Balsamic Pasta Salad with lots of green veggies. An easy and simple summery pasta salad. It’s light, it’s crunchy, it has pasta. What more can you need? I love a cucumber salad in the summer, but I want my summer sides to be nutritious AND delicious. This is kind of a green machine, like a salad but with noodles. When I first started looking at pasta salad recipes I realized two things: they have meat and cheese and olives OR they have a creamy dressing. I wanted different and a little lighter than that so that you really can have it at any barbecue, cook out or picnic and still have the deliciousness of pasta salad and healthiness of some vegetables.
Make the Basil Balsamic Dressing
Make the dressing next and really make it to your liking. You can add more salt, basil, or garlic. Add more oil & honey if you think it is too vinegary & more vinegar if it tastes mild. Whisk it up until emulsified & dress the cucumbers with some so that they have time to marinate.
You can skip making the dressing & use your favorite store bought balsamic vinaigrette. (I’d still add the fresh basil!). But I highly suggest making your own because you can make it exactly how you like it. The balsamic dressing packs a punch, but it really soaks into the noodles. Meaning you can make it 24 hours in advance and it will only get better.
Ingredients & Variations
- Pasta: You can choose any noodle, but I love fusili or rotini for a pasta salad. The texture is perfect and they have lots of nooks and crannies.
- Peas: I love peas & they add a lot of nutrition, fiber & a snappy bite to the dish. I wouldn’t omit them, but you can. Add a little more cucumbers or noodles to replace some of the volume.
- Cucumbers: I love to use mini cucumbers here, but feel free to use any type of cucumber. This pasta salad is mostly noodles & cucumbers, so replacing them just won’t yield the same result.
- Fresh Basil: Definitely use fresh basil here over dried if at all possible. But if using dried basil, use 2tbs in the vinaigrette and skip the basil in the actual pasta. Add more at the end to taste.
- Watercress: the watercress can be omitted! It has a very sharp and peppery bite that gets very mild when dressed and once sitting in the noodles. I love it because it is a PACKED super food with so many vitamins and minerals. It adds a real freshness to the pasta that just feels good and healthy.
Home Cook’s Notes
Make sure to cook the your noodles first because we want them to cool down. The same goes the frozen peas. Cook them in the last minute of the pasta boiling, or in the microwave. Just give them time to cool down for serving.
This can be made in advance up to 24 hours. When serving it to a lot of guests, I like to add the peas closer to serving time. They can get brown the longer they sit in the dressing. This tastes delicious but isn’t always the most appealing. Do with this info what you wish!
A big part of this dish is seasoning. I absolutely LOVE peas and the fresh little bites they give, but without salt they can be so bland. So salt those peas to taste & marinate cucumbers before assembling the pasta salad.
Chop your basil & watercress last. After being chopped, the watercress should have shrunk significantly. In a large bowl toss everything together, make sure to toss up the watercress and basil. Add as much dressing as you would like and top with pepper or more basil. Toss to coat and let everything sit as long as possible before serving.
Can I add mozzarella cheese?
I love the idea of using small mozzarella balls in this salad, but haven’t tested it. If you do, please let me know!
Connect with me
One of my favorite desserts to serve in the summer is this Blueberry Cobbler with Cream Cheese Biscuits. It’s the perfect nightcap with a grilled dinner & this pasta salad.
If you make this balsamic pasta salad with cucumbers, let me know here in the comments & rate it! And please follow me on Instagram @quartersoulcrisis where I show step by step videos and reels for each recipe.
Balsamic Pasta Salad with Cumbers & Herbs
Ingredients
- 8 oz dried fusili pasta
- 16 oz frozen peas
- 6 mini cucumbers sliced 1/8 – 1/4 inch
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 cup watercress packed, then chopped
- salt
- coarse ground black pepper
Balsamic Dressing
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tbs honey
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove minced or pressed
- salt & black pepper
- 1 tbs fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions. Give a good pinch of salt to the water. Drain noodles & cool in fridge or on counter until room temp. Make sure to toss every so often while you wait. If noodles get stale, you can quickly run them under a bit of water. Cook Frozen Peas according to directions on bag as well. Let cool together. You can make both of these the night before. Make sure to add pinch of salt to peas!
- Make Balsamic Dressing: Dump all ingredients into a jar or bowl & whisk until emulsified & combined. Set Aside.
- Assemble Pasta Salad: In a large mixing bowl (to fit pasta salad), add chopped cucumbers & pinch salt. Add 1/3 of the balsamic dressing & toss. Let cucumbers marinate for 10 minutes or up to 30. Finally, add the cooked fusili, room temperature peas, chopped basil & watercress to the bowl. Cover with the rest of the dressing. Toss evenly to coat. Serve with more basil & cold or room temperature. Let all ingredients sit about 45 minutes so the noodles can soak up the dressing!*
Home Cook’s Notes
- you can make this overnight, BUT I would wait to add the peas. They soak up some dressing and become browner in color so I like to season them well with salt, and add them in the next day.
- you do not HAVE to let the noodles marinate at the end, but it is definitely best to let them soak that dressing up as long as possible. Even a few hours is great!
Kelsey McGowan says
AMAZING! I just made this and it was incredible. Made me feel so good and healthy.
Quarter Soul Crisis says
Thank you Kelsey!!!!