Tag: pasta salad

Fiesta Pasta Salad & Green Chile Lime Vinaigrette

This is ridiculously delicious. And it takes little to no time at all to prepare!

I wanted something cold, light, and veggieful to help combat the heat of the summer after a weekend impromptu tubing adventure down the Comal river with my parents and three year old little lady.

And the green chile lime vinaigrette? It’s to die for. 

It’s amazingness should be illegal. 

Don’t let the name fool you either, the vinaigrette isn’t spicy at all.  If you do  want some spice in your life, just add in a chopped jalapeño to the pasta salad and you’ll be good to go.

I swear I could live off avocados in the summer. Avocados and salsa. 

Now all I need is a margarita or a spiked watermelon. Mmm… 

Fiesta Pasta Salad & Green Chile Lime Vinaigrette
 
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 6 • Size: 1 Cup • Calories: 208.4 • Fat: 8.5 g • Carb: 30.4 g • Fiber: 7 g • Protein: 6.1 g • Sugar: 7.1 g • Sodium: 225.9 mg

Ingredients:
Vinaigrette:
4 Oz. Chopped Green Chilies
1/4 C. Cilantro, Chopped
3 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Water
1 Tsp. Honey

Salad:
2/3 C. Veggie Pasta Rotini Noodles, Cooked
1 Can No Salt Added Black Beans, Drained & Rinsed
1 Can No Salt Added Corn, Drained
1 Can No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes, Drained
2 Avocado, Diced

 Directions:
 
Combine the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl.

Stir together and cover.

Set in the fridge to cool while you get the pasta salad together. 

Toss the ingredients for the pasta salad in a large bowl together. Allow to cool in the fridge until ready to serve.

I added the avocado in last and carefully stirred it in so that it would turn to mush. 

When ready, plate up the pasta salad and top with the dressing. 

Alternatively you could toss the pasta salad with the vinaigrette if you intend to eat it all right away. Otherwise the noodles will swell and further absorb the liquid. 

I topped mine with a bit of queso fresco, just because I had it on hand and didn’t want it to go to waste. It’s so entirely unneeded.

SPINACH CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

I don’t know about everyone else, but I have a hard time cooking dinner when it’s hot outside.  Nothing sounds good and turning on the oven is out of the question.  One thing that only involves minor heat, is light and cold, and fills my family up is a good pasta salad.  They’re also perfect for summer potlucks and BBQ’s. 

One of the best things about pasta salads is how adaptable they are.  You can make them according to the recipe, or you can make them with whatever parts of the recipe you have in the pantry, and you can adjust them to reflect your own tastes.


Spinach Chicken Pasta Salad with Teriyaki Dressing
  • 2 Cups cooked chicken, diced (I use canned or grill extra for dinner earlier in the week).
  • 1  box (16 oz)  pasta (bowtie is my favorite)
  • about 4 oz fresh spinach 
  • 6 oz Craisins
  • 3 small cans of mandarin oranges
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 bunch green onions, chopped
  • 1/3 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

Dressing
  • 1 cup good quality vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1/3 cup vinegar
  • 3 TBSP sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Mix the ingredients for the dressing. Cook the pasta, drain and pour half the dressing mix over to marinate in the fridge.  Combine other salad ingredients, combine with pasta and add more dressing as needed- the whole amount will probably not be necessary, but it saves well in the fridge.  If using canned chicken, I like to fluff it up and pour some dressing to marinate with the chicken for a few minutes before adding it to the salad.

 

SUMMERTIME PASTA SALAD W/ LEMON DRESSING

 I feel like I’m always on a hunt for the best pasta salad recipe- they are so deliciously summer-y, don’t you think? Cool. Refreshing. Easy (eh, technically). When I found a link to this one as I surfed Pinterest, I thought it would most definitely be worth a try! 

Summertime Pasta Salad w/ Lemon Dressing
(Original recipe found here.)
12 oz salad-size macaroni pasta, cooked according to package instructions and cooled
1cup frozen petite peas
6 slices cooked bacon
Dressing (below)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, for garnish*
Creamy, Lemon-Thyme Dressing ingredients:
¾ cup mayo
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
1tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1teaspoon whole grain Dijon mustard
1teaspoon fresh thyme leaves*
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
The original recipe recommends waiting to add the dressing until you’re ready to serve- I forgot this step and let mine sit in the fridge for a few hours… & it was still lovely!

Afterthoughts:
*Like usual, I deviated a bit from the original (I’m not a thyme fan, so I skipped that part). I know this seems obvious, but it was really lemon-y! Next time I might add the lemon gradually so it’s not quite as assertive, otherwise, it was great. I loved the addition of the peas and bacon- such unexpected bits of fun to jazz up an ordinary pasta salad!

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