Next Post
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad. If you’re going to eat a salad today, it should probably be this salad. It’s the perfect quick fix salad that’s almost no cook and comes together in minutes. Grab your favorite pasta, fresh cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, basil, cheddar cheese, and an avocado…toss it all together, and done. It’s summery, healthy, and so good!
The saying around the Gerard household is that simple is the best, and the more recipes I create, the more I really realize this. Sure, I also love a recipe that takes more time to make, and you know I love spending time baking up my favorite layer cakes, but when it comes to everyday cooking, I’m all about simple.
I spent some time talking to my aunt and uncle this past weekend and they were telling me how they love good food…but simple food. High quality ingredients that just taste really good. As I was talking to them something kind of clicked in my head and it made me realize that as long as you have really good ingredients, you can make a simple, delicious recipe. A recipe doesn’t have to have a whole bunch of ingredients or be hard to make. It just needs fresh quality ingredients.
That’s kind of this salad. It’s probably one of the simpler recipes I have on HBH, and quite honestly, I should probably be saving it for Super Simple Thursday, but this pasta salad just felt like a fun way to kick the week off. Like I said above, if you’re going to eat salad today, why not make it of the pasta filled kind, you know?
With August here, the summer produce is at its peak. This makes cooking with fresh ingredients easier than any other time of year.
Enter in this fresh corn, tomato, and avocado salad. It’s summer in a bowl. It’s also so delicious, pretty healthy (try using brown rice or lentil pasta to make it even healthier), and highlights all of summer’s best in season produce.
OK. Details. Details.
To start, find your favorite short cut pasta. I used an organic variety from Costco that I love using for pasta salads, but use your personal favorite. To give this salad even more of a health boost, use brown rice pasta, whole grain, or even a lentil pasta. All would be really great in this salad!
As mentioned, this is a QUICK and almost no cook recipe. While the pasta is boiling (the only cooking you will do), prep all the remaining ingredients. For the fresh corn, you have a few options. I personally like to leave the corn raw and toss it up with the hot pasta. The heat from the pasta will warm the corn, but still leaves it with a nice bite, which I love. If you’re not a fan of raw corn, you can used grilled corn or toss the corn in with the boiling pasta water for a few minutes until it is cooked.
The rest of the salad is a mix of cherry tomatoes, herbs, avocado, and cheddar cheese. Good summer flavors.
Here’s the key to this pasta. As soon as you drain the pasta, toss it with the herbs and cheddar cheese while the pasta is still steaming. Hot pasta equals melty cheese, which equals extra delicious pasta. Trust me on this. I know this may not be the usual way to make a pasta salad, but guys, it’s good!
Once you’ve tossed the pasta, add the remaining ingredients and serve. You can eat this warm or at room temperature, but me being the hot food lover that I am, I like this best while it is still a little warm.
Also, this is great recipe for back to school lunches or bring to work lunches. The pasta holds up really well in the fridge and would be great to make on a Sunday for the week ahead. Just add the avocado the day of, so that it doesn’t get brown.
It’s kind of as quick and easy as that. What I love most about this pasta recipe is that it really does use some of summer’s best ingredients. So if you have a surplus of fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, and basil lying around, this is the recipe to make.
OH, and I have to mention, if you have any other herbs on hand besides the basil, say thyme and or oregano, throw them in too, they would be awesome in this. Use what you have or what you love! It’s always important to adapt recipes to your taste!
If you make this corn, tomato, and avocado pasta salad, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this pasta, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 752 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1 cup cubed sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan, manchego, or pecorino cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
- 1 pinch crushed red peppers flakes
- 1 pinch (each) kosher salt and pepper
- 4 ears grilled or steamed corn, kernels removed from the cobb
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain.2. Meanwhile, add the basil, olive oil, cheddar, parmesan, lemon juice, chives, and a pinch each of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to a large serving bowl. Add the hot pasta and toss vigorously to combine. 3. Add the corn, and tomatoes, tossing to combine. Top the pasta with avocado. Season with freshly cracked pepper and salt.
Hi, Tieghan, I’m new to your blog (!) and love it. I am that poor soul who hates to cook but eats every meal at home, so this kind of recipe is perfect for me. I don’t really like avocados, so I’m trying it without. I like that you encourage using ingredients on hand.
I was born and raised in snowy Colorado and now live in sunny Arizona where I no longer worry about needing a jacket in the evenings. Oh, the pain I remember in losing summer every year.
Beautiful blog and LOVE simple recipes.
Aw I am so happy you have been enjoying my blog! I hope you continue to! Thank you so much Corine! xTieghan
HI! Will this keep overnight or should it be consumed same day? Thanks in advance!
Hey Jill,
This will keep overnight. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Just had to comment and tell Aiden that she/he is SO RUDE for bringing unnecessary negativity to your page! Your recipes rock and you shouldn’t be sorry for posting a recipe like this. Always drives me nuts when people give unsolicited advice. If you don’t like it, don’t make it.
Can’t wait to make this! I love the simple recipes as well,
Thank you so much Haley!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Another homerun recipe from Tieghan! I made this tonight and not only was it and fast and easy as promised, it’s somehow even more delicious than I was expecting. The spices and the cheese blend are so flavorful but don’t overpower the produce. I paired it with a little salmon steak and a LaCroix and it was such a perfect summer delight!
Thank you Kathryn!! I am so happy to hear that! xTieghan
This was another winner meal for us so thank you Tieghan! We loved it, and the addition of lemon juice was so refreshing. (Added some lemon zest too). There is just a little leftover, but I think there’s going to be a race to the fridge tomorrow to see who gets it.
Thank you Molly!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I can’t remember if I’ve already left a review of this recipe but it is a delicious and fast recipe that I keep coming back to! Great for using summer veggies!
Thank you so much Maggie! xTieghan
This salad is sooo delicious as described!! It’s like a burst of summer flavors, so fresh!! Everything was grown within 4 miles of my house, except the pasta and avocado!! I served with BBQ boneless chicken which was the perfect compliment. This will be going into our rotation!!!
Thank you so much Robin!! xTieghan
My friend made this last night for our “Supper Club”. She substituted lettuce for pasta because we are trying to do less carbs and it was….amazing. I am still thinking about the fresh and delicious salad. Thanks!
Thank you Bonnie! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
Thank you for posting this simple end of summer recipe. You’re right, it is as hot as hell out there in August & sometimes the motivation for cooking gets lost. Plus being able to use up the abundance of tomatoes & herbs from the garden is great… and corn is super cheap & available at the farmer’s market. Loved this. It is now in my arsenal of easy pasta dinners & will make it frequently when in a pinch.
Thank you Tracy! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Just made this recipe and it’s so good!!! Little kick with the red pepper, i used pepper jack cheese because that’s what i had. One large beefsteak tomato. I’m not a fan of cold pasta salad so this is amazing when it’s French and warm.
Love to hear that! Thank you so much for trying this one, Nicole! xTieghan
I cannot wait to make this for the weekend❣️
Thank you so much Gigi! I hope this turns out amazing for you! xTieghan
I’m so glad you posted this recipe! Although simple, it’s a combo I would not have considered on my own. I also love that it’s the kind of recipe where we can substitute a couple of items if we don’t have everything on hand. I can’t wait until we can safely have potlucks again as this one is on my list! Love your recipes and the photos are always spectacular and worth the post even if I don’t plan to make that particular item! Cheers!
Aw that is so amazing to hear! I am really glad you liked this recipe, Leslie! I hope you continue to love the others I post as well! xTieghan
This pasta was the absolutely best ever. I did make a few changes. I added Feta Cheese and mixed with Zesty Italian dressing and Creamy Italian dressing. I did not add the basil because the dressing were enough bold flavor needed. It was even better the next day after refrigeration overnight. FIVE STARS!!!
Hi Tonya! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying it!! xTieghan
This was fantastic! My husband loved it. Used veggies from our garden. Added zucchini to it. Used homemade spaghetti noodles because that is what we had on hand. Avocado was good but would skip it next time. Good without it! Thanks!
Thank you Shannon!! So glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
Made this for my family of serious foodies. They loved it!
It tasted like summer!! Delicious and we all were craving the next day. Sadly, there was none left. I will be making again soon. Thank you for another great recipe!!!
Thank you so much Lori!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan