Pasta and Bean Picnic Salad! This is a twist on the classic pasta salad with white beans, fresh summer veggies, and a light vinaigrette. No mayonnaise.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
A picnic table without a pasta salad feels like something is missing. You can exhibit all sorts of beautiful dishes, but pasta salad has to be one of them. It’s reliable, kids love it – and so does Nana.
I like to use little hollow noodles like pipe rigates, which are squat little squiggles that look like the end of a pipe! I like that as the noodles are stirred and served, the beans magically fall into the round openings as if they had been laboriously placed there.
However, you can also use any of the flat or corkscrew shapes – penne, fusilli, rotini, cavatappi – or pretty bows.
The prep work for this salad is minimal. All you have to do is cook pasta, make a vinaigrette, chop up some herbs and veggies, and open a few cans of beans. (You can also make your beans from scratch on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker!) Mix everything together and serve.
This recipe calls for a pound of pasta and two cans of kidney beans – it’s sure to serve a crowd! But if you’re lucky, there will be enough food on the table for you to be able to take some of your salad home for lunch tomorrow.
Pasta and Bean Picnic Salad
This recipe can be prepared up to a day in advance.
ingredients
-
3 teaspoon Salt
-
1 pounds small pasta (curly, twisted, corkscrew, shell or bow tie)
-
7 tablespoon olive oildivided
-
2 cans (15 to 16 ounces each) kidney beans, such as Great Northern, Navy, or Cannellinidrained and rinsed
-
enjoyment from 1 lemon
-
2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
-
1 accumulate teaspoon Dijon mustard
-
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
-
1 pint mixed cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced or quartered
-
2 stems celeryhalved lengthwise and sliced very thin
-
1/2 Red onionvery thinly sliced
-
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
method
-
Cook pasta:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until the noodles are tender.
Drain but do not rinse; Shake the strainer to remove excess water.
-
Mix pasta and beans:
Place the pasta in a large bowl and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Shake the bowl to distribute the oil.
Add the washed beans and lemon zest to the hot noodles. Gently stir the salad. Let cool down.
-
Make the dressing:
In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Slowly stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil until all is added.
Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you like.
-
Mix up the salad:
Pour the dressing over the pasta and beans and toss. Add the tomatoes, celery, onion, and parsley to the pasta mixture and stir gently but thoroughly.
Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you like. You can also drizzle some lemon juice on top if it needs a little extra brightness.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 237 | calories |
| 9g | Fat |
| 31g | carbohydrates |
| 9g | protein |
