Spaghetti Salad is a simple pasta salad side dish, perfect for barbecues or potlucks.
Tender spaghetti is tossed with juicy ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and peppers, and red onions, it’s all mixed in a favorite dressing and topped with cheese!
This side salad is packed with healthy veggies and overflowing with texture, crunch, and tangy flavors. Everyone raves about this dish!
A cold spaghetti salad is also a great way to use leftover spaghetti without having to serve the same dish twice in a row! You can always set some aside when making a spaghetti pie or spaghetti and meatballs.
- It’s great for potlucks since it’s best made ahead of time.
- It’s easy to make and uses simple ingredients.
- Use any veggies you’d like and swap up the dressing to whatever is in your fridge.
- It’s perfect for leftover pasta (any shape will work!).
- Everyone loves this easy recipe!
Ingredients
- Pasta – Since this is spaghetti salad, so we use spaghetti as the pasta, but really, any type of pasta works. You may need to adjust the dressing based on the type of pasta used.
- Add-Ins – We add lots of fresh veggies to this recipe. Choose a variety of flavors, textures, and colors for the best salad.
- Green bell pepper, yellow or red bell pepper, grape or cherry tomatoes, black olives
- Dressing – To make this salad extra fast, use bottled dressing. If time allows, make a homemade Greek dressing.
Variations
The ingredients in this salad are inspired by our favorite Greek salad. Swap the Greek dressing for Italian salad dressing (and the feta cheese for parmesan cheese) to change the flavor into an Italian spaghetti salad (and add some mini pepperoni)!
How to Make Spaghetti Salad
Get out your biggest cutting board and sharpen your chef’s knife, because there’s a bit of chopping in this cold spaghetti pasta salad recipe. Don’t worry, it’s easy!
- Cook Pasta: Cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente, drain and rinse with cold water.
- Chop Veggies: While the pasta is cooking, chop the vegetables per the recipe below.
- Toss & Chill: Toss the pasta with the veggies and dressing. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Serve: Sprinkle with cheese and serve.
Top with lots of cheese and some fresh herbs! This dish tastes best if left to refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. Making it the perfect salad to make ahead of time!
Tips For a Great Spaghetti Salad
- Salt the pasta water and do not overcook the pasta.
- For quick slicing cherry or grape tomatoes, place them on a cutting board and place a dinner plate over the tomatoes. Hold the plate with one hand and use your longest and sharpest knife to slice the tomatoes in half horizontally.
- Cut the veggies 1/4-inch so you get a bit of everything with every bite!
- Dress the salad very generously, the pasta will soak up the dressing as it sits.
- Swap out the Greek dressing for your favorite Italian dressing.
- Prep ahead, like most pasta salad recipes, this recipe is best if it sits for a few hours before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Cold spaghetti salad is a tangy side dish that pairs up well with a meaty and savory main. Top it with chicken kabobs or grilled shrimp. Serve it on the side with pulled pork, barbecued ribs, or hamburgers for a tasty meal.
8 More Easy Pasta Salad Recipes
- Easy Greek Pasta Salad – prepare in under 20 minutes
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Easy Orzo Pasta Salad
- Italian Pasta Salad – just 3 simple steps.
Favorite Spaghetti Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- ¾ long english cucumber diced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 1 cup bell pepper, any color diced
- ¼ cup sliced pitted olives black olive or kalamata olives
- ⅓ cup feta cheese crumbled, more to taste
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
Dressing
- 1 cup bottled Greek vinaigrette dressing
OR
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- If making homemade dressing, combine all ingredients except oil in a bowl. Slowly drizzle oil while whisking. Set aside.
- Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted water until al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pasta, Salad, Side Dish
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Definitely a keeper. Made it the night before to free up time. It turned out so delicious. Received a lot compliments as well. Didn’t have fresh parsley and substituted that for a tsp of dried and used Ken’s Greek salad dressing as well.
I put grilled chicken (cubed) in mine. Great in summer when we have BBQ’s. Of course I leave out the chicken when serving with baby back grilled ribs or bbq chicken. So delicious.
I want to try the dip recipe!
Taste great. My spaghetti was heavier than the veggies. Maybe it was me.
Can I use raspberry vinaigrette instead
I’m sure that’d be delicious Bonnie!
salad recipe sounds yummy
Wonderful flavor! Brought out the taste of the pan-fried hamburger patties I served with it. So good! Will definitely be having this again, esp in summer months. Thank you, Holly
You’re welcome Jackie!
Delicious!! I make this often and all year round.
Can you make this the night before and fridgerate over night?
Definitely Cathy, make sure to cook your pasta al dente though so it doesn’t get too soft. But letting it sit up to 2 hours or overnight will allow the flavors to meld for a delicious spaghetti salad!
So good! We made this salad several times last summer for get togethers, and it was perfect in every way. Everyone loved it. Thanks :-)
Just what I need Ideas for my recipe’s
Could I use red bell peppers instead of the green?
You can absolutely do that Debbie! Hope you love the salad!
I have a pre made Greek salad that has lettuse in it could I just add spaghetti to that?
While I have only made the recipe as written, I think you could do that for a quick meal.
I love spaghetti salad! Looks so delicious and perfect for a balanced summer dinner!
We totally agree Natalie! Glad you love it!
I have added cocktail shrimp to mine it’s delish
I love the veggies packed into this salad and I LOVE black olives. I am saving this one for my next family BBQ!
It is such a fun pasta salad Jessie! Hope your family enjoys it as much as we did!
I’m loving the look of this! I’ve only ever made pasta salads with short noodles. I’ll have to give this a try for my next potluck! Looks delicious!
Isn’t it so fun Rosa? Can’t wait for you to try it!
I love a good pasta salad, and this one looks so fresh and delicious – absolutely perfect for a summer bbq or potluck!
We agree Sylvie! It’s packed with fresh crunchy veggies making it a delicious side dish!
Spaghetti is a family favorite in our home; looking forward to giving your recipe a try! Looks delicious!
This is such a fun way to serve up a family favourite Beth! Hope your family loves it!