Pasta Salad with Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

A light and fresh pasta salad with lemon herb vinaigrette is the perfect pasta salad to make this summer.

Pasta salad has always been one of my favourite dishes. I didn’t grow up with the mayonnaise-heavy versions you often see at weekend barbecues, but the kind my mom has always made has a delicious and tangy herbed dressing. I took inspiration from my mom’s pasta salad to create this lemony herb version.

Most pasta salads hold up pretty well in the fridge for a few days, but because this recipe uses spinach, I find that it’s best within the first two of days, otherwise the spinach will begin to get a little soggy. Another option would be to leave the spinach out until just before serving, that way you completely avoid the potentially soggy spinach situation.

The vinaigrette is super simple, a combination of garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, dried oregano, dried basil and olive oil. Of course there’s salt and pepper in there too, but that’s a given.

It’s so easy to go overboard with the mix-ins for pasta salad, but for this recipe I wanted to keep it relatively simple, bell peppers are a given. I love the crunch they add here. The first time I tested this recipe, I left out the red onion, but I found without the red onion, the pasta salad was missing a bit of zing. I’m a huge fan of olives, so I used some incredibly savoury and delicious Kalamata olives in here, but you could leave them out if you’re not a fan.

Feta and red onion makes up the rest of our cast of characters. And of course, pasta! I love penne in pasta salad because that’s what I grew up with, but I think bowtie pasta would be super cute here as well.

If you’re heading to any summer potlucks this year, this would be the perfect dish. It’s vegetarian, easy and a crowd pleaser. My Mediterranean pasta salad recipe is also a winner, if you want something a little different.

With this being our first long weekend and the ‘unofficial’ kickoff of summer, I feel like this is the perfect recipe to get you ready for summer cooking. Simple, fresh and flavourful, just the way I like it.

Louisa Clements

Yields 4-6 servings

1

Pasta Salad with Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

20 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For Lemon Herb Vinaigrette:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 tsp lemon zest
For pasta salad:
• 1/2 lb penne pasta (225g)
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 small bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, halved
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a small bowl or mason jar, combine all ingredients for lemon herb vinaigrette. Once pasta is cooked, toss with dressing to avoid it clumping together. Allow pasta to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine cooled pasta with spinach, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, feta, olives and red onion.

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Let me know if you give this pasta salad with lemon herb vinaigrette a try in the comments below.