With the Summer over our heads, it's really hard to eat anything that's hot and flaming. Believe us, we know the suffering too, so we thought what could be better than cool summer salads! Here we go-

Easy Summer Salad with Pasta 

Ingredients-

• 3 cups uncooked fusilli pasta
• 2 heaping cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups arugula
• 1 cup Persian cucumbers, sliced into thin half moons
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup basil leaves, torn
• ½ cup minced parsley
• ½ cup chopped mint
• ¼ cup toasted pine nuts

Dressing

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence, or dried Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package directions, or until slightly past al dente.
2. Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, and salt. (Note: the dressing will have a strong flavor, it’ll mellow once it coats all of the pasta salad ingredients).
3. Drain the pasta, toss it with a little olive oil (so that it doesn’t stick together) and let it cool to room temp. 
4. Transfer to a large bowl with the tomatoes, chickpeas, arugula, cucumbers, feta cheese, basil, parsley, mint, and pine nuts. 
5. Pour the dressing and toss to coat. Season to taste with more lemon, salt, pepper, and/or a drizzle of olive oil, if desired, and serve.

Tomato Mozarella Salad

Ingredients

• 3 large tomatoes, sliced
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ cup minced fresh basil

Instructions 

1. Place tomato slices, alternating with mozzarella slices, on a large serving platter.
2. Combine oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a jar with a tight-fitting lid; shake well. 
3. Drizzle over tomatoes and mozzarella; sprinkle with basil.
4. Serve cold!

Keto Broccoli Salad

Ingredients-

• Kosher salt
• 3 heads of broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 c. Cheddar, shredded
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. toasted sliced almonds
• 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 tbsp. freshly chopped chives 

For the dressing

• 2/3 c. mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

 

Instructions-

1. In a medium pot or saucepan, bring 6 cups of salted water to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare a large bowl with ice water.
2. Add broccoli florets to the boiling water and cook until tender, 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately place in the prepared bowl of ice water. 
3. When cool, spin the broccoli in a salad spinner. You will need to spin it at least twice.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine dressing ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the dressing. Toss until ingredients are combined and fully coated in dressing. 
6. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

Now you are all ready for summer with these cool summer salad recipes!