Let’s be honest, we all love a delicious and simple pasta salad recipe. It gives you all the benefits of eating an extremely healthy meal while filling you up at the same time. I found this recipe on Love & Lemons and to say I’m obsessed, is an understatement. This recipe is vegetarian but I would recommend adding some grilled chicken on the side if you’re creating a full meal. The best part about this salad is it’s delicious the next day. I always think pasta salad tastes 10x better the following day, so let me know what you think!
The Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence, or dried Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
The Salad Components
- 3 cups uncooked fusilli pasta
- 2 heaping cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 cup Persian cucumbers, sliced into thin half moons
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup basil leaves, torn
- ½ cup minced parsley
- ½ cup chopped mint
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Cook your pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, as you usually would. Drain it and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, toss it with some olive oil (very lightly) and set it aside to cool.
Chop your cherry tomatoes in half, chop your cucumbers and parsley, and add it to a large bowl with the arugula and remaining ingredients. Add the cooled pasta.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients.
Add dressing into the large bowl, mix everything together and sprinkle the crumbled Feta on top!
There you have it, a simple pasta salad recipe that you and your family will absolutely adore! The only thing that would make this better is a soup to go along with your salad! Check out my other favorite soup recipe, right here: Easy & Delicious Winter Soup
