The Best Healthy Creamy Bow Tie Pasta Salad

Bring a medium pot of water to boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Pour it through a strainer in the sink and rinse with cold water to stop the pasta from cooking any longer. This also cools it down, so if you’re eating right away, your salad isn’t warm.

Dice the onion, roughly chop the artichokes, roughly peel the cucumber and chop, and slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Place peas in a small bowl and microwave for a minute or until thawed. Cut the broccoli head into small pieces, place in a bowl and add a tablespoon of water, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for two minutes.

In a large bowl add the pasta, olives, onion, artichokes, cucumbers and tomatoes (I like to sprinkle a little salt on the tomatoes and let them sit for 10 minutes or so in the bowl while I’m preparing the rest of the dish, to bring out their juicy flavor), peas, and broccoli.

In a small bowl, whisk the ranch and Italian dressings together, and add a pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper. Feel free to taste the dressing to adjust to your liking.

Toss the dressing in the pasta salad, add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper, and the parmesan cheese.

Serve!

For the Homemade Creamy Ranch Dressing

Finely dice the dill, parsley, and chives and place them in a bowl.

Whisk together the sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk, and lemon juice.

Combine the diced herbs, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and stir it all together. Add more salt or pepper to taste.

Pour the dressing into an 12 oz jar, close tightly with the lid, and store in the fridge for up to a week.