Summer Pasta Salad. Pasta salad is on the menu in a big way this summer. Not content with mere side dish status, the best pasta salads are busting out main-dish moves with bold tastes and textures. Take a look at some of our favorite main dish pasta salad recipes to make this summer.
Cold pasta salads are not only creamy and delicious—and a great way to get garden vegetables into a dish the kids will eat—but they're also the ideal barbecue side dish for summer, because they're meant to be served chilled. Transform the classic sandwich into a picnic-perfect pasta salad: Crispy bacon, ripe summer tomatoes and fresh lettuce pop against the creamy pasta spirals. Pasta Salads are a cinch to make and a great way to show off summer veggies. You can cook Summer Pasta Salad using 18 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you cook it.
Ingredients of Summer Pasta Salad
- You need 2 Cups of Cooked Wholewheat Pasta (I use Rotini).
- You need 2 of Nectarines.
- You need 2 Cups of Rocket.
- It's 2 of Large Tomato’s (any tomato will work).
- Prepare 1/2 of Large Cucumber.
- Prepare 1/2 of White Onion.
- You need 1 Cup of Feta Cheese.
- Prepare 1 Bunch of Fresh Basil.
- You need Handful of Fresh Chives.
- Prepare of Optional: Quorn Chicken (or any protein!).
- Prepare of Honey Mustard Dressing.
- You need 1/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- It's 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice.
- It's 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar.
- Prepare 2 Tablespoons of Dijon Mustard.
- You need 1 Clove of Minced Garlic.
- Prepare 2 Tablespoons of Honey.
- You need to taste of Salt & Pepper.
Add some grilled chicken or shrimp, and you've got the makings of a satisfying meal. What really sets a good pasta apart though is a great, creamy dressing. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Shrimp, Lemon & Gemelli Party Pasta Salad Recipe Dill, mustard, and capers are just a few of the flavors that spice up this easy to make pasta salad.
Summer Pasta Salad step by step
- Cook the Pasta (al dente) and set aside to cool. Toss with a little oil to keep from sticking together!.
- Dice the vegetables & nectarines into small chunks..
- Finely chop the chives, and tear the basil into small piece..
- Crumble the feta cheese on top..
- Mix all of the ingredients for the honey mustard in a jar or bowl. If using a jar, add all the ingredients and shake well!.
- Pour dressing (as much or as little as you want!) onto the salad & serve!.
- Mix the pasta with all of the vegetable, nectarine, herbs, and if you decide to put in Quorn chicken pieces or other proteins do so..
Take a bite out of summer with these small pasta salad recipes! A friend served this BLT pasta salad, and I just had to get the recipe. My husband loves BLT sandwiches, so this has become a favorite of his. Summer means cookouts, and cookouts mean pasta salad. We're bringing our favorite kinds of pasta salad to the table and letting the mayo and no-mayo renditions duke it out once and for all.
