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This Summer Pasta Salad recipe is packed with fresh vegetables, tangy feta cheese, artichoke hearts, and zesty Italian dressing for a light and refreshing side dish. Easy to make ahead, it’s perfect for picnics, potlucks, barbecues, and all your favorite summer gatherings.
If you love easy summer side dishes, be sure to try my Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad and Easy Italian Pasta Salad too!
Why you’ll love this easy summer pasta salad!
This fresh summer pasta salad is everything you want in a warm-weather side dish. It’s colorful, loaded with texture, and comes together with simple ingredients in very little time.
- Fresh and Flavorful: Crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, feta cheese, and Italian dressing create the perfect balance of flavors.
- Easy to Customize: Swap ingredients based on what you have on hand or what’s growing in your garden.
- Perfect for Entertaining: Great for cookouts, potlucks, picnics, and backyard barbecues.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: The flavors get even better after chilling in the refrigerator.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Rotini pasta – The twists hold onto the dressing and ingredients perfectly.
- Arugula – Adds a peppery bite and fresh flavor.
- Bell pepper – Use red, yellow, orange, or green peppers.
- Red onion – Provides a sharp flavor and crunch.
- Cucumber – Adds freshness and texture.
- Cherry tomatoes – Sweet and juicy, perfect for summer salads.
- Artichoke hearts – Add a tangy, savory flavor.
- Feta cheese – Brings a creamy, salty element to the salad.
- Fresh basil – Adds bright summer flavor.
- Fresh parsley – Helps freshen and balance the dish.
- Italian dressing – Ties everything together with bold flavor.
- Salt and pepper – Adjust to taste.
Variations
- Use roasted vegetables like zucchini or eggplant, or steamed broccoli.
- Swap the arugula for spinach.
- Use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand from your garden.
- Omit the feta or swap it for Parmesan cheese.
- Use a homemade vinaigrette with olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice instead of Italian dressing.
- Add kalamata or black olives.
- Toss in diced salami.
How to Make Summer Pasta Salad
- Toss the ingredients: Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Chill: Place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestions
This summer pasta salad pairs perfectly with Grilled Chicken Kabobs, burgers, hot dogs, brats, BBQ Pulled Pork, or Crock Pot Ribs. It also works well alongside fresh fruit salad, Baked Beans, or grilled vegetables. For a light lunch, enjoy it on its own with a slice of crusty bread.
How to Store
This salad can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. Simply keep it in an airtight container or wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. When you’re ready to serve, give it a good stir to redistribute the dressing and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
The best kind of pasta for pasta salad is any short, sturdy pasta. This includes shapes like shells, elbows (like in macaroni salad), or rotini. These pastas hold up well to the dressing and can be easily mixed with the other ingredients.
Pasta salad is a great side dish for any summer meal. Serve it alongside grilled chicken or burgers, on its own as a light lunch, or take it to your next potluck or picnic. It pairs well with other summer favorites like watermelon, corn on the cob, and ambrosia salad, along with other salad recipes like potato salad, pea salad, and Waldorf salad.
If you’re making summer pasta salad for a potluck or picnic, it’s best to make it the night before. This gives the flavors time to meld together so the salad is at the peak of deliciousness when you’re ready to serve it! If you’re short on time, you can also make it in the morning and let it sit for an hour or two before serving.
If your pasta salad is bland, it may be because it’s not properly seasoned. Be sure to taste the salad before serving and add salt and pepper as needed. You may also need to add more dressing if the salad seems dry. Another reason your salad might be bland is if your pasta or veggies were still wet when you added them to the salad; this will water down the flavor of the dressing. Be sure to drain everything well!
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Summer Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried rotini pasta cooked
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 cucumber seeded and diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 12oz jar artichoke hearts in water drained and diced
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
- ⅓ cup basil finely chopped
- ⅓ cup parsley finely chopped
- 1 ¼ cups Italian dressing
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Season to taste. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Cook the pasta just until al dente so it doesn’t become mushy.
- Pat vegetables dry before adding them to prevent a watery salad.
- Cut all vegetables into similar-sized pieces for easy eating.
- Make the salad a day ahead for even better flavor.
