The best pasta salad tastes fresh and zingy, layering perfectly cooked pasta with crisp veggies and unique seasonings. With the right balance of creaminess and bright acidity, any good cold pasta salad worth the hype should be deeply filling and satisfying yet super refreshing. The best pasta salad is the best of both worlds, if you ask me.
I would like to formally declare that pasta salad is a criminally underrated culinary art form. I know I’m relatively new to the Sporked team, but finding the best pasta salad at the grocery store has been one of my favorite taste tests so far. There are no hard-and-fast rules with pasta salad—every new batch has the chance to surprise you with creative dressing flavors and colorful, crunchy vegetables. As a pasta freak myself, I might even dare to make the controversial statement that sometimes, pasta salad is yummier than a hot pasta dish. (Gasp! I know.) If you don’t believe me, well, hold onto your forks. From the best Greek pasta salad to the best creamy pasta salad, we’re digging into the five best pasta salads from popular grocery store delis—and they might just change your mind.
- Mafalda Mediterranean Pasta Salad from Sprouts
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I’m a little in love with the mafalda in Sprouts Mediterranean pasta salad. For you texture people out there, listen up: The ruffled mafalda pasta shape layers beautifully with the crisp kale, crunchy sundried tomatoes, shaved parmesan cheese, and crumbled feta in this salad. I’m not a huge fan of the word “mouthfeel,” but I simply can’t deny it—this stuff has great mouthfeel. Plus, the basil and balsamic dressing is peppery and super bright, so if you like your dressing with a little zing, Sprouts Mafalda Mediterranean Pasta Salad is the best pasta salad for you. (It’s also our runner-up for the best Greek pasta salad on this list, just sayin’.)
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Whole Foods Market Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad
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This irresistibly creamy penne pasta salad from Whole Foods is decadent and smoky, with blocks of thick mozzarella cheese that are so soft and tender, they nearly melt in your mouth. I know that’s not, you know, technically possible (pasta salad is cold), but that’s how it feels! While the dressing leans heavily on smoky mozzarella and parmesan for taste, the sliced red peppers and leafy spinach keep things zesty and interesting. It might not be the best pasta salad option for people trying to sneak in a bunch of veggies, but I’d absolutely recommend it for cheese freaks and pasta purists alike.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Trader Joe’s Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
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“Fresh lemon!” I exclaimed, startling my roommate, when I opened up this Lemon Basil Pasta Salad from Trader Joe’s for the first time. Sitting nice and pretty on a bed of farfalle pasta, spinach, and zucchini was a fresh lemon wedge, ripe for the squeeze. I just about lost my mind. (I go crazy for fresh lemon, apparently? Who knew.) The lemon-based dressing is so bright, zesty, and refreshing—and not vinegary at all. The flaky parmesan gives this a lemony cacio pepeflavor, and the peas are a nice touch, too. If you’re obsessed with lemon like me, this is the best pasta salad you can buy.
Credit: Liv Averett
- Tomato Bowtie Trifecta Pasta Salad from Albertsons
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Boy oh boy, I was not expecting to love this sun-dried tomato-based bowtie pasta salad from Albertsons. I’m not a huge tomato person (not that I would take my personal bias into account—we are professionals here, after all), but I could not get enough of this salty, herbaceous, slightly tangy pasta salad. The natural acidity of the tomatoes paired with salt and shaved parm makes this highly addictive. Your fork will keep coming back here (I know that, because mine did.) It’s very hard to come by a sun-dried tomato pasta salad that isn’t too oily—but the Albertsons deli absolutely nailed it. Salt queens, this is the best pasta salad for you.
Credit: Liv Averett / Albertsons
- Whole Foods Market Bistro Pasta Salad
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Typically, the phrase “everything and the kitchen sink” applies to things that have too much going on at once, and need to pare it back. Not here. Not with the Market Bistro Pasta Salad from Whole Foods, the pasta salad of any maximalist’s dream. With large, meaty artichoke hearts, sliced zucchini, whole kalamata olives, and bits of sundried tomato, you will literally never get bored of eating this. If you told me this was the best pasta salad from the fanciest Mediterranean restaurant in town, I would be none the wiser. It is, pasta-tively, delightful.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
Best Pasta Shape
Best Creamy
Best Lemony
Runner Up
Best of the Best
Other Grocery Store Pasta Salads We Tried: Sprouts Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad, Sprouts Mediterranean Orzo & Feta Salad, Reiser Lemon Capellini Salad, Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Style Orzo Pasta Salad, Kroger Greek Pasta Salad
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!