Our asparagus pasta salad is the perfect dish to enjoy on a warm, spring or summer day. Full of veggies and topped with prosciutto and a lemon-based dressing, this recipe is packed with flavors that the whole family will love.
Our asparagus pasta salad was inspired by our Three Cheese Pasta, but with a lighter and more summery flare. This pasta salad also makes a great side dish for any of our delicious sandwiches, like our Turkey Burger Sliders , Crescent Roll Hot Dogs or Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes. BONUS: This dish takes only 20 minutes to make!
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š Why You Should Make Asparagus Pasta Salad
Light and refreshing! The lemon and veggies make for a very light and refreshing summer dish. We added some prosciutto for some extra protein and flavor.
Quick and simple- Our asparagus pasta salad comes together in only 20 minutes!
Full of veggies- This pasta dish is full of some of our favorite veggies- asparagus, tomatoes, and arugula!
Versatile- Serve this dish alone or with your favorite protein that you throw one the grill. We have it with hot dogs, but it also goes great with grilled salmon, turkey burgers, grilled eggplant, kabobs, or BBQ chicken. You can also make this dish vegetarian by omitting the prosciutto.
š Ingredients
Notes on ingredients:
- Pasta- we like any corkscrew shaped pasta (fusilli & rotini). Pasta with ridges are great for holding the flavors of the sauce!
- Asparagus-ends trimmed and chopped into 1-2" pieces
- Garlic- fresh or jarred is fine, as long as it's minced!
- Lemon juice- freshly squeezed lemon juice is best for the base of the lemon dressing.
- Cheese- finely shredded or grated
See recipe card for quantities.
š©š¾āš³ Instructions
Our asparagus pasta salad is ready in just 20 minutes and can be served immediately or stored in the fridge for later. Note: If storing pasta salad for later, we recommend waiting to mix in dressing and cheese until right before serving.
š„Kid Step: Taste noodles! Let kids decide if noodles are done. Hungry toddlers love this job!
š„Kid Step: Kids can use these awesome Kitchen Shears to trim the asparagus.
š„Kid Step: Combine ingredients! Kids will love seeing the colors blend together.
š„Kid Step: Juice the lemon! A fun, hands-on task for little ones.
š„Kid Step: Toss it all together using a large spoon or tongs!
āļø Expert Tips and Tricks
- Use kitchen shears to quickly trim the ends of asparagus.
- To steam your asparagus (instead of sautƩing it in butter), simply add the asparagus to the boiling pasta water and cook it with the pasta. Drain and rinse asparagus and pasta under cold water together.
- Rinse pasta under cold water to cool down the dish and keep pasta from clumping together.
- If you want to go heavier on the dressing, simply double the lemon dressing ingredients.
- No juicer? No problem! Find out how to easily juice a lemon without a juicer.
- Squeeze extra lemon on asparagus pasta salad for even more flavor.
š§Variations and Substitutions
š Make it Vegetarian! Really, the ingredient that prevents this from being a vegetarian dish is the prosciutto. Your first option is simply to take the prosciutto out of the ingredient roster. If you want to swap it with something equally savory, try pickled onions, capers, chickpeas or salted and roasted pine nuts.
š Make it Vegan! To make this vegan, first replace the butter with olive oil, and decrease the amount. I just eye-balled it. Then, obviously eliminate the cheese and prosciutto. Add in one/some of the following ingredients: pickled onions, capers, or salted and roasted pine nuts. The result won't be as creamy, per se, but the olive oil gives the dish such a good flavor and it actually ends up tasting lighter and more summery.
š Make it Gluten Free! The only ingredient in this dish that contains gluten for sure is the noodles. You can remedy this very easily. Some of the gluten-free noodle products I like are Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta (just be careful not to overcook cause it can get mushy) and Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice & Quinoa Fusilli Pasta.
š Make it Dairy Free! First, replace the butter with olive oil, and decrease the amount. I just eye-balled it. Then, obviously eliminate the cheese.
āFAQ.
To make this dish ahead, simply cook everything as directed, omitting the lemon dressing until ready to serve. Keep the pasta salad stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. When ready to serve, prepare the dressing and toss it all together.
Store this pasta salad in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
When serving a cold pasta salad, it is a good idea to rinse the pasta in cold water to bring down the temperature and stop the coking process. Rinsing the pasta can also help keep pasta from clumping together.
š¶š¼ Tips for Picky Eaters
Kids pick the pasta. When shopping for this recipe's ingredients, let your kids pick out the type of noodle. Any type with grooves work, like rotini, fusilli, farfalle (bow tie), etc. You can also go whole wheat to make the meal healthier.
Dressing on the side. If your kids don't like lemons, consider serving the pasta salad plain or with dressing on the side.
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š§¶ Crafts for this Recipe
While you cook, kids to try one of these fabulous food crafts featuring some of the meal's main ingredients!
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š Asparagus Pasta Salad with Prosciutto
Ingredients
Asparagus Pasta Salad
- 1 teaspoon salt for the pasta water
- 1 pound pasta rotini or fusilli
- 2 Tablespoon butter
- 1 bunch asparagus chopped into 1" pieces
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 ounce prosciutto chopped into thirds or small chunks
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 4 handfulls arugula
Lemon Dressing
- Ā¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Ā¼ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- Ā¼ teaspoon pepper or more to taste
- Ā¾ cup parmesan cheese finely shredded
Instructions
- Heat water in a sizable pot for pasta. Once boiling, add salt and pasta, and cook according to package. When done, strain the pasta, rinse under cold water and return to pot.
- Meanwhile, heat a medium-large panĀ on medium heat and melt butter. Once melted, toss in asparagus and garlic. Cook for 6-8 minutes, turning frequently, until asparagus is bright green and slightly softened. Remove from heat.
- Add and stir in cooked asparagus, prosciutto, tomatoes and arugula to the pot of pasta.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, and seasoning.
- Mix dressing into pasta salad andĀ toss with parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Use kitchen shears to quickly trim the ends of asparagus.
- To steam your asparagus (instead of sautƩing it in butter), simply add the asparagus to the boiling pasta water and cook it with the pasta. Drain and rinse asparagus and pasta under cold water together.
- Rinse pasta under cold water to cool down the dish and keep pasta from clumping together. Ā
- If you want to go heavier on the dressing, simply double the lemon dressing ingredients.
- No juicer? No problem! Find out how to easily juice al lemon without a juicer.
- Squeeze extra lemon on pasta salad for even more flavor.
Nutrition
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. While we are not certified nutritionists, we work with a WordPress-integrated nutrition API to calculate our recipes' ingredient values.
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Thanks for visiting, Alejandra! -Julie