Green Pea Pasta Salad with Bacon

If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing summer side dish that will get rave reviews, look no further than this Bacon Pea Pasta Salad recipe! Light, refreshing, and perfectly creamy – without a drop of mayonnaise – this salad is bursting with sweet green peas, crispy bacon, rich goat cheese, and finished with a silky basil vinaigrette dressing.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces uncooked Cavatappi Pasta or Macaroni Pasta – or other small pasta of choice
• 12 ounces frozen Sweet Peas – thawed
• 6 ounces Goat Cheese – crumbled, divided
• 8-10 Slices Center Cut Bacon – cooked until crisp & crumbled
• 2/3 Cup Red Onion – finely chopped (about 1/2 small red onion)
• To Taste Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper

• 1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves – packed and finely chopped
• 6 TBS Freshly-squeezed Lemon Juice
• 6 TBS Parmesan Cheese – finely grated, plus more for garnish
• 2 TBS Honey
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• Optional Garnishes: Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, Snipped Chives, More Fresh Basil Leaves