Creamy pasta salad made with luscious mascarpone cheese "dressing" tossed in olives, sun dried tomatoes, corn and fresh arugula making this so perfect for spring and summer time! So fresh and so easy to make.
Remember this 5 ingredient Mascarpone Pasta? I was so happy to see its popularity on Pinterest & to learn how so many of you love mascarpone cheese in savoury recipes! I knew I had to share another interesting recipe on how to use Mascarpone cheese other than in desserts and this salad seemed to be the perfect fit!
Honestly the only kind of "salad" I enjoy: PASTAAAA salad! Its spring time (summer time in India!) and I am thrilled to share with you guys an incredibly delicious fusilli pasta salad that is loaded with a rich and creamy "dressing" ... just kidding thats buttery, luscious mascarpone mixed with some sun dried tomato oil, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic. We are throwing in some olives, corn, chopped up sun dried tomatoes and a lot of fresh arugula that qualifies this as healthy and hence, allows me to call it a salad??? But definitely helps this quick and easy vegetarian pasta salad recipe with a pop of colour!
Best part? This comes together so quickly, does not require ANY appliance - no baking, no cooking (obv except for the pasta!), no mixer grinder for that dressing (I mean, dont even think about adding Mascarpone to blender - see notes for more!). Just chop everything and add to a large mixing bowl, mix it up and let that sit in the refrigerator until its wine-o-clock at your backyard or your picnic. Perfect addition to barbecues and a delicious appetizer for your next party.
How to make easy mascarpone cheese pasta salad?
To make this yummy salad, you need:
- Pasta -> whatever kind you like. Fusilli looks like a pretty fit to pasta salads for me. I like using penne too, or bow-ties (farfalle) would look adorable too. You do you!
- Sun dried tomatoes, olives, corn
- Arugula -> or anything leafy... some baby spinach would be good. Rocket should do fine as well. Any fresh salad leaves of your choice.
- Dressing -> Mascarpone cheese, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, some full-fat milk to thin the mascarpone cheese (to improve its consistency), oil from the jar of sun dried tomatoes.
- Crunchy things -> I love adding seeds and nuts - feel free to throw in some chopped almonds, cranberries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or toasted walnuts. yum!
- Parmesan -> freshly grated parmesan cheese just for that extra nutiness towards the end - makes such a huge difference and totally elevates the flavour of this pasta salad recipe.
To bring the pasta salad together: Simply lightly mix room temperature mascarpone cheese with some milk and oil until it loses in consistency. Add seasoning, mix and toss it over the boiled (and cooled down) pasta until all pasta is covered with the cheese sauce/ dressing. Now add the toppings, mix again and refrigerate. Time to serve with some homemade bread sticks (dominos copy cat), or yummy cheesy garlic toasts.
More Salad/ Pasta Salad recipes to try from the blog:
- Arugula Chickpea Salad
- Grilled Corn, Beans and Feta Salad
- Refreshing Quinoa Salad
- Mango and Avocado Macaroni Salad
Click here to view all salad recipes and click here to see all pasta recipes on the blog.
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Mascarpone Arugula Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 10-12 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Creamy pasta salad made with luscious mascarpone cheese "dressing" tossed in olives, sun dried tomatoes, corn and fresh arugula making this so perfect for spring and summer time! So fresh and so easy to make.
Ingredients
- 500 grams/ 1 pound Pasta (Fusilli is what I used)
- 1 jar/ 1 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes (roughly chopped)
- 3/4 cup Olives
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated, preferably freshly grated)
- 1 bag/ 5-6 cups Arugula or Baby Spinach or Rocket Leaves
Mascarpone Cheese Salad Dressing
- 1 cup Mascarpone Cheese (softened/ room temperature)
- 2-3 tbsp Milk (full fat)
- 3-4 tbsp oil from Sun Dried Tomatoes Jar
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 3/4 cup Corn
- 1/4 cup Parsley (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Boil pasta as per package instructions and let cool completely.
- Mascarpone Cheese Salad Dressing: Mix room temperature mascarpone cheese* with some milk and oil until it loses in consistency. Add salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, chopped parsley. Pour over cold pasta and toss until well coated. Do not use blender at any point (see notes)
- Bringing together the Pasta Salad: Add chopped sun dried tomatoes, olives, corn, grated parmesan, arugula and toss well.
- Transfer to refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- Mixing mascarpone cheese - At NO POINT, consider whisking or blending the mascarpone cheese dressing in a grinder/ blender/ food processor - it will split! Consider softly mixing with a spoon.
Keywords: vegetarian, pasta, salad, summer, spring, recipe, meatless
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