Enjoy this whole wheat pasta salad with yogurt dressing as a delicious and healthier pasta salad that also happens to be great for an outdoor concert picnic.
Here in Milwaukee and areas surrounding the city there are many outdoor concerts in the summer. It’s a fun summer activity – you grab a blanket, pack a picnic, and go enjoy live music at a park.
As summer was winding down and it was the last of such concerts, my mother in law and her friends invited us (my husband and I) to go to one. They said it was potluck style, so I knew I wanted to bring something that every one would enjoy – a pasta salad was the first thing that came to mind (last year I made this pasta salad for many a picnic and wanted to make it similar) !! And I wanted to incorporate the fresh ingredients in my garden – herbs, more herbs, and tomatoes! I also had some mini peppers from the farmers market which I thought would go great in the pasta salad, I roasted them to give them more depth of flavor. Then for the dressing the tang from the Greek yogurt works so well mixed with fresh herbs and a little citrus, and I loved being able to pick the herbs from my garden and use them right away. This pasta salad is so summery and perfect for bringing along to a picnic, or for having in the fridge for a healthy lunch option (after the picnic we had this for lunch and it had me thinking how perfect it was for making a batch to have on hand in the fridge!)
Now that you know how the pasta salad is made, let me tell you about the outdoor concerts that my mother in law and her friends go to. One might think of grabbing a blanket and maybe some snacks and going to see some live music (which is what we did) but upon coming to their gathering, we were shown what it means to go to an outdoor concert picnic with them – a picnic spread of delicious food (I’m talking appetizers, mains, and dessert -with coffee and wine!) and a table with fresh flowers and a candle and chairs. It was impressive.
Everything was absolutely beautiful and delicious…I’m not even going to tell you how many of those little sandwiches I ate…they’re called “Pamwiches” because they are famous sandwiches made by Pam (second from left in the above group photo) and I’m totally going to try and get her to make them with me so I can share the recipe with you guys…because they are sooooo good!
Our little blanket we had brought along just didn’t stand a chance, it was drowned out by all the set ups, chairs, and throngs of people. I can’t wait to go back next year (with chairs in tow).
Ingredients
- 1 lb whole wheat pasta I use rigatoni
- 1 lb sweet mini peppers
- 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1-2 to matoes chopped
- for the dressing:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 2 sprigs rosemary chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 3-4 oz. Feta crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
- Place peppers on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 30 minutes, then set aside to let cool (you can do this step the night before - that's what I did, it really speeds things up day of)
- Cook pasta according to package instructions, strain, and set aside to let cool (I also did this the night before making the pasta salad so that day of I just had to stir everything together)
- Cut tomato and put chopped tomatoes in with the pasta.
- Cut the tops off the roasted mini peppers to remove the seeds, cut into little pieces and add to the pasta. Stir.
- In a small bowl juice the lemon, then add in the Greek yogurt, olive oil, and chopped basil and rosemary and the salt and garlic salt, whisk to combine, then pour over the pasta with the tomatoes and pepper and stir. Sprinkle the feta onto the pasta and stir a few times to combine. Serve or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Little Cooking Tips says
That is one amazing pasta salad dear Phi! We saw that you used garlic salt in this, we make a similar one with dry garlic (powdered) 🙂 Yours has more ingredients though, and we simply MUST try this now that the weather is still great for picnics and eating outdoors.
What type of music they played in this concert? We’re asking because of the chairs and everything. It looks like you guys had a great time:) We’ll be waiting for the Pamwiches recipe:)
Hugs,
Panos and Mirella
Sweetphi says
Pasta salads are just so great for picnics aren’t they? At the concert it was mainly jazz music that was played 🙂 Thank you as always for your lovely comments Panos and Mirella
manda2177 says
This looks amazing!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much!
Ashley says
Oooo I love that you added roasted peppers to this! I haven’t been to an outdoor concert since last fall I think! Crazy! Looks like you guys had a great time!
Sweetphi says
Roasted peppers and pasta…a combination that is always delish, right? Outdoor concerts are so much fun, now I want to go to more 🙂
cheri says
Hi Phi, outdoor concerts are so much fun and it looks like your mother-in-law and her friends know how to do them right, lovely salad.
Sweetphi says
They definitely know how to do picnics and outdoor concerts right, it was impressive and I’m so glad I got to experience it before they were done, thank you for commenting 🙂
The Gourmet Gourmand says
OK this looks so good! and what a fun late summer activity to do with the fam 🙂
Sweetphi says
Outdoor concerts and picnics are so fun, I now want to do more!
Lynn Lovejoy says
omg this looks SO healthy and YUMMY! Need to make this ASAP!!
Sweetphi says
Thanks girl! You’d love this, it is healthy and the perfect side dish for any meal 🙂
Jamie | The Kitchenarium says
What a wonderful way to cling on to the last of summer. That pasta salad looks like a winner to me!
Sweetphi says
This pasta salad is definitely a winner among pasta salads 😉
Shawnna says
This sounds really good! And the outside concerts sound really fun!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much Shawnna! The outdoor concert was so great – I loved how everyone had these beautiful picnic set ups and how packed it was!
wearenotmartha says
I want to be invited to outdoor concerts with you!! This pasta looks so flavorful and delicious!
Sues
Sweetphi says
Awe, thank you so much! And you know there’s always a seat with your name on it for picnics 😉 You know I’ll be bringing this pasta salad so we’ll have dinner covered 🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
How good do those roasted peppers look?!
I love using yogurt as a healthier alternative to cream in pasta dishes.
I didn’t get to go to any outdoor concerts this year 🙁
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much! I love roasting peppers for dishes like this, and yogurt is one of my favorite healthier alternatives in cooking – I use it in pasta dishes and even when baking, it’s so versatile! So sorry you didn’t get to go to any outdoor concerts this year – there’s always next year, right?