My Spring Pasta Salad with Honey Sumac Dressing is bright, herby, tangy, and loaded with all the good green things: asparagus, peas, spinach, dill, parsley, and mint. It comes together quickly and is perfect for a light lunch, a side with dinner and meal prep.
Enjoy it with one of my Grilling Recipes, like Greek Chicken Souvlaki or Grilled Salmon Skewers.
Spring Pasta Salad: Recipe at a Glance
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
25 mins
Servings
6 Servings
Calories*
388 kcal
Difficulty
Easy
Main Ingredients
Pasta, peas, asparagus, radish, herbs, feta cheese, pistachios, olive oil, lemon, sumac and garlic.
Technique
Boiling pasta and vegetables, whisking a dressing, and assembling a salad.
*Calories are estimated
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
- It’s easy to make: the pasta, asparagus, and peas all cook in one pot.
- Perfect Pairings: It pairs beautifully with grilled mains, picnic spreads, mezze-style dinners, and simple lunches.
- Tested and Works: Groceries are expensive! All my Salad Recipes are tested by me, my team or recipe testers before posting.
Ingredients
This is a pretty straightforward recipe that leans heavily on fresh spring produce. You can totally make changes and modifications to it based on your preferences and what you have access to. Here is what you will need to start:
- Short Pasta: Fusilli, orecchiette, farfalle, or rotini all work well. Don’t use anything too bulky as it will not be as enjoyable to eat. Use your favorite pasta shape.
- Fresh Asparagus: Use fresh asparagus for this recipe. Asparagus is usually available year-round, but local spring asparagus is just so much better. Also, try my Grilled Asparagus White Bean Salad, Asparagus Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Tart and Asparagus Potato Salad when it’s in season.
- Peas: Fresh or frozen peas both work beautifully. But you can also use sliced snap peas.
- Baby Spinach: Adds freshness; arugula can be used for a peppery twist. I like adding some greens to the salad for added fiber and to bulk it up a bit, too.
- Fresh Herbs: I like the combination of fresh dill, fresh mint and fresh parsley here. We’re leaning into Eastern Mediterranean flavors, of course. If you have lots of herbs on hand, try some of my Herb Recipes.
- Radishes: For crunch and color; thinly sliced. Radishes can be a bit polarizing so if you don’t like them, leave them out.
- Feta Cheese: Greek feta cheese is the way to go! It’s creamy and the sourness really plays nicely with the sweetness and freshness from the other ingredients. Try my Cucumber Radish Feta Salad, Traditional Greek Salad (Horiatiki) and my Greek Butter Bean salad if you like feta.
- Pistachios: For crunch; almonds or walnuts can be substituted.
- Sumac: This Middle Eastern spice brings a tangy and citrusy note. Optional, but highly recommended. Buy some from your local Middle Eastern market and use it in some of my other recipes like Sumac Onions, Musakhan (Palestinian Sumac Chicken) and Lebanese Fattoush Salad.
Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make this Spring Pasta Salad Recipe
Step 1. Cook pasta, asparagus, and peas. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. During the last 2–3 minutes of cooking, add the asparagus and peas directly to the pasta water. Drain and let everything cool slightly.
Step 2. Make dressing. Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, sumac, grated garlic, salt, and black pepper.
Step 3. Assemble. In a large bowl, combine the cooled cooked pasta, tender asparagus, peas, baby spinach, herbs, radishes, feta, and pistachios.
Step 4. Dress. Pour the honey sumac dressing over the salad and toss gently until everything is well coated. Taste and adjust with more lemon, salt, or sumac as needed.
Step 5. Garnish. Feel free to add more nuts, crumbled feta to the top of the salad before serving. Serve the salad at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Pairing and Menu Ideas
This is an excellent salad to make in the spring, right when grilling season is starting. I think it works perfectly with one of my Grilling Recipes, but especially as a side with Middle Eastern Beef Shish Kebabs, Grilled Salmon Skewers, Chicken Souvlaki Skewers or Greek Lamb Chops.
It also works well as a side with other Mediterranean Mains like my Baked Mediterranean Salmon, Honey Harissa Salmon and Italian-Style Meatballs.
It’s also great for meal prep, and you can portion it out into individual containers to enjoy over the course of a few days. Just keep the dressing separate and toss it in before eating. You’ll find that many of my Mediterranean Salad Recipes work well for meal prep.
Expert Tips and Notes
- Testing Notes: I tested a couple of variations of the dressing and I really like the combination of lemon, sumac and honey. The sweetness of the honey is key, but you can substitute it with maple syrup or agave if you prefer.
- Cook the pasta just to al dente so it holds its shape once dressed and chilled.
- Salt the pasta water well. This is your chance to season the pasta from the inside out. You’ll often hear that you should salt your pasta water so it tastes like the ocean. I think that’s completely unnecessary. A couple of tablespoons of salt per 4-5 cups of water is all you need.
- Cool the pasta slightly before adding the spinach and herbs so they don’t wilt too much. Don’t run it under cold water, as that will wash away the starch and the dressing won’t stick to the pasta.
- Reserve a little dressing to refresh the salad before serving, since pasta tends to absorb dressing as it sits.
- Toast the pistachios for even more flavor and crunch.
- Make-ahead friendly (with one tweak). This salad is great for meal prep, but for max crunch and minimal mush, keep the dressing separate.
- Other Optional Additions: Green onions, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and red pepper flakes.
Spring Pasta Salad Recipe FAQs
Yes. You can make it a few hours ahead or even the day before. For best results, hold back some of the dressing, herbs, pistachios, and feta, then add them just before serving.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Give the salad a toss before serving and freshen it up with a splash of olive oil or lemon juice.
Yes. Use your favorite gluten-free pasta and cook it carefully so it doesn’t become too soft.
Absolutely. Use maple syrup instead of honey and either omit the feta or use a plant-based feta-style cheese.
Other Pasta Salad Recipes
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Spring Pasta Salad with Honey Sumac Dressing
Ingredients
For the Cooked Part of the Salad
- 12 oz Short pasta – Orecchiette, fusilli, farfalle or other
- 1 bunch Asparagus (trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces)
- 1 cup Peas – Fresh or frozen
Honey Sumac Dressing
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice – From one lemon
- 1 tablespoon Lemon zest – From one lemon
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 teaspoon Sumac
- 1 Garlic clove (grated or minced)
- ½ teaspoon Salt – You can add more after tasting
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
For the Rest of the Salad
- 2 cups Baby spinach
- ¼ cup Fresh dill (chopped)
- ¼ cup Fresh parsley (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon Fresh mint (chopped)
- 5 Radishes (thinly sliced)
- ¼ cup Feta (crumbled) – use more if you like
- ¼ cup Pistachios (roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Cook pasta, asparagus, and peas. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. During the last 2–3 minutes of cooking, add the chopped asparagus and peas directly to the pasta water. Drain and let everything cool slightly.
- Make dressing. Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, sumac, grated garlic, salt, and black pepper.
- Assemble. In a large bowl, combine the cooled cooked pasta, tender asparagus, peas, baby spinach, herbs, radishes, feta, and pistachios.
- Dress. Pour the honey sumac dressing over the salad and toss gently until everything is well coated. Taste and adjust with more lemon, salt, or sumac as needed.
- Garnish. Feel free to add more nuts, crumbled feta to the top of the salad before serving. Serve the salad at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Notes
- Short Pasta: Fusilli, orecchiette, farfalle, or rotini all work well. Don’t use anything too bulky as it will not be as enjoyable to eat.
- Peas: Fresh or frozen peas both work beautifully. But you can also use sliced snap peas.
- Baby Spinach: Adds freshness; arugula can be used for a peppery twist. I like adding some greens to the salad for added fiber and to bulk it up a bit, too.
- Radishes: For crunch and color; thinly sliced. Radishes can be a bit polarizing so if you don’t like them, leave them out.
- Feta Cheese: Greek feta cheese is the way to go! It’s creamy and the sourness really plays nicely with the sweetness and freshness from the other ingredients. Try my Cucumber Radish Feta Salad, Traditional Greek Salad (Horiatiki) and my Greek Butter Bean salad if you like feta.
- Sumac: This Middle Eastern spice brings a tangy and citrusy note. Optional, but highly recommended. Buy some from your local Middle Eastern market.
- Cook the pasta just to al dente, so it holds its shape once dressed and chilled. Different shapes will have different cooking times, so use the package directions as a guide. It’s better to test the doneness by trying the pasta yourself.
- Cool the pasta slightly before adding the spinach and herbs so they don’t wilt too much. Don’t run it under cold water, as that will wash away the starch and the dressing won’t stick to the pasta.
- Make-ahead friendly (with one tweak). This salad is great for meal prep, but for max crunch and minimal mush, keep the dressing separate.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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