This summer pasta salad is packed with the sweetness of pineapple and a creamy dressing. It is a perfect meal prep-friendly summer meal for picnics, potlucks, or BBQs. Be sure to watch the video!
A light, creamy and tasty pasta salad recipe is what we all need to sail through the summer season. And when combined with fresh pineapple cubes? Well, it cannot get any better than that.
It is so comforting to have a light pasta salad for lunch along with a glass of chilled iced tea or mint lemonade during the hot summer afternoon.
It is the perfect recipe for a summer potluck or the office lunchbox . It transports well and can be made in advance. Just allow it to get chilled for the flavours to develop.
The addition of grilled chicken, shrimp, or sun-dried tomatoes makes this pineapple pasta salad more delicious.
Pasta Salad With Pineapple
Pineapple Pasta Salad
You can use either the canned pineapple cubes or the fresh ones.
The Dressing: A creamy Italian-style dressing is perfect for pasta salad. Adding pineapple juice to the dressing gives it a fruity kick. Making the salad all the way more delicious and unique. You can prepare this salad dressing for 2 – 3 days and store it in the refrigerator. Shake well before use.
There are two reasons for a pasta salad to get dry. One, the pasta is cold and hard – secondly, insufficient dressing . The best way to deal with this problem is to keep pasta slightly warm and moist while adding the dressing. And prepare a double batch of dressing. If, before serving, the salad seems dry, add more dressing and toss the salad.
The excellent news is pasta salad can be stored for 2 – 5 days in the fridge, depending on the ingredients. If there are highly perishable ingredients such as seafood, boiled eggs, or uncooked meat, consuming the salad within 1 – 2 days is best. Otherwise, you can easily store pasta salad in an airtight container for a week.
You can use shell pasta, macaroni, fusilli, orzo, penne, or any other bite-size pasta. I do not recommend using long pasta like spaghetti for this salad recipe.
Sadly no. This pasta salad is not freezer-friendly. The herb dressing, grilled chicken, cheese, and fresh vegetables lose their texture and taste once frozen. Therefore, it is best consumed within 1 – 2 hours of assembling or, if refrigerated, then the next day.
Watch Pasta Salad Video
More Salad Recipes
- Lentil Salad
- Avocado Salad
- Fattoush Salad
- Chickpea Salad
- Summer Fruit Salad
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Tropical Pineapple Salad
If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment and a rating. This helps us grow and reach other food lovers like you.
Ingredients
- ▢ 400 gram farfalle pasta
- ▢ ¼ Cup diced red bell pepper
- ▢ ¼ Cup diced cucumber
- ▢ ¼ Cup thinly sliced onion
- ▢ ¼ Cup olives cut into halves
- ▢ ½ Cup pineapple cubes, canned or fresh
- ▢ ¼ Cup fresh basil
Ingredients for the dressing
- ▢ ½ Cup plain mayonnaise
- ▢ ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
- ▢ ¼ Cup pineapple juice
- ▢ 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ▢ Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
To prepare the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Whisk using a fork until nicely emulsified or combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Keep in the fridge.
Chop all the vegetables and pineapple. Assemble in a bowl.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with water.
Add cooked pasta along with the chopped ingredients. Mix nicely.
Pour the dressing over the salad. Gently mix to coat the salad with the dressing.
Let the salad sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serve Creamy Summer Pasta Salad chilled for lunch or evening snacks.
Recipe Notes:
- It is always best to use broad shaped or tube type pasta for salad instead of spaghetti or linguini.
- Pasta is the soul of this salad. Do not overcook or undercook the pasta otherwise the whole salad will be either mushy or dry.
- While boiling pasta it is highly recommended to season the water with salt. This step ensures a well seasoned pasta for salad instead of a bland one.
- It is best to use sweet, ripe and juicy pineapple for making this pasta salad.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
Creamy Summer Pasta Salad Recipe
Equipment
- Salad Mixing Bowl
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 400 gram farfalle pasta
- ¼ Cup diced red bell pepper
- ¼ Cup diced cucumber
- ¼ Cup thinly sliced onion
- ¼ Cup olives cut into halves
- ½ Cup pineapple cubes, canned or fresh
- ¼ Cup fresh basil
Ingredients for the dressing
- ½ Cup plain mayonnaise
- ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ Cup pineapple juice
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
To prepare the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Whisk using a fork until nicely emulsified or combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Keep in the fridge.
Chop all the vegetables and pineapple. Assemble in a bowl.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with water.
Add cooked pasta along with the chopped ingredients. Mix nicely.
Pour the dressing over the salad. Gently mix to coat the salad with the dressing.
Let the salad sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serve Creamy Summer Pasta Salad chilled for lunch or evening snacks.
Video
Notes
- It is always best to use broad shaped or tube type pasta for salad instead of spaghetti or linguini.
- Pasta is the soul of this salad. Do not overcook or undercook the pasta otherwise the whole salad will be either mushy or dry.
- While boiling pasta it is highly recommended to season the water with salt. This step ensures a well seasoned pasta for salad instead of a bland one.
- It is best to use sweet, ripe and juicy pineapple for making this pasta salad.
Nutrition
Lentil Salad is a tasty, and nutritious Mediterranean-style salad. Keep it simple, or make it sexy. Either way, you are going to love this vegetarian, gluten-free salad. Be sure to watch the video!
Green Moong Bean is rich in protein, and when combined with vegetables, it makes an excellent meal in a bowl. You can use them to make sprouts at home.
This gluten-free salad is an amazing, refreshing, lentil tabouleh packed with finely chopped colourful vegetables tossed in a flavoursome vinaigrette-style dressing.
The possibilities, however, don’t end here. There is an endless combination of vegetables and dressings (pick from my favourite 6 salad dressing recipes ) that work for this lentil salad.
You can easily carry this lentil salad to work in a jar .
More Reasons To LOVE Lentil Salad
- perfect side dish for grilled or BBQ meats
- possible vegan recipe (skip the cheese)
- perfect meal-prep friendly salad
- easy to make, no-fuss recipe
- wholesome and nourishing
Ingredients Required
Lentil: Use dried green mung bea n for making the salad. They are easy to cook, inexpensive, readily available , and taste excellent in the salad. Here are my favorite 21 ways to eat lentils .
You can use black beluga lentils, brown lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans, or any other local variety of lentils /legumes also for this salad recipe.
Vegetables: Apart from the salad usuals – onion, tomato, cucumber, feel free to add olives, sun-dried tomato, kale, baby spinach, roasted bell peppers , or any other vegetable of your choice.
Herbs: Fresh parsley, Italian basil, cilantro, mint, or chives are an excellent choices for flavouring the salad.
Cheese Choice: From feta, brie, and ricotta, to goat cheese , any variety of soft cheese is ideal for making this salad more delicious.
Salad Dressing: A classic vinaigrette of olive oil, citrus, garlic, and mustard is the best choice for this hearty lentil salad.
Meal Prep For Lentil Salad
Boil Lentils: Wash, and soak lentils in water for 30 minutes. Next, boil water with salt and bay leaf in a saucepan. Add soaked mung beans. Cook them till al dente and not mushy or overcooked.
Transfer boiled lentils to a sieve or metal colander. Allow to cool down completely before making the salad. You can store cooked mung beans for 2 – 3 days in the fridge.
Prepare Dressing: Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar. Close the lid of the jar. Shake well to combine the ingredients. Keep the salad dressing in the fridge until ready to use. Shake once again before adding to the salad.
Watch Lentil Salad Video
Serving Suggestion
You can serve lentil salad with a variety of side dishes such as:
Roasted Herb Potatoes – oven-roasted garlic and herb potatoes.
Creamy Mushroom Soup – a light and hearty warm mushroom soup.
Grilled Chicken/Seafood of your choice.
Garlic bread, focaccia , sourdough bread, or toasted artisanal bread slices.
Mung Beans are high in plant-based protein, rich in fibre, and low in fat. They’re also packed with folate, iron, phosphorus, and potassium. These are the essential nutrients one needs daily. A cup of lentil salad during lunch or dinner will help you manage your daily nutrient intake.
Yes absolutely! Using canned lentils will cut the prep time. But the only thing you have to deal with is the extra salt in the can. Thoroughly wash the canned lentils to remove all the excess salt. Do not add the liquid in the can to the salad along with lentils.
You can cook lentils without soaking them as well. But soaking them reduces the cooking time to almost half.
Dry lentils will take about 15 minutes to cook in an Instant Pot , whereas the pre-soaked lentils for the salad will need 5 – 6 minutes. First, wash the dry lentils thoroughly to remove dirt or stones. Once done, add them into the inner pot with enough water to submerge the lentils and salt to taste. Set the IP to pressure cook mode for 5 minutes. Once done, release the pressure manually, and check lentils for doneness.
Store cooked lentils in an airtight container for 2 – 3 days in the fridge.
More Salad Recipes
- Avocado Salad
- Fattoush Salad
- Summer Fruit Salad
- Shrimp Mango Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Mung Bean Sprout Salad
- Healthy Brown Chickpea Salad
- Creamy Pasta Salad With Pineapple
If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment and a rating. This helps us grow and reach other food lovers like you.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 Cup green lentil (mung bean)
- ▢ 1 bay leaf
- ▢ 2 teaspoon salt
- ▢ ½ Cup finely chopped red onion
- ▢ ½ Cup finely chopped tomato (deseeded)
- ▢ ½ Cup finely diced cucumber
- ▢ ¼ Cup sliced olives
- ▢ ¼ Cup pomegranate
- ▢ ¼ Cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- ▢ ¼ Cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- ▢ ¼ Cup crumbled feta cheese
Salad dressing
- ▢ ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
- ▢ 2 tablespoon lime juice
- ▢ 1 tablespoon crushed or minced garlic
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- ▢ Salt and black pepper to taste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
Boil Lentils:
- Wash and soak the green moong lentils in enough water for 5 hours.
- In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to boil. Season with salt and bay leaf. Add soaked lentils, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 15 minutes. Lentil should not over cook or turn mushy.
- Drain boiled lentils in a metal colander and allow them to cool completely
Prepare Salad Dressing:
To prepare the salad dressing, whisk all the ingredients of dressing in a bowl or a jar with a lid until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Combine chopped vegetables in a bowl. Add boiled lentil, chopped parsley, and walnuts.
Pour dressing over the salad. Toss the salad gently in the dressing. Sprinkle feta cheese before serving.
Serve lentil salad with toasted bread slice.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
