Herbed Pasta Salad

This herbed pasta salad is fresh and a perfect Summer meal. It is loaded in herbs and is dressed in a tart yogurt dressing. The flavors complement each other beautifully.

Although I made this with basil, mint, celery leaves and parsley please feel free to pick and choose whichever herbs you like. Other good herbs would be dill or chives. Even cilantro would work here!

I used penne pasta but you can use any pasta you want for this. Just make sure you cook them al dente.

Although I used Feta cheese for this you can exclude it if you want or substitute with a fresh, salty cheese of your choice.

I also used a mashed garlic clove for the dressing. I realize that many people do not like the flavor of raw garlic in their salads. If you are one of them please don’t worry and skip the garlic all together. Your salad will still taste great.

As a final note, left over noodle salads tend to absorb all the dressing and get very dry so you will need to make some more dressing to doctor it the following day.

This is what you are going to need to make this delish salad herbed pasta salad with yogurt dressing:

Serves four

8 oz. (250 grams) of penne pasta — cooked al dente
1 tablespoon chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
1 tablespoon chopped celery leaves
1 1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 large or 2 small celery stalks — with strings removed and sliced
1/4 cup finely sliced red onion
1 cup Marzano or cherry or grape tomatoes — halved
1/2 cup (65 grams) Feta cheese or any white salty cheese

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss.

DRESSING:

1 small garlic clove — optional
1/2 cup (125 grams) plain Greek yogurt — or simply plain yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/3 cup (43 grams) olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt & Pepper

If you are using garlic — smash the clove with a knife and sprinkle with salt. Puree the garlic with the back of a spoon until you have a smooth paste. Place it in a bowl.

Add all the other ingredients and whisk until you have a smooth dressing. Taste for salt and adjust. Remember you have cheese in the salad so don’t go overboard.

Add the dressing to the pasta and mix it in well.

If you have left overs, store them in the fridge in a closed container. The noodles will absorb the dressing so you will need to make some more the following day to doctor it before eating. Enjoy!

Print the Herbed Pasta Salad Recipe Here

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