Easy Green Goddess Pasta Salad with Creamy Dressing
This Green Goddess Pasta Salad is everything you could want for a fresh, flavor-packed dish. Tender pasta is tossed with crisp seasonal vegetables and coated in a creamy avocado lemon herb dressing made with loads of fresh greens, Greek yogurt and garlic. It’s bright, nutritious and full of bold flavor in every bite. The perfect side dish or light meal and exactly the kind of pasta salad that feels just as good as it tastes. 😊
Equipment
- 1 blender (or food processor)
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta, dry (I use chickpea pasta)
- ½ an English cucumber, diced into small pieces (~1½ cups)
- 1 cup green peas
- ½ cup edamame beans, shelled (optional)
- 3-4 green onions, chopped (~¼ cup)
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
For Green Goddess Dressing
- 1 small avocado (or ½ medium)
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup fresh parsley, loosely packed
- ½ cup fresh dill, loosely packed
- ½ cup fresh mint, loosely packed
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 3-4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
- pinch black pepper
- 2-4 tablespoon water (to thin it out as needed)
Instructions
- Start by cooking your pasta in a large pot of water according to the package directions. Be sure to salt your pasta water! I do 1 tablespoon of salt in the pot of pasta water (remember, you'll be dumping most of it). If you prefer al dente pasta, cook it 1-2 minutes less than the box calls for. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and give it a good rinse with cold water.
- While the pasta cooks, make the dressing by slicing the avocado in half and removing the skin and pit. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding cold water to thin it out as needed.
- Thaw the peas and edamame under cool or slightly warm running water. To assemble the salad, add the cooled pasta, cucumber, peas, edamame, green onions and feta cheese to a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the dressing on top and toss to combine, making sure it is well coated. Add an extra squeeze of lemon and salt to taste. If you are making this salad in advance wait and add the feta cheese, cucumbers and dressing right before serving.
- Hint: When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and immediately give it a rinse in cold water to cool it off and stop the cooking process.
Video
Notes
*nutrition information using Banza chickpea pasta.
Expert Tips
- Don't forget to salt your pasta water! I use a tablespoon of salt for the pasta water (remember most of it gets dumped). If you do forget, you'll likely need to add a bit of salt to the pasta or additional salt at the end.
- I suggest using a pasta cut that has a lot of grooves so that the dressing gets into every bite. I use rotini.
- For best flavor, I suggest using fresh lemon juice instead of bottled lemon juice for the dressing.
- Use a ripe avocado for the dressing. To tell if it's ripe, give it a gentle squeeze and if it is slightly soft, it is ready to use.
- Refrigerator - store your leftover pasta salad in and airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cupCalories: 200kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 13gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgFiber: 6gSugar: 3g
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