Green Goddess Pasta Salad: tender pasta tossed with peas, olives & cherry tomatoes in a creamy, herbaceous Green Goddess dressing-ready in minutes!
This Green Goddess Pasta Salad is a creamy herb pasta salad made with tender pasta, fresh vegetables, and a tangy green goddess dressing, which is ready in minutes for easy summer meals.
If you are ready to freshen up old-school macaroni salad, this pasta salad dressed in green goddess salad dressing is an easy variation to try.
This pasta salad features tender pasta, juicy tomatoes, salty olives, and sweet green peas, all tossed in the famous Green Goddess dressing, which boasts a tangy herbal flavor and a vibrant green color.
Even better, this delicious pasta salad is made in minutes and is the perfect side dish for busy days, hot summer days, or a summer BBQ, as it pairs well with grilled foods, sandwiches, and baked chicken and fish.
Looking for more easy summer salads? Browse my full collection of summer salad recipes.
🔍 Quick Look: Green Goddess Pasta Salad Recipe
- Ready in: 25 minutes
- Servings: 8
- Calories: 230 kcal
- Main Ingredients: Pasta, Green Goddess Salad Dressing, Green Peas, Black Olives, & Cherry Tomatoes
- Flavor Profile: Fresh, Sweet, Salty, Creamy, & Herbal
- Cook Method: Boil & Mix
- Difficulty: Easy, making it great for cooks of all levels.
- Why You'll Love It: Tender pasta is tossed with peas, olives & cherry tomatoes in a creamy, herbaceous Green Goddess dressing-ready in minutes!
- Best For: BBQs, potlucks, summer gatherings.
Jump to:
- 🔍 Quick Look: Green Goddess Pasta Salad Recipe
- Why This Is the Best Green Goddess Pasta Salad!
- Ingredient Notes
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Green Goddess Pasta Salad
- Pro Tip for the Best Pasta Salad
- What to Serve with Green Goddess Pasta Salad
- Green Goddess Pasta Salad Recipe FAQs
- More Summer Salads You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why This Is the Best Green Goddess Pasta Salad!
The best pasta salads have a small variety of ingredients that complement each other well. The iconic Green Goddess Dressing has complex flavors, so you can keep the core salad ingredients few and simple, with just four more: tender cooked pasta, sweet cherry tomatoes, salty black olives, and sweet, grassy green peas. Here are the quick facts:
- Creamy, herb-packed green goddess dressing
- Ready in minutes with simple ingredients
- Perfect make-ahead summer side dish
- Light, fresh, and not overly heavy
- Easy to customize with add-ins
With its sweet, salty, creamy, and tangy flavors, this could be your new favorite pasta salad.
So, let's cook!
Ingredient Notes
These simple ingredients come together to make a creamy, herb-forward pasta salad with fresh summer flavor:
- Pasta -The best pasta for pasta salad is bow tie pasta, also known as farfalle. But any shaped or tubular pasta will work, like fusilli or rotini, penne, ditalini, orecchiette, small shells, or Gemelli pasta. You can also use rigatoni if it is the smaller "cut" type.
- Green Goddess Salad Dressing - I prefer homemade green goddess dressing, but you can use your favorite store-bought brand.
- Green Peas - Thawed, frozen peas are the best for making salads. They are perfectly safe to eat without cooking and have a fresh grassy but sweet taste.
- Sliced Black Olives - These are canned and already sliced black olives.
- Halved Cherry Tomatoes - Very small cherry tomatoes distributed evenly through the salad and bring bright acidity and color to the salad.
Not Shown: Cold water and plain salt for boiling the pasta.
Optional Garnishes: Fresh herbs to garnish the salad, like torn basil leaves. You can also plate the salad on a bed of fresh spinach, salad greens, or arugula.
Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Add Marinated Artichokes - Chopped marinated artichokes are super delicious and a great addition to this salad. You can add up to 1 cup.
- Add Cheese - Some people like cheese in this salad. You can add up to 1 cup of shredded cheese. Good choices are white cheeses like Monterey Jack and Swiss.
- Add Lemon Juice - If you are using a store-bought bottled Green Goddess Dressing, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice will brighten the flavor of the dressing.
- Substitute your Favorite Vegetables - You can also use your favorite veggies in this salad. Good choices are cooked asparagus, avocado, cooked broccoli, cucumbers, cooked green beans, scallions, and blanched snap peas.
- Substitute Sun-Dried Tomatoes - If small cherry tomatoes are not available you can substitute oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes that have been thoroughly drained, chopped, or sliced.
- Substitute Tortellini - Instead of plain pasta, you can substitute cheese tortellini to make a Green Goddess Tortellini Salad.
- Add Feta Cheese - Cubes of creamy feta cheese are a delicious addition to this pasta salad.
- Add Nuts - If you love a little crunch in your salad, you can add chopped pecans or pine nuts.
- Add Cooked Chicken - To turn this into a main course salad, add 2 cups of cooked chicken that is diced or shredded on top of the pasta salad.
How to Make Green Goddess Pasta Salad
- Step 1: Prepare the Pasta. Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water to al dente according to the package directions. Drain the al dente pasta and rinse it with cold water. Put the cooled pasta into a large bowl.
- Step 2: Dress the Pasta. Add green goddess salad dressing and gently toss to thoroughly coat the pasta.
- Step 3: Add Salad Ingredients. Gently fold in peas, sliced black olives, and halved cherry tomatoes.
- Step 4: Serve and Enjoy. Spoon the pasta salad into a serving bowl. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pro Tip for the Best Pasta Salad
♡ Pasta typically absorbs mayonnaise-based dressings over time. If making this salad several hours before serving, check the salad for dryness at serving time and add additional salad dressing, cream, or milk as needed to moisten the salad.
What to Serve with Green Goddess Pasta Salad
- Hamburgers
- Sandwiches and Paninis
- Baked Chicken
- Hot Wings
- BBQ Ribs
- Fried Chicken
- Grilled Hot Dogs
- BBQ Chicken
- Baked Salmon
More Easy Summer Salads!
Looking for more easy summer salads? Browse my full collection of summer salad recipes.
Green Goddess Pasta Salad Recipe FAQs
You can make Green Goddess Pasta Salad in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Remoisten the salad, if needed, with a small amount of heavy cream, half and half, or milk.
Store it in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator. Because this is a mayonnaise-based salad, promptly refrigerate any leftovers and do not leave the salad out in warm weather.
If you make my version of Green Goddess Salad Dressing with Miracle Whip, you can freeze this pasta salad for later use.
However, if you use mayonnaise to make the dressing or purchase a bottled dressing, you won't be able to freeze it, as the dressing will separate when frozen.
More Summer Salads You'll Love
If you love fresh summer side dishes like this tomato cucumber salad, try one of these easy favorites: fresh corn salad with lime dressing, classic potato salad, or four bean summer salad-perfect for picnics and warm-weather meals.
♡ Did you love this Green Goddess Pasta Salad? Please leave a star rating and a comment. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Green Goddess Pasta Salad (Creamy, Easy Summer Side Dish)
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- ½ Pound Pasta, Farfalle, Fusilli, Penne, Ditalini, Orecchiette, or Small Shells.
- ¾ Cup Green Goddess Salad Dressing
- 1 Cup Green Peas
- 1 Cup Sliced Black Olives
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
Instructions
- Prepare the Pasta. Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water to al dente according to the package directions. Drain the al dente pasta and rinse it with cold water. Put the cooled pasta into a large bowl.The yield should be approximately 4 cups of cooked pasta.½ Pound Pasta
- Dress the Pasta. Add ¾ cup Green Goddess Salad Dressing and gently toss to thoroughly coat the pasta.¾ Cup Green Goddess Salad Dressing
- Add Salad Ingredients. Gently fold in peas, sliced black olives, and halved cherry tomatoes.1 Cup Green Peas, 1 Cup Sliced Black Olives, 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes
- Serve and Enjoy. Spoon the pasta salad into a serving bowl. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Per 1 serving. All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.
Encharted Cook™ or Jan Nunes shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
© 2018-2026 Encharted Cook, Jan Nunes. All rights reserved.
Comments
No Comments