Easy No-Mayo Pasta Salad Recipe for a Crowd

Updated: 8/12/23

I'm Southern, so that means I like mayonnaise. I didn't always like it, but after my first pregnancy, I became a fan and started the condiment on my sandwiches. I'm a huge fan of tomato sandwiches with Duke's mayo on wheat bread with some salt and basil. It's an acquired taste.

Since I no longer scrunch up my nose at mayonnaise. I can eat almost any type of salad that is served at a Southern potluck. You know...potato salad, pasta salad, slaw, macaroni salad, broccoli salad, chicken salad, ham salad, tuna salad, and shrimp salad. I'm starting to sound like Bubba Gump here, but you get the idea. In the South, mayonnaise is the base for most salads in church or Southern Junior League cookbook.

It's often tough to find a pasta salad recipe that does not have mayonnaise as a base, but that is what I wanted to take as a side dish for a Cub Scout kick-off function this month. Kids don't like mayonnaise, and many parents don't either. Mayo does add extra calories.

This no-mayo pasta salad holds up well for outdoor functions. It's delicious. It's a mixture of several recipes I combined from my cupboard.

Easy No-Mayo Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
16 oz of pasta spirals (gluten-free or brown rice pasta works well, too)
salt
2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil 
the juice of one fresh lemon
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups of grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 medium cucumbers, chopped
1 cup of red onion
1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup of chopped kalamata olives
1/2 cup fresh mint

Cook pasta according to directions. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano in a large bowl and whisk. Season with salt and pepper. 

After the pasta is drained, transfer the pasta to the large mixing bowl with dressing. Stir to coat the pasta and let the pasta come to room temperature. This process takes about 20 minutes. 

Add tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onion, feta cheese, and mint when pasta is at room temperature. Mix well. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

I hope you enjoy it for your next function.