Spring Pasta Salad
We're getting to that time of year when cold foods are a refreshing food choice over heavy hot items. This pasta salad is filled with crisp vegetables and finished with our homemade Italian vinaigrette. This recipe makes around 6 to 8 servings and would be a great addition to any backyard BBQ, potluck, or even prepared as a weekly lunch prep item. Feel free to add chicken or shrimp for added protein.
Ingredients
- 1 pkg gluten-free pasta cooked
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 8 oz crumbled feta cheese
- 1 seedless cucumber diced
- 1 bunch asparagus tips only
- 1 orange bell pepper diced
- 1 handful organic arugula
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tsp kosher salt (We love TDW Mineral Salt!)
- fresh cracked pepper
Italian Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil (We love Kasandrinos!)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of kosher salt and cracked pepper (We love TDW Mineral Salt!)
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Generously salt and cook the pasta according to package directions. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the asparagus tips to the water to cook. When the pasta is finished cooking, immediately drain and rinse the pasta and asparagus with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all of the vegetables and feta cheese. Toss in the pasta and asparagus. Drizzle with the Italian vinaigrette and toss well. This may seem like a lot of vinaigrette, but the pasta will soak most of it up! You can also drizzle about 3/4 of the dressing over the pasta, and add the remaining dressing before serving if you're making this ahead.
- Taste the pasta and season with kosher salt and cracked pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
Grilled chicken or shrimp would be a great protein addition to this salad