Whether you have fresh vegetables in your garden or you get veggies from a farmer’s market or grocery store, this Garden Pasta Salad is perfect for summer!
Garden Pasta Salad
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My friend Rebecca makes an amazing cucumber pasta salad every summer. I can’t get enough! This year I asked for her recipe and decided I would tweak it – just a little bit. Here’s the result of the tweaking, and I’m pretty excited about it!
I just love the bow-tie pasta (also called Farfalle) in this pasta salad. Pasta salad is just more fun when you use interesting shapes! Check out some of the other shapes of pasta and how to use them in this post. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Remember, this will be served in a cold salad. If you like a little crunch to your pasta in salads, cook it al dente. If you want soft, tender pasta, cook it a little longer. Just don’t overcook the pasta or it will fall apart!
You’ll want a really large bowl to mix everything in. Make sure you give yourself plenty of room for tossing – there is a lot of pasta and veggies to get covered with the delicious sweet-tart dressing. I like to use soft silicone spatulas like these to mix my pasta salads. Wooden or plastic spoons tend to break the cooked pasta up into tiny pieces. Then you lose all the fun of the shapes!
After you have everything mixed together and covered in dressing, add in some herbs. Fresh are best if you have them, but if not you can use dried. See the printable recipe card below for the amounts of fresh or dried herbs to use. I used parsley, cilantro, and green onions in my Garden Pasta Salad. You can mix and match any way you want. Try basil or dill instead of cilantro – that would be delicious!
What other garden veggies will you try in pasta salads this summer? I’m thinking bell peppers will be a delicious addition to this salad! Enjoy!
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Printable Recipe Card for Garden Pasta Salad
Garden Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 box bow-tie pasta
- 2 medium cucumbers sliced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh green onion
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
- In a large bowl, combine pasta, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Use a bowl that is large enough to give you plenty of space to toss all the ingredients together.
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, salt, and sugar.
- Pour dressing over pasta mixture and toss to coat.
- Gently stir in chopped herbs. A soft silicone spatula like these will help keep the pasta from breaking.
- Refrigerate and serve cold.
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This recipe sounds like a keeper and I can’t wait for fresh tomatoes! Thanks for sharing on the Celebrate 365 Blog Party!
We make this all summer long!