This creamy pasta salad has a flavorful dressing with both fresh and minced garlic that is always a hit and pairs perfectly with the veggies mixed right in.
Most of the time when I see pasta salad, it has a vinegar-based dressing. That can be tasty, especially if we’re talking about my Italian Pasta Salad recipe. Yum! But actually, I prefer a creamy dressing for pasta salad. I find that it coats the pasta better and adds more flavor.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
![Round white serving dish with creamy pasta salad with cucumbers and tomatoes.](https://cookthestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Creamy-Garlic-Pasta-Salad-DSC_3701-portrait-1200x1800-1-660x990.jpg)
Ingredients
My favorite creamy dressing for pasta salad is extra thick so that it clings well to the pasta. I use a mix of mayonnaise, sour cream, and vegetable oil seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mustard powder, and salt and pepper.
That particular group of flavoring ingredients might seem familiar to you, and it’s not a coincidence. You see, this salad dressing is intended to be garlicky, and when I think of garlicky dressing, I think of Caesar salad dressing. So, those ingredients are the ones commonly found in the classic dressing. Oh, and I mentioned that this dressing is garlicky, right? Well, it certainly has a lot of garlic in it, both fresh minced garlic and garlic powder.
I have made this like a Caesar pasta salad before with romaine lettuce, croutons, and bacon added in, but actually, I like it best with the fresh crunch of cucumber and tomatoes. The creamy dressing just goes so well with those.
Tip For Making Pasta Salad
One key to making a great pasta salad is to make sure your pasta is well-chilled before adding the dressing. Warm pasta will still be cooking and tends to soak up a lot of dressing, which will make your salad drier. Now, it’s inevitable that some dressing will get soaked up even by cool pasta, but it’ll be a lot less than hot.
What I do is to drain the pasta after cooking it, then rinse it in cold tap water. Then return the pasta to the pot it cooked in and add cold tap water to that. Let it sit for a moment, drain, and then repeat with more cold water. Drain that well and you should be good to go.
Can I Make Pasta Salad Ahead?
You can make this creamy pasta salad ahead of time, but I actually think it’s best to wait to add the creamy dressing until just before serving.
Cook the pasta, drain it, and cool it. Then add the tomatoes, cucumber, and cheese to it before covering and refrigerating. Make the dressing and cover and refrigerate that separately. Then, just before serving, mix the dressing with the pasta and veggies.
If it’s not convenient to keep them separate, that’s totally fine. Mix up the whole pasta salad, cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, give it a stir. If it seems on the dry side, add in some mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons at a time, until it’s moistened back up. Then taste some pasta and add some additional salt and pepper, if needed.
More Amazing Side Dish Recipes
Need more side dish ideas for your next potluck or cookout? These are perfect.
- Creamiest Easy Potato Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Best Creamy Coleslaw Recipe
- Fresh Corn Salad
- Apple Potato Salad
- Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Podcast Episode: Making Creamy Garlic Pasta Salad
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this pasta salad, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print![Round white serving dish with creamy pasta salad with cucumbers and tomatoes.](https://cookthestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Creamy-Garlic-Pasta-Salad-DSC_3695-square-1200-150x150.jpg)
Creamy Garlic Pasta Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This creamy pasta salad has a flavorful dressing with both fresh and minced garlic that is always a hit and pairs perfectly with the veggies mixed in.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. rotini pasta
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise*
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. dry mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 English cucumber, chopped
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. After draining the pasta, return it to the pot and fill the pot with cold tap water. Drain the pasta and then repeat with more cold water to fully cool the pasta down. Drain well. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, minced garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, pepper, mustard powder, lemon juice, and vegetable oil.
- Add the mayonnaise mixture to the pasta along with the tomatoes, cucumber, and Parmesan cheese.
- Stir until pasta is evenly coated. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.
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Notes
*Caesar salad dressing can be used in place of the homemade dressing in this recipe. First, add 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder to 2 and 1/2 cups of the bottled dressing and stir it well. Then use it in Step #3 instead of the mayonnaise mixture. And to be clear, you’re using the bottled dressing instead of the mayo, sour cream, minced garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, mustard powder, lemon juice, and vegetable oil. After adding the dressing to the pasta, taste some pasta and add more salt and pepper, if desired.
![Creamy Garlic Pasta Salad](https://cookthestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Creamy-Garlic-Pasta-Salad-DSC_3701-portrait-1200x1800-1.jpg)
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