The ideal summer salad - fresh, vibrant and, super easy to make! This beautiful pasta salad is a no-fuss, healthy meal that will become your new best friend on a busy day.
This summer pasta salad is an eternal favorite in my house, I make this at least once a week and in large quantity so we can use it for as many meals as possible. Believe me, it's a real blessing to have a bowl of this deliciousness sitting in the refrigerator, ready to be eaten up when you can't bear the thought of turning on a stove!
Bright, colorful, vibrant, and fresh, this crowd-pleasing dish is a complete meal in itself.
How To Make Summer Pasta Salad
- Start with cooking your pasta of choice. I used fusilli here.
- Then, toss in any freshly chopped vegetable of your choice - bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, onions. But you can use whatever you have at home - broccoli, spinach, zucchini, corn, grilled eggplant, peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and avocados.
- Combine the cooked pasta, chopped veggies, and the balsamic vinaigrette.
- Optional - for an extra touch, you can top off the salad with cheese. My go-to cheeses here are either crumbled feta, grated parmesan, or cubed mozzarella.
Pro Tips
- Note about prepping pasta - when you're done boiling it in salted water, drain the pasta then rinse with cold water and toss it in some olive oil, to avoid the pasta sticking together.
- I used some tangy pickled onions in this salad. They add a lot of flavor so don't skip them! Here's how I made them- Soak one large sliced onion in one part red wine vinegar, one part warm water, half a teaspoon salt & sugar for at least 20 mins. Drain and enjoy.
- This is a great salad to make ahead and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
How To Make Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette
Last but not least, the dressing. This is my go-to quick salad dressing - robust garlic flavor, aromatic fresh basil, sharp lemon juice, all gets rounded off nicely with sweet tangy balsamic vinegar!
Combine all of the ingredients in a mortar and pestle or a food processor and pulse till you have a coarse sauce. Taste to adjust and then toss your salad with this dressing!
Why Make Your Own Salad Dressing
Making your salad dressings is really simple. It's also far healthier and cheaper than the bottled stuff available in the market. It offers you the versatility to change the taste to your liking, you get to control the sugar and sodium, and best of all, it's made without any preservatives or additives.
More Salad Recipes
Half the joy of cooking is sharing it with others. That’s why I’m always eager to hear from you. So go right ahead & drop a comment or reach out on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Facebook. I hope you love this summer pasta salad as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Summer Pasta Salad w/ Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 10 oz / 300 gms Pasta I used fusilli. Please feel free to use any pasta you prefer.
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, julienned
- 1 Yellow Bell Pepper, julienned
- 2 Cucumbers, julienned
- 1 Onion, pickled
- 100 gms Cherry Tomatoes
- Handful of parsley
Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 20/25 Fresh Basil Leaves
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 5 tbsp Extra virgin Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Microgreens for topping ( optional)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta as per the directions. Drain it and keep aside.
- Once the pasta is cooled, add in the vegetables - red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and pickled onions.
- Toss with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with parsley. Top with microgreens. Serve cold or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Vinaigrette
- Combine all ingredients in your mortar pestle or food processor. Pulse till a coarse sauce is formed. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
Nutrition
Sweta Sharma says
This was amongst the first salads I made years ago and remains a favourite with us even today 🙂
Natasha Minocha says
Oh thank you so much Shweta! This means the world to me xx
Drew G says
this was so easy to make, turned out very good! thank you for sharing
Natasha Minocha says
Thank you so much, Drew!xx
Easyfoodsmith says
Your salad certainly screams of summer...so pretty and fresh.
Natasha Minocha says
Thank you so much! xoxo
kanika kochhar says
Entertaining young guests for a day spend....had time in between and went to read your blog.
Can identify with one salad which the family loves now and thanks to u we are using couscous and quinoa in our food!
Did the latest salad with couscous ,mint leaves,basil leaves fresh from my balcony!!
with mango,cucumber,capsicum ,tomato relish -loads of it ,with olives , lime juice,balsamic vinaiger and a dash of teriyaki sauce !
Cold from the chiller -a happy treat!
going to try mango yogurt next....
natashaminocha says
Thank you so much Kanika!! And your salad sounds absolutely delicious!
xx
kanika kochhar says
Hi Nutty buddy!
entertaining young guests at home today .....had time in between and went on your blog...
thanks to you have learnt about couscous and quinoa and am using them in salads .
H