11 Store-Bought Pasta Salads, Ranked

Pasta salad is a chameleon of the culinary world. It has endless adaptations, so no two are ever quite the same. While the base, the pasta, is the same, every chef has the power to choose which noodle shape to use, from rotini and rigatoni to penne and even orzo. Then, even more uniqueness and inventiveness comes from the selection of veggies, seasonings, and other toppings. Don't forget about the dressing as well, which can range from a tangy vinaigrette to creamy ranch.

Not only is pasta salad versatile in its ingredients, but it's also flexible in its role at the table. It makes for a fresh appetizer, flavorful side dish, or even a full meal when it's loaded up with hearty ingredients. It's a one-of-a-kind salad that is what you make of it. Its diversity becomes obvious when you start to compare the options available at local grocery stores. I recently gathered several different store-bought pasta salads — including both fresh deli and boxed varieties — from all the major supermarkets located near me. I looked for tasty and tender pasta, a flavorful jumble of accompaniments, and a dressing that elevated the recipe rather than bogging it down. Let's see which brand was able to achieve this careful pasta salad balance. 

Have you ever looked at something and thought, "That's aggressively Midwestern?" Well, that's exactly what I uttered to myself when I first laid eyes on this Hidden Valley Ranch pasta salad. Since it came in a box, I had to whip up the questionable concoction myself, all the while wondering why ... just why. It's important to note that you'll need some extra ingredients to bring the salad to life. Both mayonnaise and low-fat milk are required — two staples I luckily already had stocked in my kitchen. Once the rotini noodles were boiled and drained, the box instructed me to combine them with the milk, mayo, and accompanying ranch seasoning packet, and voilà. You have the least inviting dish in our taste test.

You'll want to let this one refrigerate overnight for the sauce to soak in — unless you're in the mood for pasta soup. But, even after a good chill, the pasta comes out tasting exactly as I thought it would: like noodles covered in runny and herb-y homemade ranch dressing. And, in the same way I wouldn't coat my pasta in ketchup or mustard, I just don't think this condiment belongs here. I do give Hidden Valley props for ingenuity and the product's affordability. It also may completely change form when made into a chicken ranch pasta salad with broccoli, carrots, onion, and cheese, as outlined on the box. But, I think I'll continue to save my ranch quota for veggies or fries.

I should have paid more attention to the review of this garden pasta salad on Kroger's website that warns that it packs "too much dressing." This unhappy customer was absolutely correct, and I too found myself wanting to dump the entire helping in a strainer to clear out some of the wetness. The overwhelming dressing — made up of some mixture of poppy seeds, lemon, apple cider vinegar, and oils — made the salad almost slop-like. It was Italian-esque, but tangier and more acidic. The flavor detracted from all the other ingredients — it's a shame, since the rest did have potential.

Mini penne pasta noodles, cooked just past al dente, made up the base of the blend. I was a bit put off by the fact that the label calls the pasta an "enriched macaroni product," but kept things moving. The vegetables that join the noodles — effectively turning it into a salad rather than a pasta dinner — include small bits of carrot, red bell peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes. Parsley flakes were also spread throughout and cubes of Parmesan also made an appearance. Take away about half or even 75% of the profuse dressing and the medley could have been quite enjoyable.

Prepare for another saucy anecdote. Walmart took a page out of Kroger's book — or vice versa — when creating its own garden pasta salad. When I found it in the fresh deli section, I could tell just by looking inside the clear box that it was inundated with dressing. The substance pooled at the bottom and left the spiraled noodles swimming for their lives in the muck.

Aside from their shared sauce mishaps, though, Walmart's pasta salad is different than Kroger's — and these make it slightly more appetizing. The dressing itself is more reminiscent of a true Italian one, thanks to its base of red wine vinegar. Though, it does hit you with a pang of artificiality on the back end. The add-in choices are also slightly different; they include shredded carrots, red and green bell peppers, and sliced black olives. Supposedly, red onion, green onion, and celery are also thrown in, but I didn't encounter any.

The salad also had a touch of spice that livened up every bite. Since I was unable to put my finger on the exact taste, I turned to the ingredient list for clues. But, I found only the mention of "spices" on its label. Care to elaborate, Walmart?

Roll up your sleeves. We're heading back to the kitchen to construct this boxed pasta from Walmart's Great Value brand. It offers instructions for microwave cooking, but I opted for the old-fashioned way on the stovetop. All you have to do is boil the multi-colored rotini, which are sprinkled with dried red bell peppers. Then, once drained and rinsed with cold water, it's to be fused with the seasoning packet, vegetable oil, and a splash of water.

After this labor of love, I ended up with a simple pasta salad that I would take over the store's ready-made version any day. The most dramatic improvement is that this salad keeps the dressing portion under control, allowing it to just lightly kiss the noodles with a shred of moisture. The flavors are predominately lemony citrus, oregano, and a hint of garlic. With only the dried bell peppers showing up for additional support, though, it does come off rather vanilla when pitted against other, more elaborate makeups.

If you do want to take a swing at this boxed salad (it sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it?), I would suggest following the advice on the box to "punch up flavor with added sliced black olives, diced red bell pepper and shaved Parmesan." I was also intrigued by the other idea it throws out: to add in chicken, artichoke hearts, and pepperoncini slices to make it a meal.

Betty Crocker's Suddenly! has a monopoly on boxed pasta salads. The brand's quick and easy kits, which come in a range of flavors, like Greek, Caesar, BLT, sweet basil, and creamy Parmesan,populate the shelves of many of my local grocery stores. I selected the classic rendition, which includes plain, spinach, and tomato rotini noodles mixed with red peppers and seasonings. Sound familiar? Walmart presumably copied this straightforward recipe with its Great Value version. And, after trying both, I can confirm they are nearly indistinguishable. But, I did enjoy the Suddenly! offering just a hair more.

Although both Suddenly! and Great Value's boxes called for the same 2 tablespoon dose of oil, Suddenly!'s somehow came out more oleaginous, and the noodles were meatier and extra dense. Seasonings were kept lighter in Suddenly!'s salad, but a little went a long way. Basil and parsley teamed up to zhuzh up each bite and small red pepper bits showed up every other. I still wouldn't say it's better than fresh-made pasta salad — at least those that aren't drowning in dressing. However, it's a pasta salad starting point and I would be happy to give the brand's other flavor options a try.

Target's Good & Gather store brand offers two different cold pasta salads: a lemon basil pesto tortellini salad and the tomato basil pasta salad, the latter of which I purchased. Like all of G&G's products, it's free from artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors, and high fructose corn syrup. Instead, it includes fresh ingredients, like thick rigatoni noodles stained with balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese, and plenty of sliced green olives, making for a caprese-meets-pasta kind of meal.

The dark vinegar is, without a doubt, the boldest flavor in the box. It overwhelms the palate as you eat. The acidity soaks into each chewy noodle, hitting your tongue with a biting burst and leaving a lasting tang in your mouth. The dried tomatoes are hard to chew and don't contribute anything by way of flavor. Saltiness exudes from the olives, but that's just about the only seasoning that's detectable. The roasted garlic, basil, parsley, and other spices must have been washed out by the vinegar. Altogether, I'd say it's just about as mediocre as a pasta salad could be, which is why it landed smack dab in the middle of the ranks.

Michigan-born Meijer is a grocery store gem in the Midwest. Its massive supercenters are comparable to Walmart, and it has a similarly extensive selection of ready-to-eat foods like its Greek pasta salad. It's made up of long penne noodles and is positively blasted with feta cheese. Not only does the fromage appear in the form of crumbles, but it's also stirred right into the Greek vinaigrette. Combined with canola oil, white wine vinegar, olive pomace oil, lemon juice, and spices, it resembles more of a creamy paste than a dressing. So, if you're not a feta fan, this isn't going to be the salad pick for you. But, I happened to think it was palatable and even similar to the baked feta pasta that went viral on TikTok.

Aside from the cheese, this Fresh from Meijer pasta salad also tosses in cucumbers and olives. The cubed cucumbers were elusive; I counted maybe three throughout the entire container. Black and green olives were more abundant, but they carried a funky taste and a lack of salty brine. They also came whole. I would have preferred them to be sliced or even just halved — perhaps that would have made their strange flavor less obvious.

It makes sense that Trader Joe's would offer salads with quirky twists — just like its fan-favorite Waldorf salad. The brand's pasta salads are the most salad-like of all the brands I sampled, thanks to their inclusion of real greens. First up is the lemon basil. Farfalle — aka bowties, since it's easier to say — is the noodle shape of choice in this salad. This is a fairly common pick for a pasta salad and it's not the reason I consider the salad, as a whole, to be quirky. Rather, its add-ins, which include a heap of chopped spinach, small zucchini ribbons, shredded Asiago cheese, basil, and blanched peas, make it quite unusual. It's a rare mingling of ingredients, and you're unlikely to find in any other grocery store pasta salad.

Despite its peculiarity, the components fit together quite well. The problem I have with this salad is its overall muted flavor and lack of zest. Its lemon vinaigrette makes it light and fresh, and juice from the accompanying lemon wedge supplements the dressing. But all you really taste is dull citrus, and since foods like spinach and peas don't offer a powerful, natural savoriness, the entire dish suffers. It could use some extra garlic or even just a few shakes of salt and pepper. At least it feels like you're getting some nutrition out of this salad, though.

This is exactly what I imagine when I think of a traditional pasta salad. Reser's specializes in prepared foods and just by looking at its garden pasta salad, I could tell it was a promising pick. Underneath the container's red lid you'll find mini penne pasta (and I do mean mini, these were some of the smallest penne noodles I've ever seen) dressed up with a zesty vinaigrette dressing flavored with a hint of Dijon mustard, garlic, oregano, and parsley. It is a tad oily and the slightest bit over-sauced, but it's nowhere near the soaked salads from Walmart and Kroger.

In terms of other fixings, Reser's skips toppings like cucumbers and olives. Instead, the brand opts for sun-dried tomatoes, a mozzarella and Asiago cheese blend, carrots, and red bell peppers, which add a pleasant texture change and light crunch. Overall, it offers a kind of nostalgic and homemade taste that most of the previous options lacked, and there's even more good news. Reser's also produces other pasta salad flavors including bacon ranch and cheddar bacon — not to mention countless other potato salads, macaroni salads, coleslaws, and even side dishes like ham salad and seafood salad.

If you shop at Whole Foods, you know the natural grocer's selection of prepared foods is second to none. This section of the store is a haven of inviting smells and quick grab-and-go meals. It is here that customers can find a smoked mozzarella pasta salad, a Greek tortellini pasta salad, and a bistro pasta salad. I picked up the latter to test against the field.

At first, I thought I might have to scoop it myself from the salad bar. But, it comes prepackaged in a small tub, and let me tell you, this is one pasta salad you don't want to miss. It follows Trader Joe's lead with its use of bowtie noodles, which are boiled to a perfect firm yet tender consistency. A marriage of red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and spices like oregano, thyme, and rosemary give the noodles moisture. There's just the right amount of relish here where it's not overwhelming. Then, the real stars of the show are the veggies and salty Kalamata olives. Cucumbers, small artichoke heart chunks, bits of zucchini, and sun-dried tomatoes all team up, and we can't forget about the feta. It's filling, diverse, and elevated.

Trader Joes' second pasta salad is orzo-based — you know, the trendy pasta that looks like large grains of rice? This salad actually started as a family recipe inspired by the fresh food of the Mediterranean. Trader Joe's also notes that "its savory and salty flavors perfectly evoke its regional namesake" and I couldn't agree more.

A handful of shredded spinach sits atop the rest of the salad, giving it a healthful appearance. As you dig down and give it a stir, though, its other fresh components start to take shape. Tiny orzo noodles made me feel like I should have been eating them with a spoon rather than a fork. Regardless, they were flawlessly cooked and have a perfectly springy texture. A few sun-dried tomatoes added some color as well, as Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and red onion — the latter of which is my personal favorite ingredient. The raw onion's pungency brought the entire salad to another level. If it was up to me, all pasta salads would include at least a few pieces of diced onions. 

Last, the pièce de résistance was the dressing. The clever fusion of basil pesto and white balsamic vinaigrette was subtle yet rich, acidic, and herbaceous — a well-made sauce for a well-made salad.

To rank these store-bought pasta salads, I focused on a few different key factors. First was the texture of the pasta. I didn't judge based on noodle shape, but I wanted the pasta to be cooked to the right consistency — not too mushy or overly firm. Next, I evaluated the mix of other accompanying ingredients. A good pasta salad should offer a cohesive blend of vegetables, cheeses, or proteins that taste fresh and complement each other rather than clash with one another. Unfortunately, boxed options had a disadvantage in this department, as their dried or rehydrated ingredients tend to lack the vibrancy of fresh versions. Dressing also had the power to make or break each dish. I looked for choices that livened up the mix but didn't flood the salad, like Walmart and Kroger did with their selections

In the end, I favored pasta salads that surprised my taste buds. My top picks featured unique combinations that were refreshing in more ways than one. Whether it was a well-done traditional take or a medley of unexpected ingredients, these store-bought picks exemplified pasta salad done right.