Ready in just 30 minutes, this easy asparagus pasta salad is SO flavourful with plenty of fresh herbs, green olives and peas and a yummy lemon dijon dressing. Perfect for picnics or anytime!
I long to be one of those kinds of people who just seem to live in this sort of effortless perfection. You know the ones: they show up for the party looking just right. Or they invite you over for an impromptu lunch and their table looks like it should be in a magazine.
Despite my longing, I feel like I’m more of a tries + misses the mark kind of vibe in most things…like my shoes don’t quite go with the outfit, and the only napkins I’ve got are paper towels.
Unless we’re talking food. Because after all of these years of cooking, I am starting to nail the minimal effort, maximum flavour kind of recipe, like this asparagus pasta salad.
This recipe has a kind of effortless perfection kind of vibe, like, oh I just threw this together and it’s DELICIOUS. It’s just a few ingredients and barely more effort than boiling pasta. You’ll chop the asparagus into chunky pieces, tear some fresh herbs and smash buttery green olives with your hands for more texture and well, cuz it’s fun.
This cold pasta salad is perfect for those warm days when you want something delicious but don’t want to spend a lot of effort making it happen. It’s got a higher ratio of veggies to pasta (I’m still a dietitian after all) so you’ll feel nourished. You could add a protein, like my crispy baked tofu, to make it a complete warm weather dinner…or bring it along to the picnic or BBQ as a side dish because it keeps so well.
Looking for more joyful plant-based recipes? Pick up a copy of my latest cookbook Plant Magic!
All you need is 30 minutes and a pasta pot to make this asparagus pasta salad recipe
It’s so ridiculously simple, you don’t need much guidance here…but a couple of tips and tricks from my home kitchen to yours!!
First things first: you don’t want to use the typical pimiento-stuffed green olives here. You’re looking for those buttery (not tart!) Italian green olives like Castelvetrano, which I can find in my local Costco so I’d think they’re pretty common in most cities.
I love that you can use whatever herbs you have on hand – because who doesn’t have those half full clamshells of herbs in their produce drawer?!? I’ve tried this pasta salad a few times with different variations on the herbs (parsley, basil, dill, mint, green onion, cilantro) and I highly recommend using at least 1/4 cup of a more aromatic herb. Like using only parsley is fine but won’t be nearly as flavourful.
Making ahead? A couple of tricks: rinse the cooked pasta, asparagus and peas well in cool water and then toss with the tiniest drizzle of oil so it doesn’t dry out and stick together.
More recipes to help you take advantage of asparagus season
- 20 Minute Cold Chopped Asparagus Salad
- Crispy Asparagus Fries
Chunky Asparagus Pasta Salad with Smashed Olives
Ingredients
- ½ pound penne pasta or other chunky shape, like rigatoni, GF if needed
- 1 bunch asparagus trimmed, cut into 1 to 1½ inch pieces
- 2 cups green peas fresh or frozen
- ½ lightly packed cup herbs (parsley, basil, mint, dill) you could easy increase this esp if using less flavourful herbs like parsley
- ½ cup pitted green olives I like castevetrano, cerignola work too
- 1 green onion very thinly sliced
- 1 batch Fresh Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
Instructions
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Place the peas in your pasta colander. Set aside.
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Boil the pasta according to package directions until al dente. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the chopped asparagus spears.
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Pour drain the pasta and asparagus over the peas in the colander. Rinse well with cool water and drain thoroughly.
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Place the pasta, asparagus and peas in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle over the green onion, herbs and olives.
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When ready to serve, dress with the lemon dijon dressing…and enjoy!
Notes
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