Inspired by one of my favorite salad dressings, this green goddess pasta salad is bright and tangy, cool and creamy, and loaded with green veggies. It's vegetarian too, making it an excellent contribution to any potluck, picnic, or BBQ.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword pasta salad
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Calories 161kcal
Ingredients
1poundcasarecce, gemelli or fusilli pasta, or your favorite short, ridged pasta
Kosher salt, for pasta water
1cupfrozen peas
2cupspacked fresh spinach, chopped
1cuppitted castelvetrano olives, halved
1cupcucumber, seeded and chopped (use a soft skin cucumber such as English or Persian, or peel the skin of a regular hot house cucumber. Cut cucumber in half, lengthwise, then use a teaspoon to drag it down the middle, scraping out the seeds)
1cupgreen goddess dressing, recipe below
basil, chopped, for serving
parsley, chopped, for serving
Parmesan, shaved, for serving
Green Goddess Dressing
½ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup sour cream
½cupfresh parsley
⅓cup fresh basil
3tablespoonsfresh chives, chopped
3tablespoonslemon juice
1clove garlic , (optional)
¼ teaspoonkosher salt
¼ teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water, until al denté and still a bit firm. During the last minute of cooking the pasta, add the frozen peas. Once pasta is finished cooking, rinse under cool water and drain well.
While pasta is cooking, make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth.
Transfer cooled pasta and peas to a large serving bowl. Add the spinach, olives, cucumber, and dressing, tossing well to combine. To serve, top with fresh basil, parsley, and shaved Parmesan.
Notes
This pasta salad can be served at room temperature, or chilled.