I’ve been dreaming about this pasta salad ever since publishing it on the blog last year. It’s perfect for the summer and pairs great with this honey mustard grilled chicken, my maple glazed salmon, or even a really good steak. And if you’re vegetarian, I suggest adding a can of chickpeas to make it a main meal. So good, so simple, and SO beautiful.
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One of my favorite pasta salads comes from Cookie and Kate’s Love Real Food cookbook. It’s made with creamy goat cheese, arugula, olives and tomatoes and dressed together with olive oil and lemon juice. Very simple, but one of my go-to pasta salads to jazz up a bit.
Since both peaches and cherry tomatoes are in season right now, I thought it would be the perfect recipe to share because not only is it extremely easy to make, but also outrageously delicious thanks to all the various veggies, fruits and flavors tossed together.
PEACH PARTY. You down?
What’s in this arugula pasta salad?
This fresh peach arugula pasta salad is a variation of Kathryn’s original pasta salad recipe, except I used delicious salty, crumbled feta instead of goat cheese and added juicy sweet peaches, red onion and sweet summer corn. I love how easy it is to throw together during the weeknight or as a side dish to accompany salmon or chicken.
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make this peach pasta salad:
- Fusilli pasta: or your favorite pasta, gluten free if desired.
- Fresh peaches: I like to make sure they’re still a tiny bit firm so that they hold together well in the salad.
- Cherry tomatoes: I love using mini heirloom tomatoes in the summer.
- Corn: you can use fresh corn off of the cob, thawed from frozen, or canned. It would also be delicious grilled beforehand!
- Red onion: for a little zip in every bite.
- Arugula: the perfect green element in this peach pasta salad.
- Feta cheese: I love the saltiness of feta but feel free to use goat cheese or even shaved parmesan.
- Olive oil & lemon juice: you’ll just need a bit of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice for the dressing in this salad.
- Optional but a delicious add-in: recently I added salami and sliced avocado to this and it was FANTASTIC. Salty and creamy textures to pair with juicy peaches and flavorful feta. YUM.
Customize this peach pasta salad
What I love about pasta salads like this is that they are easily customizable with produce that you have on-hand or in your garden, so feel free to get creative with the combinations. Here are some more suggestions:
- Add your favorite protein from grilled chicken, shrimp or chickpeas.
- Make it vegan by simply omitting the cheese.
- Add extra freshness with basil or use a homemade lemon basil vinaigrette.
- Grill the corn and/or the peaches for a slightly smoky, even more savory flavor.
- Add avocado for a delicious, creamy texture and boost of healthy fats.
How to store this arugula pasta salad
This healthy arugula pasta salad will stay fresh covered in the fridge for about 3-4 days. It’s delicious made ahead of time, too, so feel free to prep it the night before a picnic or bbq, or prep it for your weekday lunches.
What to serve with this arugula pasta salad:
- Firecracker Salmon with Peach Avocado Salsa
- The lemon basil marinated chicken from The Best Chicken Marinades would be perfect! Check out how to grill your chicken to perfection here.
- Incredible Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Seriously Good Sweet Potato Cheddar BBQ Chicken Burgers
More peach recipes you’ll love
Honey Lime Basil Peach Fruit Salad
Gluten Free Peach Crisp with Salted Coconut Milk Caramel
Firecracker Salmon with Peach Avocado Salsa
Summer Peach Spinach Salad with Avocado, Toasted Almonds + Goat Cheese
Peach, Goat Cheese & Basil Wonton Bites
I hope you enjoy this peach arugula pasta salad while you still can. If you make it, be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram. You can also leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how you liked it. xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Peach, Tomato & Corn Arugula Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fusilli or bowtie pasta (regular, whole grain or gluten free will work)
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- Lot of freshly ground salt and pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 4 ounces crumbled feta or sub goat cheese (about ¾ cup)
- 2 large ripe peaches, sliced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (I love using heirloom cherry tomatoes for color variety!)
- 1 cup raw corn off the cob (or you can use thawed frozen corn or canned)
- ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 5 ounces baby arugula (about 6 packed cups of arugula)
- Optional:
- Quartered salami and avocado (makes leftovers last longer and adds texture to the salad!) -- add as much as you'd like!
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a little salt. Once water boils, add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7-9 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving a few tablespoons of water for later. Place pasta in large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until well combined. Pour the dressing over warm pasta and add a little reserved pasta water to help keep the pasta moist and non-sticky. Immediately add feta and gently give the pasta a toss.
- Next add in the peach slices, cherry tomatoes, corn, red onion and arugula. Toss to combine. Taste and add more olive oil, lemon juice, salt and/or pepper, if necessary. Great warm or cold. Serves 6.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
I would have never thought to put these different ingredients together, but I like all the ingredients, so I gave it a try. To my amazement, it was good! The only thing I thought it needed more of was some more dressing, so I did add some each time I went back to eat the leftovers, because I couldn’t really detect it. . I think the warm pasta just absorbs that dressing in a little too fast. The pepper arugula really adds the bite that the salad is much better with. The fresh peaches were wonderful, and I would add a little more feta. The leftovers tasted fine, but I did prefer it when the pasta was warm.
I’m glad you gave it a try! Feel free to double the dressing next time if you’d like – I always find that the flavors meld well with a light dressing because of the salty feta and the sweet/juicy peaches, etc.
Just made this for me and my parents for dinner and oh my god – so good. I used whole wheat rotini, added avocado, and served with grilled shrimp. My dad (who isn’t one to love a salad) cleaned his plate and RAVED about the flavours all complementing one another. Monique, this was SO GOOD. This is a must-make summer salad that will most certainly please any crowd!
So happy to hear that!! Perfect summer meal 🙂
can this salad be made a day in advance? Thanks.
Yes! I might suggest adding the peaches last so that they don’t break down as much.
I’ve made this recipe a few times now when having guests over and they always compliment this dish. Quick to put together and packed with lots of great summer flavors!
So happy to hear that!
I made and brought this to my friend’s house to have as a side for dinner and it was a hit! It was delicious and she asked me for the recipe the next day. I had tons of leftovers so I made some salads with steak and grilled chicken and it was soooo good. Will definitely make again.
So happy to hear that!!
Made this weekend pretty close to the recipe and I loved it. I opted for goat cheese, and mixed it in right after adding the dressing to the pasta, so that the goat cheese melted, making a creamier dressing. I used about 1.5oz goat cheese. Then I mixed in the rest of the ingredients, holding the peaches as I knew I would be storing for later (per others comments). I also upped the lemon juice slightly. I loved it! We served lukewarm (by the time all the cool veggies got mixed in) and topped with sliced peaches. Also, I used Trader Joes frozen fire roasted corn that I let thaw while I prepped everything else. Can’t wait for the leftovers!
Amazing! Great idea to use creamy goat cheese 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
Perfect
Love this recipe!
I’m so glad!
I couldn’t even finish my first serving of this before coming back to say how much I LOVED this pasta salad. It packs so much flavor with such simple ingredients, and is perfectly light yet satisfying. I made this for lunches throughout the week, but I’m not confident it will be around much longer than a day or two! Thank you for this one!
What fruit do you think I could sub for the peach since it is out of season?
you could try mangos!
The whole family loved this salad. My girls(7&9) had three helpings!
Woohooo! So glad you all loved it!
This recipe was DELICIOUS! It will be a staple in our home. We added grilled chicken to the top.
This was really good! I added some fresh dill as I had that on hand, used Banza pasta, grilled the peaches and as I am dairy free used a cashew cream instead of cheese. Will definitely make this one again, very summery and great! My husband put grilled corn in his (I can’t eat corn) and that was great he said!
This was so delicious. I added the avacado and salami which was a solid choice. I didn’t have arugula so just added some varied lettuce from my produce share. After reading the reviews I added the peaches and lettuce right before serving. For the dressing I made a dijon vinaigrette which was a nice and simple.
Oooh that all sounds so fantastic! Happy you enjoyed it!
Summery good! Used banza chickpea pasta and grilled peaches before adding them. Also added fresh dill as I had it in fridge. Omitted cheese as sensitive to dairy but stirred in some cashew cream for a creamy vibe. Really loved this!
Oooh that all sounds FANTASTIC! Love the grilled peaches + cashew cream ideas!
Made this yesterday for work and it was a huge hit. I don’t make any modifications to the salad recipe itself, but I did make the lemon basil vinaigrette recipe on this site instead. I also soaked the red onion in cold water for 10 min to make the onion more tolerable for me and it helped a lot. I also tossed the peaches in lemon juice to show oxidation. Will definitely be making this again!
Another hit!! My fam loved this recipe—super yummy with real ingredients that provide alllll the flavor. We topped ours with extra feta when serving (bc we’re cheese freaks!).
YES to the extra feta 🙌 Happy you all loved it!
I LOVE this salad. Sometimes I omit the pasta and add chicken for a regular green salad. I always use picked red onion instead of raw because pickled onions are delish!
Flavorful, fresh and tasty made it as explained just perfect
This is the most delicious salad ever; however, it does not keep for 3-4 days. The next morning my arugala was limp. But fresh this salad is the best!
So yummy! The perfect way to use all the summer produce! Next time I’ll probably add a little more corn and less red onion, but that’s personal preference 🙂
Yes, so perfect for summer 🙂 I’m so glad you loved it, Gwen!
Absolutely LOVE the flavour combo’s in this salad!
Cooked chopped bacon would be a welcome addition.
Can’t wait to try this! Looks so delicious. Always looking for new lunch salad ideas.
This was delicious and so easy! Summer on a plate. I loved using leftovers for lunch and adding rotisserie chicken!
This recipe was so easy to make and delicious!
This recipe is so good, I’ve made double batches two weekends in a row. First time I made it with feta, second time with goat. Delicious both times!
Nice!! So happy you’re loving it, Jess 🙂