07/27/2026
Garden Fresh Pasta Saladā¦Recipe šš¼
I love having a pasta salad on hand during the Summer. It is a complete meal in a bowl. This one is so satisfying, crisp, flavorful, and delicious!
They are great to have for lunches during the week or to pair alongside chicken or salmon for dinner.
I added a couple of chopped up slices of oven roasted deli turkey to my bowl I had for lunch today to up the protein and satisfaction factor. You could also add garbanzo beans to this too if you like them.
So delicious! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Let me know in the comments if you give it a try.
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Garden Fresh Pasta Salad š«
Ingredients
* 1 pound dried pasta like rotini
* 1 cup chopped bell pepper (1 medium)
* 1 cup thinly sliced zucchini (Ā½ medium)
* 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
* ā
cup chopped red onion
* Ā¼ cup sliced pepperoncini or banana peppers (optional)
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
* 8 ounce package fresh mozzarella pearls
* ā
cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, rinsed and chopped
Dressing
* ā
cup red wine vinegar
* Juice of half a lemon
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
* Ā½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Ā½ teaspoon dried oregano
* 2 to 3 tablespoons juice from pepperoncini jar (optional)
* Ā½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender, 9-10 minutes (check the package for recommended cook time). Drain and rinse well under cold water.
2. While the pasta cooks, make the dressing in the bottom of a large bowl. Whisk together the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper, oregano, and pepperoncini juice (if using), then whisk in the olive oil until blended.
3. Add the drained and rinsed pasta to the dressing and mix well.
4. Stir in the bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, red onion, pepperoncini (if using), parmesan, mozzarella, and herbs. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
5. Serve immediately, or for the best flavor, cover and refrigerate for at least Ā½ hour. It gets better as it sits. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
