This Arugula and Peach Pasta Salad is flavorful, fresh and vibrant. It’s brimming with sweet and savory ingredients, from peaches to spiced chickpeas and avocado. If you’re craving a simple yet amazingly delicious summer salad, look no further!
This blog post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market.
With the summer heat upon us, there’s lots to look forward to — including summer salads and delicious, juicy stone fruits! The best of both worlds combine in this super tasty salad. It’s already on repeat here, as it’s the perfect combo of both sweet and savory and has lots of nutrients too.
We have peppery arugula, spiced chickpeas, creamy avocado, satisfying cavatappi pasta, red onion, and the star of the show….drumroll please…the donut peach!! I’m officially obsessed with these beauties. Their softness and sweet juiciness are absolutely delicious.
Sprouts Farmers Market now has unique stone fruit varieties! It’s super exciting because there’s always fun finds at Sprouts and these stone fruits are no exception! In addition to the favorites like sweet peaches and vibrant black plums, there’s also plumsicles and pluots! Stone fruits are always amazing for sweet recipes, but I especially love them in savory dishes like this one. The donut peaches add the perfect, sweet flavor and fabulous texture in this salad. You can find the stone fruits in the Produce Department, along with crisp arugula, fresh herbs, juice tomatoes and avocados, plus pantry staples like the red onion for this recipe.
How This Arugula and Peach Pasta Salad Comes Together
Start by making the pasta: the recipe uses this fun cavatappi shape, but you can definitely use other options such as bowties, penne, or rotini. When making the pasta, I like to stir in around 2 tsp. of kosher salt into the boiling water along with the pasta, but this is optional. Check the package instructions for the cook time for “al dente”, then drain the pasta and rinse it in cold water to bring it to room temperature. Otherwise, if the pasta is hot when mixed with the arugula, the arugula will start to wilt too quickly.
While the pasta is doing it’s thing in the pot, cook the chickpeas: preheat a pan on medium heat, and drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add them to the pan along with the oil and seasonings. Given them a good stir to distribute the seasonings, and let the chickpeas cook for 3 to 4 min, stirring periodically.
Whisk up the dressing in a bowl: simply add all the dressing ingredients to a bowl. Whisk them together with a fork or whisk, very well until the dressing is creamy and smooth.
Cut / slice the remaining ingredients: the donut peaches, shallot, fresh dill, tomatoes and avocado.
Putting it all together: In a large mixing bowl or serving platter, place the arugula and cooled, cooked pasta and squeeze the lemon juice over top. Gently mix. Add the produce, hemp seed hearts and half the dressing. Top with the chickpeas and serve with lemon wedges and the remaining dressing.
Other Delicious Salad Recipes
Pearl Couscous with Peas, Mint & Lemon Herb Ricotta
Berry Salad with Cherries & Vegan Feta
If you try this recipe, I would love to see your dish! You can tag me on Instagram @janetsmunchmeals and comment here!
Arugula and Peach Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1/3 lb. cavatappi pasta
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp. avocado oil
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp. sweet paprika
- 4 cups (lightly packed) arugula
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 ½ donut peaches pit removed and thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp. finely chopped shallot
- 2 tbsp. fresh dilled finely chopped
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 tbsp. hemp seed hearts
Creamy Agave-Mustard Dressing (makes extra)
- 2 tbsp. +1 tsp. agave nectar
- 3 tbsp. vegan mayo
- 1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. +1 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp. stone ground mustard
- 1 ½ tsp. dijon mustard
- ¾ tsp. kosher salt
- ¾ tsp. pepper
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, then drain and rinse. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, place a pan on medium heat. Add the 15 oz. chickpeas, 1 tsp. avocado oil, ¼ tsp. kosher salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, and ½ tsp. sweet paprika. Stir, cook for 3 to 4 min until heated, stirring occasionally.
- Whisk together all Creamy Agave-Mustard Dressing ingredients in a bowl (2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. agave nectar, 3 tbsp. vegan mayo, 1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil, 2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. white wine vinegar, 1 ½ tsp. stone ground mustard, 1 ½ tsp. dijon mustard, ¾ tsp. kosher salt, ¾ tsp. pepper, ¼ tsp. garlic powder).
- Add the 4 cups arugula, cooked pasta, and juice of ½ the lemon to a large serving bowl or plate, and toss. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges for serving. Top the salad with the 1 ½ donut peaches, 3 tbsp. shallot, 2 tbsp. fresh dill, 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, 1 avocado, and 1 tbsp. hemp seed hearts, and about half of the dressing, and gently toss. Top with the chickpeas, and serve with remaining dressing and lemon wedges on the side.