Summer Pasta Salad with Tomato, Feta and Orange Dressing

Sharing with you easy pasta salad recipe with sweet grape tomatoes, feta cheese in lite orange dressing. An easy side salad which you can ready in minutes. 

Among wide variety of pasta salads, cold salads with lite and lemony dressing are my favorite in summers. Other than serving pool side parties, chilled pasta salads with vibrant and lite flavors of summers can be filling yet satisfying lunch salad too.

You can totally make this salad ahead of time for parties or carry this salad for pot luck. Make the dressing and mix in the cooked pasta. Due to lemon and olive oil in dressing, pasta pieces will not stick to each other and will taste good longer.

I prefer to mix 3/4 of dressing in cooked pasta and keep rest in small container to stir in just before serving. As pasta sits, it absorbs water or any other liquids. This can make salad look dry if sitting for long time. But you can brighten it up again by mixing in leftover dressing just before serving it to the guests. 

I often call it my "easy refrigerator summer salad". Well, don't you think this salad has most common ingredients available in any pantry and fridge? I bet you have all these ingredients available right now to make this quick salad for lunch tomorrow. Or if you don't have grape tomatoes, you can use seeded and diced ripe roma tomatoes in this salad. Use edamame or shelled fava beans instead of green peas. Use goat cheese or queso fresco instead of feta cheese.