Peach Pasta Salad with Arugula and Tomatoes

Peach Pasta Salad is packed with veggies (arugula and cherry or grape tomatoes) and tossed with Balsamic and Mustard Vinaigrette. The simple homemade dressing is made completely from scratch. Serve this Summer salad as a side dish or a complete meal!

Course Salad

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Keyword peach pasta salad, summer salad

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Servings people

Calories 405kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Pasta

8 oz fusilli spiral pasta or use rotini, farfalle (bow-tie), penne, or rigatoni

Nuts

⅓ cup pine nuts

Salad Dressing

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ whole lemon - juice freshly squeezed

Salad Ingredients

2 yellow peaches medium size
5 oz red cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
5 oz yellow cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
5 oz arugula

Instructions

Cook pasta

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook pasta al dente according to the package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, proceed with the rest of the recipe.
When the pasta is done, drain. Keep the drained pasta in the same pot where you cooked it.

Toast nuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread pine nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Toast for about 5 or 10 minutes, watching the nuts carefully to make sure they don't burn. The nuts are lightly toasted when they turn nice golden color.

Make salad dressing

While the pasta is cooking, combine all salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Whisk well with a spoon, until emulsified.

Salad assembly

Core and slice yellow peaches.
Slice each cherry (or grape) tomato in half.
In a pot where you cooked the pasta, combine cooked and drained pasta together with the salad dressing. Mix well.
Add peaches, cherry tomatoes, and arugula. Toss to combine. If you like your pasta salad a bit warm, reheat gently and briefly without adding arugula first. Add arugula off heat to the salad right before serving.
When serving, top with toasted pine nuts.

Notes

Nuts. You can skip the pine nuts altogether. Or, use chopped pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds.
Serve warm or cold? This salad can be served either warm or cold. I prefer to serve it warm by briefly reheating it in a saucepan on the stove-top. In this case, add arugula off heat, so that it doesn't wilt too much.

Nutrition