12 Summer Pasta Salads with Bold Flavor

Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

Juicy mandarin oranges, crisp and colorful raw vegetables and leafy spinach are tossed with cooked pasta and leftover chicken in a ginger-kissed rice vinegar dressing. If you use the liquid from the canned mandarin oranges when you whisk up the dressing, you can reduce or omit the added sugar. "A wonderful summer salad!" reviewer Rhonda Jay says. "A light and healthy salad [that] stands on its own without the need for anything else on the side."

Greek Pasta Salad

Fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and sweet bell peppers mix it up with sharp, salty feta cheese, olives, and pepperoni, while a homemade vinaigrette loaded with Mediterranean herbs brings it all together. You'll want to make the salad a day ahead so the flavors can get to know each other better. "The first time I made it was for a block party, and after tasting it, my husband wanted me to make something else to take so he could have this all for himself," says reviewer CMACINTYRE.

• More Greek Pasta Salad Recipes

Pesto Pasta Caprese Salad

In this Italian pasta salad, you get two big hits of basil's pungent green flavor when fresh basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese are tossed with a zesty basil pesto sauce. "Super tasty, and very healthy," says Alaniwhat. She used gluten-free rotini, and says it was a huge hit.

• Top-rated Pesto Pasta Salads

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

A generous helping of crispy, smoky bacon is what sets this salad apart from others that just sprinkle it on a bit. Cool and creamy ranch dressing pulls the rest of the ingredients together for a BLT pasta salad that's definitely not for timid taste buds.

• Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipes

Awesome Pasta Salad

This is the easy pasta salad recipe everyone makes their own. They add this, tweak that, and pretty soon they've created a signature salad their friends beg them to bring. What will you add?

• Love Rotini Recipes?

Pomelo Salad with Rice Vermicelli

The combination of pomelo and noodles may not seem like a natural pair, but this refreshing pasta salad will convince you otherwise. The flavors of Thai sweet chili sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and cilantro come together seamlessly.

• Vermicelli and Spaghetti Recipes

Fruity Pasta Salad with Herbs

"Loaded with fresh fruit and herbs, this creamy, pleasantly sweet pasta salad will become one of your favorite summer recipes," writes home cook lutzflcat, who submitted the recipe.

• Creamy Pasta Salads for Summer

Chicken Noodle Salad

"Get ready to make all sorts of friends when you bring a big bowl of this Asian chicken noodle salad to the next big cookout," Chef John says. "The only folks you might scare away are the ones who brought regular pasta salads. There's just something delightfully addictive about this special combination of cold and spicy. This recipe is the perfect catchall for all those summer vegetables we're supposed to be eating more of, as well as any dry leftover chicken you have around."

• Allrecipes Asian Pasta Salad Recipes

Chickpea-on-Chickpea Pasta Salad

Chickpea fusilli joins forces with marinated vegetables and cheese. Pesto, made with fresh herbs, packs an extra punch of flavor.

Thai Rice Noodle Salad

"This is very delicious!" Allrecipes All-star Buckwheat Queen says. "With these noodle bowls, the real clincher is the sauce and this one is quite good. I cut the sugar by 75 percent because I don't like things that are sweet. It worked perfectly."

Soba Noodle Salad with Chicken and Sesame

"This is exactly the sort of healthy dinner or lunch you want when it's hot," reviewer barngurl says. "It's super delicious filling and fantastic! I've made this a handful of times and keep the dressing recipe the same bit adjust vegetables per what I have."

• Scrumptious Soba Noodle Bowl Recipes

Fiesta Pasta Salad with Dill Pickles

Minced dill pickles and sweet pickle relish bring a notable tang to this colorful pasta salad. Celery and radishes add crunch.