When you want a showstopper of a side dish for a party, make this Green Goddess Pasta Salad for a summer stunner!
This one will really show off if you show up to a backyard barbecue with it. The balance of flavors is so good you just might not leave with any leftovers!
Aside from just being beautiful, the flavor that comes from the Green Goddess Dressing is just out of this world. I make a double batch most of the time. I have included links to a few more ways to use it at the bottom of this post!
Ingredients
HOW beautiful does this look, just laid out there I am excited and hungry! This is what I call a go-with-the-flow recipe.
You can totally switch up the pasta to anything that works for you or that you have on hand. The veggies and herbs can also be swapped for something you might prefer more or that might be in season at the farmer's market or in your garden.
What you need:
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Asparagus
- Pasta
- Green Goddess Dressing
- English Cucumber
- Avocados
- Kosher Salt, Diamond Crystal
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- Basil
- Dill
- Chives
- Pickled Red Onions
- Fresh Mozzarella
See the recipe card for full quantities.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.
Method
When using vegetables with a firm bite to them, I start by slicing them up into bite-sized pieces, then bringing a large pot of water to a boil and seasoning it well with salt. Blanche the veg in the boiling water for a couple of minutes then plunge it into some ice water to stop the cooking and keep their bright green color.
In the same pot of salted water that I cook the veg in I cook the pasta in. Cook it according to package directions for al dente, then drain and rinse in cold water to stop it from cooking. Throw it in a large bowl with the dressing, drained veg, some salt and pepper and you're basically done.
I let the salad rest in the fridge for a few hours to allow the pasta to soak up some of the dressing and get really flavorful. Then before serving, I top with the torn mozzarella cheese and some of the pickled red onions. You can stir in some of the onions too if you like. Finish with some more herbs and a few basil leaves if you've got them just to make it look really nice.
Notes & Tips
The best tip for quick success with this recipe is to place a large pot of water on the stove to boil and heavily salt it! You will use this to blanch the vegetables and to cook the pasta in. That is the hardest part of this recipe, everything else is gravy, or should we say dressing, lol!
If you are making my dressing recipe, you can prep that up to 3 days before you want to use it. This is a great idea if you are prepping this for a party and really helps take the stress out of hosting or taking something to an event.
This salad keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, even with the avocado in it. Beyond that, all the flavors go a little wild. I would suggest making it only up to 1 day before serving.
Substitutions
As mentioned earlier, this is a bit of a go-with-the-flow recipe. You can make it exactly as I have written it or use it as a guide. I used asparagus and snap peas, you could use green beans and English peas. Do what makes you happy or use what you've got.
Don't get hung up on pasta shape. You can literally use ANY pasta shape you love for this, I found the shape you see here at Trader Joe's.
The avocado might be the one thing you can leave out of this recipe altogether. If you want to make this recipe a few days in advance I would leave it out and serve over top just before putting it out or leave it off altogether.
Basil, dill, and chives were all going wild in my herb garden when I made this. You can use one or all of these if you want. But the lush herby flavor of using all of them is FANTASTIC!
You can make or purchase pickled red onions, but you NEED them for this. They bring such a great sweet, tart, brightness to the pasta salad that is so good!
While you can leave the cheese off if you need to for dietary reasons, if you do use it try to find a nice fresh variety that can be torn into beautiful pieces. Tearing it in this way just makes for fresh little flavor bombs that are scattered throughout.
More Green Goddess Goodness!
I'm showing lots of Green Goddess love lately. It all started with my version of the OG dressing. It is so bright and herbaceous, and perfectly used in this chicken salad recipe too.
For a protein-packed lunch, check out my Green Goddess Chicken Salad. It can be enjoyed as a sandwich, in salad cups, or on its own with crackers for a quick and flavorful lunch.
For another all-green showstopper, try my Green Goddess Potato Salad. It shows off beautiful produce as well as the delicious bright and fresh dressing.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know by leaving a review or comment! And be sure to sign up for my newsletter, and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
📖 Recipe
Green Goddess Pasta Salad
When you want a showstopper of a side dish for a party, make this Green Goddess Pasta Salad for a summer stunner!
Ingredients
- 1 pound Sugar Snap Peas, sliced in ½ inch pieces, blanched and shocked
- 1 pound Asparagus, sliced in 2 inch pieces, blanched and shocked
- 1 pound Pasta, cooked and cooled
- 1 recipe Green Goddess Dressing
- ½ English Cucumber, sliced
- 2 each Avocados, diced
- Kosher Salt, Diamond Crystal - as needed
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper - as needed
- 12-14 Basil leaves, finely sliced
- ¼ cup Dill fronds, stems removed
- ⅓ cup Chives, minced
- 1 cup Pickled Red Onions
- Fresh Mozzarella, torn over top for serving
Instructions
- Place a large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil and add a generous amount of salt to the pot (about ½ cup).
- Once boiling, place the snap peas and asparagus into the pot and boil for 2 minutes then remove them to a bowl of ice water.
- Bring the water back to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- Drain and rinse the pasta with cool water to stop it cooking.
- While the pasta cools, make the green goddess dressing.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooked and cooled pasta together with the snap peas asparagus, cucumber, and avocado with the dressing, some salt, and pepper, basil, dill, and chives reserving just a bit of the chives for garnish on top.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
- Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve.
- The salad can be made a day ahead, the flavors just get better with time!
- Toss everything together again before serving and top with the pickled red onions, torn mozzarella, and reserved chives. A few basil leaves on top also make a nice garnish if you have them around.
- Serve immediately and Enjoy!
Notes
Notes & Tips
The best tip for quick success with this recipe is to place a large pot of water on the stove to boil and heavily salt it! You will use this to blanch the vegetables and to cook the pasta in. That is the hardest part of this recipe, everything else is gravy, or should we say dressing, lol!
If you are making my dressing recipe, you can prep that up to 3 days before you want to use it. This is a great idea if you are prepping this for a party and really helps take the stress out of hosting or taking something to an event.
This salad keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, even with the avocado in it. Beyond that, all the flavors go a little wild. I would suggest making it only up to 1 day before serving.
Substitutions
As mentioned earlier, this is a bit of a go-with-the-flow recipe. You can make it exactly as I have written it or use it as a guide. I used asparagus and snap peas, you could use green beans and English peas. Do what makes you happy or use what you've got.
Don't get hung up on pasta shape. You can literally use ANY pasta shape you love for this, I found the shape you see here at Trader Joe's.
The avocado might be the one thing you can leave out of this recipe altogether. If you want to make this recipe a few days in advance I would leave it out and serve over top just before putting it out or leave it off altogether.
Basil, dill, and chives were all going wild in my herb garden when I made this. You can use one or all of these if you want. But the lush herby flavor of using all of them is FANTASTIC!
You can make or purchase pickled red onions, but you NEED them for this. They bring such a great sweet, tart, brightness to the pasta salad that is so good!
While you can leave the cheese off if you need to for dietary reasons, if you do use it try to find a nice fresh variety that can be torn into beautiful pieces. Tearing it in this way just makes for fresh little flavor bombs that are scattered throughout.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 128Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 56mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g
This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.
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