This colorful Summer Tomato and Avocado Pasta Salad is the perfect addition to your cookout. It’s a light, flavorful dish that will make everyone want seconds. Packed with colorful cherry tomatoes, avocado, fresh mozzarella cheese and a lemon herb olive oil dressing.
Need a side dish idea to bring to a summer cookout? This easy tomato and avocado pasta salad is the perfect compliment to any grilled meal.
Pasta salads like this are great for entertaining or bringing to a party, because you can get it all assembled and in the fridge ahead of time.
What is in this pasta salad?
This pasta salad is made with lots of colorful, fresh, flavorful ingredients. I found a pint of cherry tomatoes at my local farm market that had red, yellow and orange cherry tomatoes in it. If you can’t find something like that, just red or just yellow will work fine too.
Avocados are a favorite in our house, so it was an obvious addition to this salad for me. It adds some great flavor and texture.
I also added fresh mozzarella, which was probably my favorite part of this pasta salad! It really brought all of the flavors together.
Finally, I made an easy dressing using olive oil, lemon juice, salt and dried basil.
I used rigatoni pasta, but you can mix it up with your favorite type of pasta! We also love this recipe with bowtie pasta, fusilli or penne. If you have questions about the different types of pastas, I love this article from Jessica Gavin that talks about 33 types of pasta and their uses!
What to Serve with this Pasta Salad
This pasta salad goes great with just about any grilled meal, from chicken to pork to burgers to ribs. I loved how it tasted with grilled chicken!
How to make this pasta salad a full meal
You can even turn this side dish into a main dish by adding a meat like grilled chicken. It’s a light summer meal this way!
Summer Tomato and Avocado Pasta Salad
Bring this fresh Summer Tomato and Avocado Pasta Salad to your next cookout! It pairs perfectly with any grilled meal.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta, uncooked, (I used rigatoni)
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and let cool before assembling the salad.
- Cut the tomatoes in halves. Cut the avocado in half, remove the fruit and cut into cubes. Cut the fresh mozzarella into small cubes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and basil. Place the avocados in the bowl and mix to coat. The lemon juice will keep them from browning too quickly.
- In a large bowl, mix together the pasta, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Add the avocados and the dressing and toss everything together. Put in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve, best served cold.
Notes
Make this a full meal by adding grilled chicken.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 378Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 450mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 5gSugar: 7gProtein: 13g
The nutritional information provided on A Savory Feast recipes is an estimation, the exact values may change depending on the type and brand of ingredients you choose.
Erika from AmazingTalker says
Love it! This salad is perfect for summer!