Need an easy side dish for Summer? This 4-Ingredient Pasta Salad is cheap to make and is a quick side item for busy nights!

Pasta salad is the perfect side dish for any Summer meal. You can get as creative or as simple as you want with it; and serve a huge crowd, or even just your small family.

We’re a family of 3, so I rarely need to make anything fancy for us. I like meals with simple ingredients and that doesn’t take a lot of time to make.

This 4-Ingredient Pasta Salad is SO easy. It’s salty with just a hint of sweetness from the Italian dressing, and it’s a light side dish to go with burgers or hot dogs. I can get the ingredients pretty cheaply from the grocery store, too!

Scroll to the bottom of the post to get to the recipe card for this classic side dish; or keep reading for extra tips!

Ingredients

Any short pasta shape like rotini, penne, shells, or elbow macaroni noodles

Deli salami

Colby Jack cheese- cheddar cheese would be fine too

Italian salad dressing

Other additions

I wanted this to be an easy recipe, so I made it only 4 ingredients. But the following ingredients also go great in pasta salads for extra flavor:

• Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
• Red bell pepper
• Green pepper
• Cucumber
• Black olives
• Parmesan cheese
• Red onion
• A creamy dressing made of ingredients like mayo, sour cream, ranch, etc. Some people prefer a creamy pasta salad!

Tips on how to make this your own way

• I didn’t use a ton of each ingredient in this, so feel free to add more. I especially found that I needed to add more Italian dressing before I ate mine, because the pasta had already absorbed most of it.

How to make

In a large pot, heat water to boiling and add pasta. Cook for 6-7 minutes until al dente, then drain and rinse with cold water.

On a cutting board, dice the salami and cheese into bite size small pieces.

Place cooled pasta into a large bowl and add the salami, cheese, and Italian dressing. Mix thoroughly and cover the bowl in plastic wrap, then place in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Divide and serve with your favorite main dish.

How to store

Store any leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge. Use up within 5-7 days. This is honestly even better the second day after the flavors have blended together!

What to serve with this

This is best served on a hot summer day with main dishes like hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken sausages. I’d even bring it to a Summer BBQ- adding more of each ingredient!

Keep in mind that cold pasta salad needs to stay cold; try not to let it get to room temperature for too long, as that makes a good breeding ground for bacteria.

Other easy recipe ideas

Need some other meals that only have 5 ingredients or less? Check out my master post for some of my favorite recipes!

Print this easy pasta salad recipe now: