Honey Balsamic Pasta Salad

Summer Season

Welcome to Beet Season’s Summer Shorts series, where I’ll be sharing recipes with a short post than normal, with hopes that I can spend less time writing blog posts and more time cooking and sharing new recipes (and who really wants to spend summer reading long posts on the computer?). This week’s Summer Short recipe is for honey balsamic pasta salad.

I love having a batch of potato salad or pasta salad in the fridge all summer long, as a snack or to grab as a quick lunch in between all that’s going on. My requirements for these grab-and-go salads are that they taste better after resting a few hours and be mayo free so some of that sitting time can be done at room temperature without fears of food poisoning.

The key to a great pasta salad is a great dressing and this is one you don’t want to miss- garlicky, tangy, slightly sweet balsamic goodness that also makes for a great salad dressing (though reduced the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp). Looking at the recipe, you may be alarmed by the 2 tsp of salt in the dressing, but remember this dressing is going to coat and flavor a pound of pasta. So even though the dressing on its own will taste salty, you need that to get a well-seasoned pasta salad.

Keeping with the theme of maximizing your summer fun, look for pre-sliced sun-dried tomatoes, pepperonicis, and olives to speed up prep time. I kept this version cheese and meat free, but mozzarella balls and chopped salami would be great additions if that’s your vibe. Likewise, we are a bit early for in-season tomatoes so I opted for sun-dried version in this recipe. But cherry tomatoes would make a delicious substitute for the sun-dried tomatoes. Cut them in half, sprinkle with salt, and let sit a few minutes to let the juices come out before mixing with the remaining ingredients.

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5 from 1 vote

Honey Balsamic Pasta Salad

A garlicky, tangy, slightly sweet balsamic dressing makes this pasta salad shine. Looking at the recipe, you may be alarmed by the 2 tsp of salt in the dressing, but remember this dressing is going to coat and flavor a pound of pasta. So even though the dressing on its own will taste salty, you need that to get a well-seasoned pasta salad.

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Author: Sammy

Ingredients

Dressing

• 2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• ¼ c balsamic vinegar
• ½ c extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp fine sea salt

Pasta Salad

• 1 lb short shaped pasta such as fusilli, farfalle/bowties, gemelli, campanelle, or small shells
• ¾ c sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil type) drained and sliced
• ¾ c pepperoncini drained and sliced
• ½ c kalamata olives drained and chopped
• ½ c red onion thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano chopped
• 1 c flat-leaf parsley chopped

Instructions

• Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente, drain and set aside to cool slightly.
• Add all dressing ingredients to a jar; shake well to combine.
• Toss all remaining salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Add cooked pasta and dressing. Mix well. Cover and transfer to refrigerator until ready to serve (flavors will be best after sitting for a couple of hours).