Attention lemon lovers – You need to make this summery pasta salad asap! It’s loaded with bold lemon flavor, only requires a handful of ingredients and is so easy to make too!
Pasta salads have been my jam lately! (Honestly, I feel like I’ve eaten more pasta this summer than I did the entire fall and winter seasons…) But that’s A-ok with me! Especially since this zesty lemon basil pasta salad is now in the rotation. It’s incredibly flavorful, loaded with fresh lemon and basil and is by far the easiest pasta salad I have ever made!
Ingredients
Have you ever noticed how sometimes the simplest meals tend to be the tastiest?! Take this salad for example; it’s only 6 ingredients, takes just minutes to make AND is hands down one of the most delicious pasta salads I have ever tasted!
- Pasta: Shorter pastas work the best for this. I would suggest using penne, farfalle or gemelli pasta for this recipe. (I use gemelli.)
- Lemons: Brightens up the dish and packs a punch with flavor!
- Parmesan cheese: Adds a little saltiness to the dish and really helps to bring out the lemon flavor.
- Fresh basil: Helps to mellow out the tartness of the lemon.
- Cracked pepper: Puts the finishing touches on the dish!
- Lemon basil vinaigrette: Ties it all together! (Recipe & directions for the vinaigrette are below)
How to make an easy lemon-basil vinaigrette
When it comes to pasta salads, the star of the show really is the dressing/vinaigrette! And this one is down right delicious! Plus it’s made with simple ingredients and takes no time at all to whip up too.
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (We use extra light tasting olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, sliced thin
- Black pepper, to taste
- Place the lemon juice, olive oil and garlic cloves in a food processor and season with pepper to taste. Blend the ingredients until smooth.
- Pour the vinaigrette over your pasta salad and enjoy!
Note: If you don’t have a food processor then you can always put these ingredients in a jar and shake them together instead. (Just make sure to mince the garlic first.)
Ways to serve lemon basil pasta salad
This salad is absolutely phenomenal on it’s own but there are a few other ways I love to spice it up a bit!
- Add a protein: Grilled/shredded chicken, shrimp or scallops are great with this dish!
- Mix in extra veggies: Cooked asparagus, zucchini, peas or even fresh tomatoes are always great options.
- Make it more of a “traditional salad”: Serve your pasta salad over spinach or lettuce and add a little extra dressing and parmesan.
Variations
- Gluten free: Use gluten free pasta
- Dairy free: Omit the parmesan or replace it with vegan parmesan. (I’ll usually add more veggies if I’m not using cheese just to make the salad a little more interesting.)
More recipes like this:
- Cilantro Lime Pasta Salad
- Easy Italian Pasta Salad
- Summer Corn Salad with Avocado
- Cherry, Goat Cheese & Toasted Pecan Kale Salad
[Made one of my recipes? Make sure to tag my social media @kalefornia_kravings – I love seeing what you create!]
Easy Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the pasta salad:
- 1 box gemelli pasta (or your favorite type of short pasta)*
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup fresh basil, sliced thin
- Optional toppings: lemon zest, extra parmesan cheese & sliced fresh basil
For the lemon-basil vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, sliced thin
- Pepper, to taste
Instructions
To make the vinaigrette:
- Place the lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a food processor and season with pepper to taste. Blend the ingredients until smooth. Pour the dressing into a separate container and stir in the sliced basil.
To make the salad:
- Cook pasta according to the box directions. Once it's done, set it aside to cool. (You want the pasta to cool completely so it won't melt the cheese.)
- Once cooled, add the pasta, parmesan cheese and basil to a large bowl and toss with your vinaigrette.
- Sprinkle with extra parmesan, basil and a little lemon zest right before serving.
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