basically just means that there’s a lot of dressing. I typically don’t love things overdressed, but in this case, it’s welcomed and wonderful. Not only is it delicious, but the dressing is rather light so it’s not overpowering.
I mention the dressing because it is important that the pasta salad sits for a few hours so that the pasta can soak up some of the dressing. I also don’t want you to think you made a mistake when adding the dressing to the pasta salad. You’ll understand and appreciate it once you give it a taste.
Have I convinced you to give this Cucumber Pasta Salad a try? If so, let me walk you through the recipe.
How to Make Cucumber Pasta Salad:
Begin by cooking your pasta according to the package directions. Drain, rinse, and then place into a large bowl. A detailed ingredient list and recipe instructions are provided in a printable recipe card below.
Drizzle with the olive oil and then add in the cucumbers and onion.
The original recipe calls for two large cucumbers peeled and sliced. I opted to use these baby cucumbers instead. You can use whatever cucumber you like. If the skin on your chosen cucumber is tougher, I recommend peeling before slicing.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, yellow mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Pour over the pasta and mix well to combine.
Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours (or overnight) before serving.
You can see how easy this Cucumber Pasta Salad is to make. And, since it requires some chilling time in the refrigerator, you can even whip it up the night before. Love that!
I whipped up this particular batch to take to my dad’s annual Fourth of July party. The container was empty when I took it home. That’s the true sign of a tasty recipe.
Be sure to give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.
Looking for more pasta salad recipes? These are a few of my favorites:
- Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Southwest Pasta Salad Recipe
- Classic Pasta Salad
- Pine Nut and Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad
- Ramen Noodle Pasta Salad
- California Cobb Pasta Salad
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Cucumber Pasta Salad Recipe:
Cucumber Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound cavatappi/cellentani pasta
- 8 baby cucumbers* - sliced
- 1 medium red onion - peeled and sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Dressing:
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Begin by cooking your pasta according to the package directions. Drain, rinse, and then place into a large bowl.
- Drizzle with the olive oil and then add in the cucumbers and onion.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, yellow mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Pour over the pasta and mix well to combine.
- Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours (or overnight) before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Made this today and am already thinking about when I can make it again. Delicious!
This looks so good! I’m not a huge fan of pasta salads that have tons of mayo and heavy sauces. I may need to whip this up this weekend after hitting the Farmer’s Market.
Yum! I make a dressing similar to this but I use honey instead of sugar…just to let you know it tastes good that way too if you’re ever avoiding refined sugar 🙂
I look forward to your posts!