Cucumber Pasta Salad

This creamy Cucumber Pasta Salad is a light, bright, and flavorful twist on summer pasta salad.  Loaded with fresh summer cucumbers, red onion, and tender rotini pasta, this dish makes a fabulous side dish or vegetarian meal for your next picnic or potluck.  Served with a delightful lemon dill dressing that's made healthy with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

Love salads with cucumber? Also try my Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad, Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad, and Avocado Pineapple Cucumber Salad too!

Cucumber Pasta Salad

This Creamy Cucumber Pasta Salad is simple and unexpected, but big on flavor, crunch and taste.  This twist on classic summer Pasta Salad, comes together with just a handful of simple ingredients but will wow your guests.  It's loaded with fresh, crisp cucumbers that have never tasted better paired with simple red onion and pasta.

Much like my Creamy Cucumber Salad or Creamy Macaroni Salad this summer classic comes together without the mayo or sour cream in the dressing.  I swap out greek yogurt, to make this traditionally Southern dish a bit healthier.  This might not have been exactly like my Grandmother would have made it, but I still think she would approve.  The combination of creamy greek yogurt with lemon and dill, make a simple and addictive dressing.

This dish works great for everything from a summer potluck, side dish for a cookout, or even a vegetarian meal in the summer.  Plus, it's a great way to use some of those cucumbers you have in the garden.

Why You'll Love this Cucumber Pasta Salad ...

• This Cucumber Pasta Salad is mayo-free but still nice and creamy thanks to greek yogurt.
• It's a great way to use up a bunch of cucumbers in summer.
• You can customize it by adding other vegetables or herbs to it.
• The fresh lemon and dill is a winner.
• It's so simple! Some pasta salads require so many ingredients, but this one keeps it nice and basic.
• It's crowd-pleasing for kids and adults, as long as they like cucumbers. 🙂
• It's healthy and low-calorie! Only 130 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

Here's an overview of what you'll need to make this Cucumber Pasta Salad recipe, but keep scrolling for the full recipe amounts.

For the Cucumber Pasta Salad:

• Pasta: You'll need about ½ pound of pasta, which is about 3 cups of uncooked pasta.  I used rotini, but other short pasta like penne, macaroni, or bow tie will also work.  Cook the pasta in salted water, according to package instructions until al dente.
• English Cucumber: I prefer English Cucumbers, but you can use whatever type you like and even fresh garden cucumbers.  To prepare the cucumbers slice it in half and scoop out the seeds.  Then cut it into half moons.
• Red Onion: I love how the red onion adds depth of flavor and color to this pasta salad.  You can swap this out for a sweet white onion or even a sliced green onion.

For the Dressing:

• Plain Greek Yogurt: The base of the dressing for the Cucumber Pasta Salad is plain Greek yogurt. You can use low-fat or full-fat depending on your dietary preferences, but full-fat will give you a creamier result.  Low fat will be fewer calories though.
• White Wine Vinegar: A tough of white wine vinegar helps loosen up the Greek yogurt.
• Lemon Juice: Lemon juice brightens up the dressing.  Use the juice from a fresh lemon for the most flavor.
• Dill: Fresh dill adds so much to this! If you can find it, use it for this recipe.
• Garlic Powder: I like to add garlic powder to my dressings like this to make sure the garlic flavor goes throughout the pasta salad evenly.
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

Instructions:

This is an overview of the instructions to make this Cucumber Pasta Salad recipe, but the full detailed printable recipe is below in the recipe card.

1. In a large pot of salted water, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and rinse it with cool water to cool it down.
2. Cut the cucumber and red onion.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients including the plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, dill, and garlic powder.
4. In a large bowl, add the cooked, cooled pasta, cucumber, and red onion to a bowl. Toss together with the dressing.  Stir well.
5. Serve immediately or put in the fridge for up to an hour to let the flavors combine.

Variations

I love this Cucumber Pasta Salad recipe as written, but here are some fun variations.

• Make it Healthier: Consider using a pasta fortified with protein, or a chickpea pasta to make it a bit healthier.
• Make it Gluten-Free: Use your favorite Gluten Free Pasta to make this gluten-free.
• Add Other Veggies: This recipe keeps it simple, but you can add other fresh summer vegetables like tomatoes, corn, or bell peppers.
• Mix Up the Herbs: You can swap out the dill for other fresh herbs like parsley, fresh basil, or oregano.
• Make it Tradional: Swap out the cup of Greek yogurt for mayonnaise or sour cream for a more traditional Southern Creamy Cucumber Pasta Salad.
• Make it Dairy-Free or Vegan: Swap out the Greek yogurt for a non-dairy Greek yogurt.

FAQ

Make Ahead

You can make this several hours ahead of time for a party.  If making more than a day ahead of time, prepare the pasta and dressing separately and mix them an hour before serving it.

How do you make cucumber salad not watery?

Taking the extra step to seed the cucumber before adding them to the salad helps.

If you have fresh summer cucumbers with a lot of water in them you might want to consider salting your cucumbers.  Cut them and put them in a colander in the sink.  Add salt and that will extract some of the extra water.  Try them with a paper towel before mixing in with the salad.

How do you cool down pasta for pasta salad?

The best way is to drain the pasta and rinse it with cool or cold water until it cools.

This Cucumber Pasta Salad recipe is So Refreshing!

This Cucumber Pasta Salad is so refreshing and unique. If you are tired of serving boring pasta salad, this one is unique and lets just a few ingredients shine.  After you try it, you'll be making it all summer long.

It's hubby and twin approved too!  Hunter keeps asking for that pasta salad with all the cucumbers. 🙂

Serve this with any of your favorite summer cookout dishes, here are a few ideas from my site.

Serve it With:

• Portobello Mushroom Burger
• Blackened Salmon
• Blackened Mahi Mahi
• Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Herbed Goat Cheese
• Grilled Cauliflower Stead with Green Goddess Sauce
• Pineapple Shrimp Skewers
• Salmon Foil Packets with Rainbow Veggies
• Easy BBQ Shrimp Skewers
• Black Bean Burgers

More Healthy Cucumber Salads to Try:

• Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad
• Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad
• Avocado Pineapple Cucumber Salad
• Cucumber Watermelon Strawberry Salad
• Cucumber Avocado Feta Quinoa Salad

More Healthy Pasta Salads to Try:

• Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
• Healthy Macaroni Salad
• Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
• Mexican Macaroni Salad
• Crab Pasta Salad
• Caprese Pasta Salad
• Bruschetta Pasta Salad

If you make this Cucumber Pasta Salad recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!

Cucumber Pasta Salad

Julie Wunder

This creamy Cucumber Pasta Salad is a light, bright, and flavorful twist on summer pasta salad.  Loaded with fresh summer cucumbers, red onion, and tender rotini pasta, this dish makes a fabulous side dish or vegetarian meal for your next picnic or potluck.  Served with a delightful lemon dill dressing that's made healthy with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 130 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Cucumber Pasta Salad:

• ½ pound rotini pasta
• 1 english cucumber, seeded & sliced into half moons (about 3 cups)
• ½ red onion, diced (about 1 cup)

For the Dressing:

• 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dill, chopped
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

 

• In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain the pasta and rinse it with cool water to cool it down.
  
• In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients including the plain greek yogurt, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, dill and garlic powder.
  
• Add the cooked, cooled pasta, cucumber, and red onion to a bowl. Toss together with the dressing.
  
• Serve immediately or put in the fridge for up to an hour to let the flavors combine.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 130kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 7gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 12mgPotassium: 169mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 48IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Cucumber Pasta Salad

Tried this recipe?Mention @Julie_Wunder or tag #RunninginaSkirt!

Pin for later: