Garden-Fresh Pasta Salad

This Garden-Fresh Pasta Salad recipe uses fresh but common ingredients, and total ease in making it. Plus, I just cannot get enough cherry tomatoes right now!

A bowl of salad, with Pasta

Garden-Fresh Pasta Salad

Don’t forget to try this delicious Taco Salad or this amazing BLT Pasta Salad! My current favourite is Dill Pickle Pasta Salad.

For a salad that is a meal, try this amazing Oriental Chicken Salad – a current favourite with myself and my kids!

Most of the pasta salads I make are mayo-based. Which is great, but sometimes it’s good for the soul {and tummy} to break free from the usual and try a new recipe.

A dish is filled with food, with Salad and Pasta

This, my friends, is how you find true gems that are welcomed into your recipe box, to be made regularly.

This is the case with Garden-Fresh Pasta Salad, a recipe I found on the Kraft Canada website. What drew me to this recipe was the fresh {but common} ingredients, and the ease of making it. Plus, I just cannot get enough cherry tomatoes right now!

Result? Love!

I admire a salad recipe that can be made ahead and one which tastes even better the next day. It’s hard to come by for salads!

This summer recipe fits well with busy days, when you might only have prep time in the early morning. When you have this Garden-Fresh Pasta Salad recipe ready and waiting for you, you might now hit that drive-thru either. It also goes without saying that it’s a perfect one to compliment that BBQ meal!

My husband literally said after the first bite, ‘wow, very fresh!‘. I laughed and told him that actually, ‘fresh’ is in the name of the recipe, very ironic.

Admitingly, he was very skeptical of this at first.. Yet after finishing his serving and while reaching for seconds he said he wouldn’t mind if I made this one again. Summer-salad score!

Thing is, summer is a great time to utilize the freshest food you can find, and there’s nothing like a cool and tasty pasta salad on a hot day.

Garden Fresh Pasta Salad Recipe
A dish is filled with food, with Salad and Pasta

Garden-Fresh Pasta Salad

Yield: 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

his Garden-Fresh Pasta Salad recipe uses fresh but common ingredients, and total ease in making it. Plus, I just cannot get enough cherry tomatoes right now!

Ingredients

  • 8 cups whole wheat farfalle, bow-tie pasta, uncooked
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1 bottle Calorie-Wise Sun-Dried Tomato & Oregano Dressing, 250 mL
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan Light Grated Cheese

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt and adding broccoli to the boiling water the last 3 min.
  2. Drain; rinse with cold water. Place in large bowl. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese; mix lightly.
  3. Refrigerate 1 hour. Stir gently before serving; top with cheese.

Notes

For added flavour, sprinkle salad with Bacon Bits just before serving.
Substitute 1-inch asparagus pieces for the broccoli florets.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 6 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 347Saturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 151mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 16g

Did you make this recipe?

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70 Comments

  1. I love the recie! I have used that same dressing for roasted vegetables as well- so versatile!

  2. This is a PERFECT summer side salad! I wish I had a garden growing, but we put it off this year, totally bummed.

  3. Sounds so good! I love summer salads- they’re great for dinner and as leftovers for lunch!

  4. this looks absolutely delicious! i am definitely going to give this a go. I always have a craving for different pasta salads and have never tried this one before

  5. Oh my goodness, you know last weekend we went to a BBQ and I couldn’t eat any of the yummy pasta dishes because of my diet, I love that you used whole wheat pasta and that lower-calorie dressing. Now next time I go anywhere or have a BBQ here, I can make this! A dish EVERYONE can enjoy. HA

  6. Yumm this looks so good! My daughter and I are hooked on cherry tomatoes right now too lol They are so full of flavour! Thanks for the recipe!

  7. This looks really nice. I usually do not like Pasta Salad, but this one I thinl I might try.

  8. This is a beautiful pasta salad. I love all the veggies and when it looks pretty like this, my kids would want to eat it.

  9. This looks so amazing and refreshing. I would love to have bowl of this out on the dec while relaxing and reading a book.

  10. I haven’t seen that variety of dressing at the store — I’m going to look for it because we eat salad all the time. In fact, I picked a big bowl of red and yellow grape tomatoes today and need to find something to do with them.

  11. My daughter was just asking me for good pasta salad recipes! I’ll have to share this with her.

  12. I love pasta salads. Do if find they taste better when someone else makes them ? 😉

  13. I love fresh pasta salads. I would add feta cheese, instead of parm. Tomatoes are my fave !

  14. This looks likes an absolutely yummy summer salad. Thank you for sharing, I’m always looking for something different to have when we BBQ and I love that it’s made with fresh veggies I usually have on hand.

  15. Wow, looks so great! I do love finding recipes that feel lighter when you are eating them but still satisfying.

  16. I am always looking for new pasta recipes. This looks so refreshing and tasty. Thanks

  17. This looks so good, we have tired about 10 recipes of yours not including deserts and we loved every one! Thanks for sharing all these 🙂

  18. I love pasta salads, I use Radiatori in my pasta salads as I think it stays in shape better. I usually use a mayo based dressing.

  19. This salad looks so good. I love salads and can’t wait until our garden is planted and producing tomato’s, green peppers etc. Nothing better than fresh vegtables. This is one recipe I will be making. Will be pinning this for later. Yummy!

  20. This salad looks so deliciously refreshing.Eeryone loves the fresh veggies in it and the awesome dressing.I make this one for the family a lot.Thanks.

  21. I used to make a 7 layer salad but it demanded a lot of mayonnaise. I love pasta and tomatoes so this Garden-fresh -pasta salad may be my next favorite one. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you so much for this recipe.

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