Broccoli grape pasta salad is pasta, veggies, and fruit all in one easy side dish. The sweet & tangy homemade dressing goes perfectly on the grapes and crunchy veggies.
Warm weather is, hopefully, just around the corner. Soon It will be time to head outside and fire up the grill to enjoy good weather and great barbequed food.
What should you serve with your grilled burgers, brats, and pork steaks this spring? How about a broccoli grape pasta salad?
There’s something about pairing pasta salad with grilled food. It just works! And, this particular pasta salad is fantastic. One of the things I love about this salad is that there is pasta, veggies, and fruit all in one dish. This is especially perfect if it’s just my husband and I. I whip up this one side dish to go along with whatever he is outside grilling, and call it a day.
I got the idea for this pasta salad from a popular vegetable side dish, broccoli raisin salad. Broccoli raisin salad consists mostly of broccoli, raisins, bacon bits, and a sweet creamy dressing. I just substituted fresh grapes for the raisins, and added some bow tie pasta and a few extra veggies for crunch.
When you make this pasta salad, be sure to let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This will completely cool the pasta and allow all of the flavors to combine.
You could also make it a day in advance. Although, if you prepare the salad ahead of time, the pasta may absorb a lot of the dressing. If this happens, just splash a little milk into the salad and stir it around to help loosen things up.
Broccoli Grape Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 (16 oz.) box farfalle (bow-tie) pasta (I used whole wheat)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 lb. fresh broccoli stems removed, cut into small florets
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 2 cups seedless red grapes halved
- ¼ cup bacon bits (I used Hormel real bacon bits) or cooked crumbled bacon
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to its package directions. Drain the pasta and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the dressing. In a large bowl, add the mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well combined and sugar is dissolved.
- Add the pasta to the dressing and stir to evenly coat the pasta. Add the broccoli, onion, carrots, grapes, and bacon bits. Stir until well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition
sharon atkins says
Really nice dressing…..could be used in other ways.
Amanda Finks says
Sharon,
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
I agree. Sometimes I use this dressing when making cole slaw. I like the sweetness of it 🙂
Joanne Woerlein says
Hi there, your salad sounds great, I have one very similar all though less in it. I was wondering how far ahead you can make your salad and if there are leftovers will they be good the next day or not. Thanks for taking the time to answer. Joanne. P.S. You have great recipes
Amanda Finks says
Hi Joanne, I have made this salad the day before serving and it was great. I typically have some leftovers that I eat on for a couple of days. I would say it will keep about 3 to maybe 4 days tops.
Celia says
The broccoli is put in the salad raw, uncooked? I know it doesn’t say so in your directions, I’m just double checking!
Kathy says
Hubby and I really liked this salad! Didn’t have grapes so I used raisins. (Hubby liked it plain.) I didn’t have enough sour cream so I supplemented the lack with heavy cream. Yum.
I will state that I cooked the broccoli with the pasta as I didn’t want the frozen raw broccoli melting in my salad.
I think because of the red wine vinegar you need a sweet element to mitigate its acidic tang. Try grapes, of course, but also try dried raisins, dried cherries or craisins. They work, too. Great salad!