Creamy Cucumber Tomato Pasta Salad

When I first started my food blog, one of the first recipes I shared was my Zesty Italian Pasta Salad. Pasta Salad is one of those recipes that if I had to bring a small dish for a gathering, it's my go-to. I could prepare it the night prior and for little to nothing.

This creamy cucumber tomato pasta salad is very similar to the zesty salad. The major difference is the kind of dressing that I used.

What Did I Use

I sent my husband to the grocery store to grab my usual zesty Italian salad dressing, but with the stores low in stock due to the impacts of COVID-19 and social distancing, my favorite salad dressing wasn't available. 

No worries though. I was able to make a different spin to this salad and it actually turned out great. 

The great part about pasta salad is you can add whatever you like. If you want to get fancy you can include some peas, broccoli, olives, or even carrots to really make this a vegetable loaded pasta salad. For this salad, however, I kept it simple and added tomatoes and cucumbers. When I say that this a cheap dish, I mean that.

I took my penne noodles, cooked them, allowed them to cool, chopped up my veggies, and then mixed everything together. I refrigerated for a few hours and then it was ready to serve.

You can serve this with whatever tickles your fancy. Grilled chicken, meatballs, burgers or whatever sandwich you'd like is what I find this best served with. But to be completely honest, I've also eaten this as a meal in itself. 

Creamy Cucumber Tomato Pasta Salad

Bring this creamy cucumber tomato salad to any small gathering as the perfect side dish
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 20 | Total Time: 30 mins
Course: Side Dish | Cuisine: American
Keyword: Pasta, Penne Noodles, Vegetarian Friendly, Pasta Salad, Cucumber, Tomatoes
Servings: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
3 cups cooked penne pasta noodles
1 cucumber chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Kraft Creamy Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

Instructions
1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil to cook your noodles. Allow your noodles to cook until tender
2. Drain your noodles and set aside
3. Chop your cucumber into quarters and tomatoes into halves
4. In a large mixing bowl add your noodles, cucumbers, tomatoes, and salad dressing and mix well together
5. Store into the fridge and allow to cool
6. Serve cold