Looking for a great side dish for a barbecue? Try this Italian Pasta Salad. It has all the classic flavors. It keeps well. And it is delicious!

Ingredients for pasta salad laid out on board: cucumber, tomatoes, onion, olives, dry noodles

I never thought to attempt it until I stumbled across this feta recipe. It is made out of tofu, which usually I can’t stand, but when I made this I ended up eating most of it straight out of the bowl. I barely had enough left over to put in the salad!

It took me a minute to get the dressing just right but once I did even my kids were asking for more. Other than the dressing and the feta, the rest of the recipe comes together with barely any effort. Chop some veggies and toss them with some pasta and you are good to go!

sliced black olives on wooden chopping board

Sliced and quartered cucumber on chopping block

You can make this salad the night before because it stores extremely well. It would also be a great dish to make for meal prep for the week! yum.

I ended up making the feta for the salad the night before and it was perfectly tasty the next day when I added it to the salad.

Pasta salad served up on two white plates

My best tips for keeping this salad at the top level are:

Make the feta the night before to save time when you are ready to make the salad.
Use cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half or quarters. I know it is easier to chop up a big tomato but the little ones have a little less juice and hold their shape better.
Slice the onions into quarter strips. Diced onions get lost, and the texture, when eaten with the salad, isn’t as good.
Dress your noodles right after you drain them to avoid clumping.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

What are your favorite barbecue side dishes? Let me know in the comments below!