Spring Pasta Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing.
Hello springtime! We’re ringing you in with an asparagus pasta salad!
It’s possible that it’s a weird pregnancy craving, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about pasta salads lately! It may be because I have my favorite house pasta salad coming in Everyday Dinners (yes!!! order here!) or just because I made some delicious pasta salads last summer and I can’t wait until it’s warm again.
Either way, we’re all going to reap the benefits this year.
Bring on the cravings!
This asparagus pasta salad would make the perfect side dish for your easter brunch, lunch or dinner. That’s one of the reasons I love pasta salad like this – they are so easy and versatile. You can prep them ahead of time and they work at nearly every sort of meal, especially when it’s a special occasion.
I didn’t always love pasta salad – as a kid, all I can remember are pasta salads with cubes of meat. Like salami or pepperoni and I just never cared for it. Until I started making my own pasta salads with a variety of ingredients and homemade dressings. That was the game changer.
They are also a dish that I love to prepare for the week ahead. Prepping one usually takes around 30 minutes or so and you can enjoy it for lunch or dinner. It only gets better as it sits in the fridge!
Yum.
I’m just a little bit excited that asparagus season is here too. Some of my favorites? This asparagus potato salad and my bacon wrapped sesame asparagus!
For this pasta salad, I quickly cook the asparagus in a skillet, just so it makes it easier for everyone to eat. I cut the spears into thirds and then toss in a hot pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. After that, you’re good to go!
If you’d like to walk on the wide side, you could also shave the asparagus with a vegetable peeler and NOT cook it. I have a few recipes where I used shaved asparagus (like this salad from last year) and if you want to try it, pasta salad would be great. It will soften a bit as it marinates in the dressing with the pasta.
You definitely have options here!
The rest of the pasta salad ingredients are simple: tomatoes, green onions, cubed cheddar or fontina (I’ve used both and they are equally as delicious) and fresh herbs. This combination complements the honey mustard dressing so super well.
Oh yes!
This pasta salad is showered with my honey mustard vinaigrette – possibly my favorite dressing of all time! It is SO GOOD. If you’re a honey mustard freak like me, you will love it.
Creamy dressings have never been my favorite so the fact that this is a vinaigrette with all that honey mustard flavor? I can’t even handle it. It’s wonderful.
I’d like to dip a baguette or something right in it. It also holds up so well on pasta or salads in the fridge and makes things even more flavorful.
Of course, as usual, feel free to switch things up based on what you have in the fridge and what ingredients you love. If you’ve even like to make it more spring forward, you could toss in some arugula and peas and a little lemon zest!
You can’t go wrong.
Asparagus Pasta Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Asparagus Pasta Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Ingredients
pasta salad
- 1 pound pasta, cooked
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 pound asparagus, woody stems removed and cut into thirds
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces white cheddar or fontina cheese, cubed
- ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, like basil and parsley
honey mustard dressing
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the asparagus with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, tossing often, until the asparagus is bright green in color and slightly softened (like as if you would eat it straight from the pan!), then turn off the heat.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, the asparagus, tomatoes, green onions and cheddar cheese. Pour in the dressing and toss well to combine. Taste the pasta salad and add another pinch of salt and pepper if you find that it needs it (this will depend on how much you use for the boiling pasta, dressing and asparagus!). Stir in the fresh herbs.
- You can store this in the fridge now until serving, or you can serve it immediately. It will last in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. If you are making it a day or so ahead of time, I suggest tossing in the fresh herbs right before serving.
- Enjoy!
honey mustard dressing
- Whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic and a big pinch of both salt and pepper. Stream in the olive oil while whisking until it’s emulsified. You can make this ahead of time and store in the fridge for 1 to 2 days!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Tastes like spring!
28 Comments on “Spring Pasta Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing.”
What brand / type of pasta did you use? Love the shape!
Agreed!! I need this pasta shape in my life.
this shape is called Spirali by Delalloo Foods!
Trying this shape too – it’s so satisfying, thanks for sharing the brand! :)
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Delicious! Made this for a light dinner tonight. Love eating a rainbow of color! Marinating in the fridge. Had to keep a small bowlful out for a snack! 😂
Would this hold up if I made it 24 hours in advance?
yes absolutely! i’d probably just wait and add the herbs until serving?
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This was delicious! Loved the dressing! I added some smoky turkey bacon for a little more protein and it paired perfectly with the other flavors. This will be on repeat this spring and summer. Thank you!
Can you omit the basil and parsley?
yes
I made this recipe twice this week. We are only 2 the house. Yes, it’s THAT good! I’m craving it all the time!! Will keep this recipe foreverrrrrr! thank you Jessica 😍
This is soooo delicious! I made it a couple of weeks ago and added a few slices of crumbled bacon. I also shredded Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar instead of cubes. I’m making it today, and will probably add some diced ham 😋😋😋
Would this last for the week as a meal prep?
yes! i’d say at least 4-5 days, a few longer if you don’t mind the veggies sitting in the fridge that long.
Is anyone else having trouble pinning recipes from this post? Have tried numerous times from both my phone & mac and keep getting error message from Pinterest.
This will probably be a weird question, but what can I use besides mustard? This recipe looks delicious, I just hate mustard! Thanks :)
i would just use your favorite italian style dressing instead! you could use a bottled one, or my personal fave vinaigrette is this one in my house salad: https://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/01/howsweeteats-house-salad/
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I have made this twice & my husband said he would eat the dressing on cardboard it was so delicious…thank you for the amazing recipe, Bonita
My mother in law said this is her favorite thing to eat. It’s def a go to now. I even like this warm!!!! Love your recipes. Thank you
So good! Just a tip — don’t be like me and add your pasta super hot to the rest of the mixture. My pretty little cheese cubes basically melted from the hot pasta. I would let it cool before adding everything to it.
Delicious! My husband isn’t a tomato fan, so I subbed in a couple handfuls of chopped sugar snap peas, and used mozzarella since that’s what I had on hand. I think the possibilities are endless! The dressing is divine ❤
This looks delicious! Could green beans replace the asparagus? Or what else could replace the asparagus? Would you then suggest any additions or alterations? Thank you.
I get asked to make this pasta salad by friends/family again and again. So easy and SO good!
This is delicious. We made it for a grill out side dish this weekend and it was a major hit. Our guests took the recipe home and made it two days later. Yummmm.
Just made this for lunch and it was so tasty and fresh. I accidentally forgot to add the olive oil to the dressing, but it isn’t even needed. Delicious enough without it!