Fall Pasta Salad

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Enjoy a burst of autumn flavors with this fall pasta salad, packed with pastas, apples, savory prosciutto and feta, crunchy seeds and a sweet maple dressing.

I’m obsessed with this fall pasta salad recipe. This recipe has all of the amazing flavors of the fall season in one salad. It’s about a half and half mix of pasta and kale as a base. Then, it’s full of freshly sliced apples, feta cheese, prosciutto, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds. You’ll top it off with a homemade maple syrup dressing that compliments all of the flavors so perfect.

I love this fall pasta salad recipe. At my house, we have a salad with most every meal. I love incorporating seasonal items into my salad. Anything goes when it comes to a salad; am I right?

This salad is best of both a green salad and a traditional pasta salad. We ate this alongside a protein, but you can also make it for Thanksgiving. The possibilities are endless when serving this salad.

Questions You Might Have:

Substitutions:

There are a lot of substitutions you can make for this salad. If you don’t like kale, you can change it out. I personally love kale salads, and I feel like kale goes perfect in this one. If you substitute the greens, I recommend using spinach. Another great substitution would be the change out the pumpkin seeds for pecans.

Boiling your pasta:

I would boil my pasta to al dente. You don’t want it overcooked or gummy.

Dressing options:

I used a homemade maple vinaigrette. It’s made from olive oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and some seasonings. If you don’t want to make this, any type of sweet vinaigrette will work.

Equipment You’ll Need:

There’s not a lot of equipment needed to make this fall pasta salad. What you’ll start with is a pot to boil your pasta in. You’ll also need a sharp knife to slice your apples, a small bowl or mason jar to mix your dressing and large salad mixing bowl.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Kale

You’ll need about two to three cups of fresh kale.

Pasta

I used a garden or multicolor rotini pasta. I used about 2 cups of cooked pasta. You can use whatever pasta shape that you’d like. I just felt like this shape worked well in this pasta. Plus, I liked the color.

Apples

I used three to four sliced Honeycrisp apples. I cut the core our then sliced them thin. You don’t have to use Honeycrisp apples; you can substitute with whatever your preference is.

Feta Cheese

Feta goes so well in this salad. Blue cheese or Gorgonzola would also go well here! You’ll need about a quarter to a half a cup.

Prosciutto

I used a one-ounce packet of prosciutto. I tore the slices into little pieces.

Dried Cranberries

You’ll need about a quarter cup of dried cranberries.

Pumpkin Seeds

I love the pumpkin seeds in this recipe. They add the good nutty flavor and a good crunch. If you don’t like pumpkin seeds, just omit them or substitute with pecans.

Maple Vinaigrette Dressing

You really need to make this maple vinaigrette. You’ll need olive oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and a few basic seasonings.

How to Make Ahead or Store This Salad

This fall pasta salad definitely can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator. However, I do have a few suggestions. You can assemble the salad but leave off the apples. Don’t slice and add them until you are ready to serve. You’ll run the risk of the apples turning brown.

You can also mix together your maple vinaigrette dressing beforehand. If you do plan on making this salad ahead, I 100% recommend making the dressing in a jar. You’ll add it to the salad right before serving.

Contact Me!

Please let me know if you made this fall salad recipe. What did you think of it? Did you make the maple dressing? Leave anything out? Add anything? I want to know your thoughts here or in the comments below. Happy cooking!