Creamy Pasta Salad

This creamy pasta salad is packed with flavor and is the ultimate summer dish. It can be made with regular or gluten-free pasta, and you will find plenty of tips for how to make a great gluten-free pasta salad below. It’s incredibly flavorful with smoked sausage, cheddar cheese, fresh veggies, and it’s all wrapped up in a creamy basil dressing.

Three white plates filled with pasta salad, topped with extra tomatoes, cucumbers, cubes of cheese, and basil leaves. - 2

This pasta salad has been one of my most made recipes for 20 years now. It’s an all-around crowd pleaser, and everyone always wants the recipe.

Watch How To Make Creamy Pasta Salad

It’s perfect for picnics, BBQs, potlucks, or as meal prep for your lunches through the work week.

It’s my go-to recipe in the summer to make no matter what the occasion is. I’ve made it for family when they’ve been in the hospital, for my best friend when she got married, and even a 5-pound batch for my dad’s buddy for a hunting trip.

It’s just that kind of recipe that goes the distance no matter what the occasion. So the next time you need a guaranteed smash hit, this creamy pasta salad is for you.

A large white bowl with a red rim filled with pasta salad with a wood spoon in it. - 3

Ingredients & Substitutions

Ingredients for pasta salad in bowls on a wood cutting board: sausages, pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, cheddar cheese, basil, Dijon mustard, olive oil, white wine vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. - 4

Sausages – smoked sausages make the best-tasting pasta salad. I’ve been use the Organic Smoked Beef Sausage from Kiolbassa that Costco has been carrying and it has great flavor. You can also use grilled chicken, Italian sausage, or andouille.
Cheese – any cubed cheese you like in pasta salad works, we like aged cheddar cheese.
Pasta – both regular and gluten-free pasta work in this salad. Farfalle, fusilli, and penne are my favorite shapes to use.
Veggies – a mix of cherry tomatoes and crunchy cucumber makes the perfect juicy, fresh flavor.
Dressing – the dressing is a cross between vinaigrette and mayo. The farm-fresh egg makes the basil vinaigrette super creamy, but it can be omitted for the mayo option listed in the recipe notes.
Basil – is our favorite fresh herb for this pasta salad, and there isn’t a good substitute. In the height of summer, I add double and triple the amount called for when I have basil in my herb garden. Chives make a nice spring flavor, but there’s nothing like basil.

How to make this recipe step by step

Four photos in a collage showing cutting up the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, cubed cheddar cheese, and sliced sausage on a wood cutting board. - 5

Step 1: Start by prepping all the ingredients you need for the pasta salad. Quarter and thinly slice the cucumbers, half or quarter the cherry tomatoes, and cut the cheese into very small cubes.

I buy smoked sausages, cook them according to the label’s instructions, then cut them in half and thinly slice them up.

Blending the creamy basil pasta salad dressing in a blender container. - 6

Step 2: Next, make the creamy basil dressing in the blender while the pasta cooks.

Draining the cooked pasta in a white colander in the sink while rinsing with cold water. - 7

Step 3 : When the pasta is al dente, drain, then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Mixing the pasta salad ingredients together with the creamy basil dressing in a red rimmed large white bowl. - 8

Step 4: Add the prepped sausage, cheese, veggies, cooked pasta, and creamy basil dressing to a large bowl and toss the pasta salad to combine.

Season to taste with sea salt and serve or refrigerate up to eight hours. For long-term storage, refer to the tips below.

Finished creamy pasta salad on three white plates topped with extra tomatoes and basil leaves with a white handled fork on the side. - 9

Ways to serve this

Take this creamy pasta salad on your next picnic, barbecue, or potluck.
This pasta salad also makes great packed lunches for work or weekend adventures. It is our favorite hiking lunch of all time!

Add mayonnaise or sour cream to create a creamy pasta salad dressing. My creamy pasta salad is made like homemade mayonnaise with a raw egg, which makes it ultra creamy, but mayo can be substituted.

It’s key to heavily salt the cooking water for pasta, making it more flavorful. The pasta takes on salt while it cooks and becomes perfectly seasoned. This cannot be replicated by salting the sauce or dressing more!

Storing leftovers

To store – If you’re using regular pasta, this pasta salad will keep well for up to 4 to 5 days in the fridge. If you use gluten-free pasta, it will keep at best for 1 day.
Make ahead – just before you’re ready to eat it, add a little water and a pinch of sea salt and toss it with the pasta salad to make the dressing creamy again. You don’t want to add water any sooner than needed because the pasta will reabsorb it.

A large red rimmed white bowl filled with creamy pasta salad topped with tomatoes and basil with a wood serving spoon in the pasta salad. - 10

Tips & Tricks

As you prep the ingredients, keep in mind you want the different elements to be small and bite-sized. That way, you have more fresh veggies, sausage, and cheese with every bite of pasta.
When you use gluten-free pasta to make pasta salad, overcook it slightly . If you cook gluten-free pasta to al dente, it will be chewy when it’s cold in pasta salad.
3 ways to make pasta salad creamy: My original dressing for this recipe contains a raw egg for the creamiest dressing you’ve ever tasted. However, if this is of concern, I developed a variation that uses hemp seeds, which has been a great success too. You can also add mayonnaise or a bit of sour cream.
I’ve done all sorts of variations over the years with different meats and cheeses, but I always come back to my original version as it’s written below. If you’d like to change it up, I’ve used Italian sausage, grilled chicken, 3-cheese Italian sausage, chicken sausages, and andouille.
Any smoky sausage with a bit of spice has always been mine and everyone else’s favorite, with grilled chicken coming in a close second. In the summertime, I make this with handfuls of basil, so feel free to double or triple the amount of basil called for if you’re a fellow basil fan! And… finally, I like fresh corn for a variation sometimes.

Dietary Options & Substitutions

Dairy-free – omit the cheese or use your favorite dairy-free cheese.
Vegetarian – omit the sausage and use a vegetarian cheese.
Vegan – try making my Grilled Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad , which is naturally vegan without lots of substitutions.

Three white plates filled with creamy pasta salad with a white handled fork in the pasta salad and a blue linen on the side. - 11

More Pasta Recipe Inspiration

Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad
Antipasto Pasta Salad
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Sausage Broccoli Pasta
Marry Me Chicken Pasta

INGREDIENTS1x2x3x

12 ounces pasta - see notes
1 pound smoked sausage links - or Italian sausage, cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups aged sharp cheddar cheese - cubed, 5 ounces
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes - cut into bite sized pieces, 12 ounces
2 cups English cucumber - quartered & thinly slices, 1/2 cucumber

Creamy Basil Dressing:

1 farm fresh egg - see notes
1/3 cup white wine vinegar - see notes for 1 pound pasta
1/2 cup basil leaves - packed, 1 ounce
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup olive oil - or avocado oil
1 tsp sea salt - or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper - or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat a grill over high heat, (you can also pan fry or oven roast the sausages if you’d like). When the grill has reached 400ºF, place the sausages on the grill and turn the heat down to medium. Cook until the sausages are completely done, mine come pre-cooked so it only takes 5 minutes.
If you’re using gluten free pasta, cook it just a tiny bit past al dente, (it’s important to use salted water for flavor in the pasta). You can test the pasta’s doneness by taking a piece out and running it under cold water, when it’s no longer unpleasantly chewy, it’s ready. If you use regular pasta, cook to al dente. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, and run the pasta under cold water until it’s cooled.
While the pasta and sausages cook, prep the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and cubed cheese.
When the sausage is done, let it sit until it’s cool enough to handle. Cut the links into quarters lengthwise, and then slice them crosswise to make thin triangular pieces.
Place the cooked & cooled pasta, sausage, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes into a large serving bowl.
For the dressing, place everything but the oil into a blender and blend until it’s mostly smooth with small pieces of green basil floating around.
With the blender running on low, slowly add the oil in, increasing the speed as you go until all the oil has been added and the dressing is creamy.
Toss the pasta salad mixture with the dressing. This salad is best if it’s allowed to sit for an hour or so in the refrigerator so that the flavors can sink in, but it’s also good served right away.

NOTES

nutrition facts

This recipe was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2025 with new photos and more tips and information.

Behind the scenes

A square container filled with creamy pasta salad being held up in front of a lake with trees in the background. - 13

This creamy pasta salad is our all-time favorite meal to take on any outdoor adventure, picnic, or potluck!