Quick and Easy Springtime Pasta Salad

SPRING IS FINALLY HERE! YAY! Do you know what that means? It’s time to switch gears from warming soups, stews, and winter squashes to colorful, fresh, and tasty salads!

Don’t get me wrong, as much as I’m obsessed with my sweet potatoes/starchy veggies, there’s nothing more satisfying to me than a nice salad on a warm, sunny day with the flowers blooming, birds chirping, and the smell of fresh-cut, green grass. I love being able to walk right out to my vegetable garden in my backyard to pick out fresh ingredients for my meals. I mean, what’s better than picking cherry tomatoes right off the vine and popping them in your mouth or picking parsley right out of the pot on the patio and smelling those fresh herbs on your hands for the rest of the day? To me, nothing screams spring and summer more than those things.

Sometimes You Just Want Pasta

While quinoa salads are usually my go-tos, for some reason I’ve had a hankering for some pasta lately. Since I was getting a little worn out on spiralized veggies and because grains don’t agree with me (and can often damage our gut), I decided to try using green lentil pasta. Best idea EVER. If you haven’t tried green lentil pasta before, I highly suggest that you give it a shot. Not only does it taste pretty close to normal pasta, it packs a huge protein and fiber punch, which I was super excited about since it’s usually hard for me to get enough protein in during the day.

The green lentil pasta plus all the fresh veggies and herbs and homemade balsamic dressing creates the perfect spring/summer meal that will leave you feeling satisfied, energized, and healthy. Check out the recipe below and start celebrating the spring/summer season with tasty, nutritious food!

The Recipe

Quick and Easy Springtime Pasta Salad

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Looking for a new, quick and easy spring/summer dish? This fresh pasta salad will leave your tastebuds satisfied and your body energized!

Author: Kaylee

Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner

Ingredients

For the Salad:
2 cups uncooked green lentil pasta
½ cup canned artichoke hearts/hearts of palm, chopped (either one works here, or both!)
½ cup canned water chestnuts, chopped
¾ cup fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
¼ cup canned black olives, chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Sea salt, to taste
Balsamic dressing (I use the recipe below, but you can use any balsamic dressing)
For the Balsamic Dressing:
½ cup balsamic vinegar (the longer aged, the better--I like this one)
⅓ cup avocado/olive oil
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
About ½-1 tablespoon of your favorite Italian herbs
Sea salt, to taste

Instructions

First, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Once it's done, set it aside to let it cool while you prepare the other ingredients for the salad.
Next, place all the ingredients for the dressing together in a container or small mixing bowl. Whisk or shake the ingredients together until they're well-combined and the oil and vinegar are no longer separated and the sugar is dissolved.
Then, place the cooked pasta along with the rest of the ingredients for the salad (besides the dressing) in a large mixing bowl. Toss the ingredients together until they're evenly-combined.
Next, pour a desired amount of dressing over the salad and toss everything together until it's well-coated (you will have leftover dressing).
Then, you can choose to serve the salad right away (I think it has enough flavor to be eaten right away). Or, if your pasta is still a little warm and you would like your ingredients to marinate together more, you can choose to refrigerate the salad until it's chilled and the flavors have had a chance to soak in (about 30 minutes or longer).
Enjoy!

Notes

If you choose to refrigerate the salad before serving, you may need to add a bit more dressing once it is ready to serve because some of the juices will have soaked up into the salad.