Our Favorite Fast Summer Pasta Salad
It’s the best of both worlds. Cold and tender pasta with salty olives and feta cheese, crisp cherry tomatoes and cucumbers and lots of fresh parsley.
It’s a no mayonnaise recipe, I can get behind. Trust me, you don’t miss it. The dressing is tangy – the shallots and red wine vinegar make it different.
The pasta soaks up all the dressing. Doubling the dressing recipe is a good idea – pour more over it right before serving. So good.
This recipe makes a huge salad – enough for over 15 people as a side dish.
I made this for a large backyard party with adults and kids. There was plenty to go around. You can easily half this recipe so you aren’t feeding your whole neighborhood.
Add in more.
Here is a list of other vegetables and herbs, you could add to take it to another level.
- sun dried tomatoes
- roasted red peppers
- scallions
- celery
- salami
- banana peppers
More and more salad recipes.
Our Favorite Summer Pasta Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This makes enough for your whole neighborhood – share it with everyone. It tastes even better the next day!
Ingredients
- 1 box of gluten free pasta
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1/2 teaspoon both salt and pepper
- 1 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 large or 5 mini cucumbers, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (assorted colors is best)
- 3/4 cup olives (assorted colors is best)
- 1 cup feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions – decrease the time by 1 minute. Best to have the pasta al dente with a bit of a bite. Drain and immediately spray cold water on the pasta and toss so the water touches all of it and cools it down. Drain and let sit.
- To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, shallots, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl (I used the bowl that I was going to serve the salad in). Whisk together.
- When the pasta is cooled, pour it into the bowl with the dressing. Top with the cucumbers, tomatoes, olive and feta cheese. Toss with tongs to fully coat everything. Make sure to dig deep and bring the ingredients at the bottom of the bowl to the top.
- Chill in your refrigerator until serving or serve right away.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: salad
- Method: stove-top
- Cuisine: salad
Did you make this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @whitesparrowfoodco or #whitesparrowfoodco I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe!
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