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

Yield: 8 people

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

This asparagus pasta salad is the perfect dish for spring! Tossed in a delicious honey mustard vinaigrette, it is super flavorful and easy.

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5 from 96 votes

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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!

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Author: How Sweet Eats

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Tastes like spring!