With summer heading our way at full speed, it’s time to dust off the grills and picnic baskets and to become reacquainted with favorite warm weather recipes. Today’s Broccoli Sausage Pasta Salad recipe is a prefect tee up for dining al fresco.
I love summer salads. A great green salad full of vegetables and fruit is welcome any time especially in the hottest months. It’s hard to imagine eating much of anything else.
I’ve always loved a great potato salad and these two are summer staples Grill-Smoked Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon and Tri Color Chipotle Bacon Potato Salad are our family favorite (and yes, I love bacon in potato salads). Macaroni salad? Yes, Picnic Macaroni Salad please especially.
A fantastic, easy pasta salad is a must to have on the summer recipe rotation. This Broccoli Sausage Pasta Salad hits all the bases with crunchy broccoli, delicious chicken apple sausage slices, penne pasta (gluten-free or regular), cubes of mozzarella cheese, sunflower seeds for crunch and an irresistible vinaigrette.
It’s great served warm or chilled. It can be eaten solo as a main dish or a side dish. Because it does not have mayonnaise it’s more hot weather hardy too.
One of our favorite Memorial Day weekend traditions is heading up into the canyon above our house to camp out for the day by a roaring river. Never knowing if a fire ban will be in place, we take favorite picnic food and this salad is always on the list.
Sadly a few years ago there was a huge flood in our area (even made the international news) ripping apart the picnic spot. We visited the first year having not seen the result of the over engorged river which uprooted trees, tossed boulders willy nilly and tore apart the picnicking spots.
Access to the river side had become limited so we turned around and enjoyed a picnic in our backyard instead. The pasta salad was just as good there!
Broccoli Sausage Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Dressing:
- ¼ c Red Wine Vinegar
- ½ c Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 large Garlic Clove , diced
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
Ingredients for Pasta Salad:
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound pre-cooked Chicken Apple Sausage , sliced
- 1 12- ounce box Penne Pasta (gluten-free or regular), prepared
- 1/3 cup Red Onion , finely chopped
- 1- pound Broccoli , cut into small florets
- 1 Red , Yellow or Orange Sweet Pepper (or 2 halves of different peppers), sliced thinly and slices halved
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1/3 cup raw Sunflower Seeds
Instructions
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small jar with a lid. Shake to fully combine; stir to dissolve the sugar if needed.
- In a large saucepan over medium high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the sausage slices and stir until they are lightly browned. Remove from heat.
- In a large serving bowl combine the sausage, pasta, onion, broccoli, and pepper slices; toss with the dressing. Stir in the mozzarella cheese cubes and sunflower seeds. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Note: if using gluten-free pasta, the salad is best eaten the day it is prepared.
Happy Valley Chow says
Yummy! What a wonderful pasta recipe, great job. PINNED!
Brandy says
This looks like a super delicious pasta option – I love broccoli and I love sausage – the perfect mix. Going to have to try to make this!
Valerie Gray says
I love broccoli, but never thought about adding it to my pasta salad. I love a great pasta salad and will be adding in broccoli for my next one.
Chasing Joy says
This pasta salad looks lovely. Makes me look forward to sumer if it’d ever warm up here.
Rachel Ferrucci says
That looks delicious! I love your pasta bowl it’s so pretty and picnic are great no matter where you have them!
Pam says
I love broccoli and sausage. i don’t think I normally eat it together but I will have to make this pasta salad and try it.
Marcie W. says
This delicious pasta salad would make an excellent well balanced meal solution. I appreciate that you can serve it cold just in time for summer.
Jeanine says
This looks delicious! Awesome for a backyard bbq or when having friends over too.. I know my kids will enjoy this as much as me!
Liz Mays says
This looks great! I think my family would love all of the veggies and the mozzarella is a really nice touch!
Karlaroundtheworld | Karla says
I might as well call it a bit odd but I always loved mixing my meat with greens. This one takes the challenge of becoming my all-time favorite, let’s try it then. Thanks for the recipe!
Toni Dash says
Truth be told me too! I think I appreciate the efficiency of having it all in one recipe too.
Kristi says
What a great salad suggestion, I am always looking for something new to bring to picnics and reunions. We love Chicken Apple Sausage but usually just eat it as it is, but adding it to a salad is a great idea.
Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly says
I live on salads for summer, I will definitely try this!
Theresa says
I think this would be a great salad to take to a potluck or just to have as a light summer dinner. I like the addition of all the veggies. Seems like this dish has many wonderful flavors and textures!
Ann Bacciaglia says
This is a recipe my whole family will love. I will have to get the ingredients so i can give it a try.
Kiwi says
Wow you took some amazing shots I am instantly hungry. I would totally make and eat this for lunch!
Toni Dash says
Awe thank you! It is a happy looking salad isn’t it?
Ryan Escat says
This one is looks fantastic! I bet this for my family reunion, they would love it for sure 100%.
Dawn McAlexander says
Now that’s a different type of salad. It looks really good. You can’t beat a salad in the summer. This one looks really good to me.
Amy @ Marvelous Mommy says
Yum, this looks delicious and your pictures are gorgeous! I will definitely try this recipe!
Raijean S says
Geez, this looks amazing. I love broccoli and sausage but never thought to put them together. I’m going to try this.
Beeb Ashcroft says
This looks like a perfect dish for an outdoor party. Great timing with Memorial Day right around the corner. Thanks for sharing.
Amy Desrosiers says
These are such beautiful food pictures! I had never thought of adding broccoli to sausage but it does sounds yummy.
Nicole Escat says
Broccoli wasn’t one of my favorites when I was younger, but it sure is now. It’s really easy to prepare and there are a number of recipes that go well with it. This one is perfect for Spring/Summer!
Kristin says
That looks very good. I want to eat some pasta right now!
Rosey says
The sausage is the perfect way to let it e a meal for the guys in my family. They won’t consider salad for a meal unless it’s got meat in it. 🙂
Lisa Joy Thompson says
This pasta salad recipe looks amazing! I love that you have the option of eating it warm or cold which means I could make it once and eat it 2 different ways!
Joyce Brewer (@MommyTalkShow) says
Thank you for providing a salad idea WITH meat. We are sausage and beef eaters here!
Tanya White says
This sounds so amazing I love that this recipe is so different from traditional pasta salads.