This easy Summer Pasta Salad with tomatoes, cucumber, corn, and feta is the perfect fresh and flavorful side dish or easy summer lunch. Made with simple ingredients and a delicious homemade dressing, this colorful pasta salad comes together in just 20 minutes and is perfect for BBQs, picnics, meal prep, or a quick weeknight dinner.
The easiest way to make a salad 100x times better? Pair with a bunch of pasta and call it a pasta salad.
This one is SO good: it comes delicious pasta, refreshing tomatoes and cucumbers, sweet corn, and salty feta, all with a delectably simple dressing.
Let’s start with the food groups. This Summer Pasta Salad recipe has got it all. Carbs. Protein. Veggies. Fat. Fiber. Truly everything you need for a filling and satisfying meal.
Next, the textures and flavors. Soft. Crunchy. Creamy. Salty. Savory. Sweet. Again, all the components we’re looking for.
And of course, this is just flat out easy to make. While the pasta is cooking, chop your veggies, drain the canned corn and whisk the dressing. Everything will be ready to go by the time the pasta is done cooking.
If you have a little extra time though, place your pasta in the fridge to cool it down a bit before assembling. Pasta salads are best served cold!
Now, let’s chat ingredients for this Summer Pasta Salad:
There was a time where I strictly bought and ate whole wheat or chickpea pasta. And don’t get me wrong, I love both of those. They’re a great way to add fiber and protein to pasta dishes.
But this dish is made with regular, standard pasta – a type of pasta that’s perfectly okay to eat too. It’s also nutritious – typically made with just durum wheat flour – and contains some protein and fiber too.
And honestly, even if it didn’t contain protein and fiber, it would still be okay to eat. It’s okay if not every single meal you make is made of the most nutritious ingredients, ever.
Health looks at the whole, big picture. And on the whole, with plenty of vitamins and minerals, this Summer Pasta Salad is nutritious without the whole wheat pasta. And more importantly, just straight up delicious.
Why You’ll Love This Summer Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is easy. It’s made with just a few simple ingredients.
It’s also perfect for summer. It’s full of refreshing flavors and vegetables and so satisfying.
This pasta makes a quick make ahead meal for summer that’s great for meal prep. Just throw everything together and store it in the fridge – it tastes amazing as leftovers.
How to Make Summer Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumber and Corn
Cook pasta & chop veggies
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 9-11 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the pasta is cooking, chop cherry tomatoes into quarters.
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and cut into thin pieces.
Drain and rinse the corn. Using your hands, crumble the feta cheese.
Mix everything together
When the pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse. Add the cooked pasta to a large bowl (if you have time, set the pasta in the fridge for 20 minutes to let cool first).
Add tomatoes, cucumber, corn and crumbled feta to the bowl. Pour dressing on top and toss to combine.
If You Love This Summer Pasta Salad, Try These
- Hot Honey Pepperoni Pasta Salad: Like pizza meets pasta salad.
- Loaded Italian Pasta Salad: If you love an antipasto salad, this pasta salad is for you.
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad: A delicious way to enjoy corn.
- 15-Minute Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salad: This summer pasta truly only takes 15 minutes to make.
- Smashed Cucumber Salad with Marinated Feta: If you like cucumber and feta, you’ll love this salad.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pasta: Fusilli or any curly shape pasta is great in this recipe. All the little twists absorb the dressing so nicely.
- Cherry tomatoes: Opt for cherry or grape tomatoes.
- Cucumbers: Mini Persian cucumbers are best as they’re seedless with a thin skin.
- Corn: Fresh, canned, or frozen corn all work.
- Feta cheese: I like buying a block of feta cheese in brine and crumbling it myself. I find it’s the most flavorful like this.
- Olive oil: This is the base of the simple dressing.
- Lime: A little squeeze of lime adds so much flavor.
- Honey: Honey adds a little sweetness.
- Herbs: This recipe uses dried chives and parsley. You can also use finely chopped fresh herbs — note that you may need more as the flavor of dried herbs is more concentrated.
Summer Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumber and Corn Notes & Variations
- Substitutions: Many other summer veggies would work well here for this Summer Pasta Salad. If you aren’t into tomato and cucumber – or just want to add other veggies – try chopped red bell pepper, zucchini and/or summer squash. If you’re not into feta, try swapping for goat cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese.
- Storage: Store this Summer Pasta Salad in an airtight container for 3-5 days. The longer it sits, the more flavorful it gets!
Frequently Asked Questions
Ingredients
- 8 oz. fusilli pasta
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 mini cucumbers
- 1 1/2 cup canned corn
- 1 cup feta cheese about 1/4 of a block
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- Salt
- Pepper
- Basil to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 9-11 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop cherry tomatoes into quarters. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and cut into thin pieces. Drain and rinse the corn. Using your hands, crumble the feta cheese.
- Make the dressing. In a bowl or glass cup with a lid, add olive oil, lime juice, maple syrup, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- When the pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse. Add the cooked pasta to a large bowl (if you have time, set the pasta in the fridge for 20 minutes to let cool first).
- Add tomatoes, cucumber, corn and crumbled feta to the bowl. Pour dressing on top and toss to combine.
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Great flavors. Loved the savory sweetness.
It was ok