Lemon Capellini Pasta Salad
This bright, tangy pasta salad features delicate capellini noodles, fresh lemon, herbs, and veggies. Perfect for warm days, picnics, and light meals. Ready in minutes with minimal cooking needed.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 8 oz capellini pasta
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves (torn)
- 3 tbsp pine nuts (toasted)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
For the Lemon Dressing
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 tsp honey
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Boil the pasta. Cook capellini according to package directions until al dente.
- Cool quickly. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water until cool.
- Make dressing. Whisk lemon juice, oil, garlic, honey, salt and pepper in bowl.
- Combine ingredients. Toss pasta with spinach, tomatoes and basil in large bowl.
- Add dressing. Pour lemon mixture over pasta and toss until everything is coated.
- Top and chill. Sprinkle with pine nuts and lemon zest. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Pasta will absorb dressing as it sits. Add extra lemon juice if needed.
- Toast pine nuts in a dry pan until golden for the best flavor.
- Use room-temperature lemons for more juice when squeezing.
- This salad tastes even better after a few hours of chilling.
- For meal prep, keep dressing separate until ready to serve.
- Add grilled chicken or shrimp to make this a complete meal.