farmer's market pasta salad

for meal prep or hosting! plus a farmer's market vlog & more summer salads

Sometimes it feels like the only way to keep up with all the summer produce is to just…toss it into everything. Which is exactly why I love a good pasta salad. It's one of the easiest (and tastiest) ways to pack in a ton of seasonal veg without overthinking it.

This week’s recipe is all about that: a Farmer’s Market Pasta Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette. It’s fresh, filling, and loaded with things I love to grab at the market this time of year—asparagus, basil, arugula, and cherry tomatoes. Tossed with a sweet and tangy honey balsamic dressing that I’ve been making on repeat, plus some creamy feta and white beans for protein and heartiness.

The key to any great pasta salad (or honestly, any salad) is simple: fresh herbs, seasonal produce, and a solid dressing. This one’s meant to be flexible, so feel free to swap in whatever looks best at your market—zucchini, squash, snap peas, bell peppers… use this as your base and go from there. This one is great for BBQs, meal prep, or just a low-lift dinner. I also rounded up a few other summer salad faves in today’s newsletter since it’s that time of year!! If it will stop raining every weekend in Boston…

Join me on YouTube this week for a trip to the Copley Square Farmers market!

P.S. for this week’s Substack live cooking demo (always free for everyone) I’ll be making one of my faves—one-pot creamy sun-dried tomato pasta! 🍅 Tomato girl summer vibes but keeping things super easy with one pot and minimal ingredients. Grab what you need ahead of Wednesday (6/18) and RSVP to cook along at 7pm ET!

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let’s make a farmer’s market pasta salad!

Roast the veg. I decided to roast the veggies for this one but if you prefer the crunch of raw, go for it. And as always, swap out with what you have on hand, but I highly recommend snagging some cherry tomatoes when they’re in season, there’s nothing in the world like a roasted fresh tom!! Everything else can be prepped while these are roasting up in the oven—bonus points for efficiency!

Pasta!! Obviously. The base of our salad, I love to use rotini. The tight spirals hold the dressing so well, but you can swap for your preferred shape. Cook until al dente, drain, and drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent sticking while it cools off.

Dress her up. The dressing is really what ties everything together in a pasta salad. You can take the simple vin or creamy route; in this salad we’re making a simple vinaigrette sweetened by honey. I typically lean into the vinegary flavor, so adjust with more honey to your liking! White wine vinegar will also work as a sub. If you’re meal prepping this one for the week, leave the dressing off or wait to add the arugula.

Put it all together. The best part comes next—the toppings. We’re mixing arugula with the pasta for a veggie boosted base, then adding the cannellini beans. Swap those out for whatever your preferred protein source is (more beans, chicken or steak, cured meats, etc.) Topping with crumbled feta and chopped basil just screams summer.

Farmer’s Market Pasta Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

serves 4 | prep time: 20 min | cook time: 20 min

INGREDIENTS

For the Pasta Salad

• 8 ounces asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 pint (10-12 ounces) cherry tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 10 ounces gluten-free rotini pasta

• 4 ounces arugula

• 1 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped

• 15 ounces cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

• 4 ounces crumbled feta

• Juice of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons)

• balsamic glaze, for drizzling (optional)

For the Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 2 tablespoons raw honey (can sub pure maple syrup)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

🍓 get the detailed recipe instructions here

📷 watch the video tutorial here

🍴 grab all the kitchen tools I used here

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more summer salads to make this season

• Summer Elote Quinoa Salad—always a fan fave (and my personal top pic!)

• Chopped Peach Caprese Salad—gets better as it sits & perfect for a beach trip

• Caprese White Bean Salad—couldn’t be easier to prep and take on-the-go

• Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad w Crispy Chickpeas—the crispy chickpeas are a must

• Mediterranean-Inspired Quinoa Salad—a flavorful fave for both meal prep & hosting

what I’m prepping

1. Greek-style Turkey Lettuce Wraps — from this week’s Ingredient Prep guide!

2. Cheddar and Chive Breakfast Biscuits — I can’t get enough of this new flavor, tested it with GF flour and they came out just as good

what I’m loving

1. Sheet Pan — love the color of this one (you know I love my greens) from this video! code JENN20 gets you 20% off almost everything on the site (through 6/20)

2. Serving Bowl — everyone needs a good salad bowl in their life, I get so much use out of this during the summer—it’s my go-to bowl and what I used in today’s video!

what I’m recommending

1. Reusable Produce Bags — such an easy sustainable switch! I store mine inside my grocery bags so I don’t forget them each week, and especially love for the farmers market.

2. Farmers Markets — I have to recommend it this week!! just walking around can inspire your produce selects for this week’s pasta salad, and if you want my local recs I’m a big fan of the Union Square Farmers Market in Somerville & Copley Square Farmers Market.

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I hope you all have a lovely week, and be sure to stay tuned over on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to see what I have for y’all this upcoming week!

Much love,

Jenn

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