Vegetarian Italian Pasta Salad (Printable)
Colorful Italian pasta toss with seasonal vegetables, mozzarella, and zesty herb dressing in 30 minutes.
# What You'll Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 10 oz short-cut pasta (fusilli, penne, or farfalle)
→ Vegetables
02 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
03 - 1 cup cucumber, diced
04 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
05 - 1 cup bell pepper (red or yellow), diced
06 - 1/2 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
07 - 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
08 - 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
→ Cheese
09 - 3.5 oz fresh mozzarella pearls
→ Herbs
10 - 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
11 - 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
→ Dressing
12 - 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
13 - 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
14 - 1 tbsp lemon juice
15 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
16 - 1 garlic clove, minced
17 - 1 tsp dried oregano
18 - 1/2 tsp salt
19 - 1/4 tsp black pepper
# Steps:
01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain through a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to halt cooking. Set aside to cool completely.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, toss together the cooled pasta, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, sliced red onion, diced bell pepper, sliced black olives, quartered artichoke hearts, and sliced sun-dried tomatoes until evenly distributed.
03 - In a small bowl or mason jar, whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper until the mixture is smooth and well emulsified.
04 - Pour the prepared dressing over the pasta and vegetable mixture. Add the mozzarella pearls, chopped basil, and chopped parsley. Toss gently but thoroughly to coat all ingredients evenly with the dressing.
05 - Taste the salad and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld together.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The homemade dressing takes two minutes to shake together and tastes dramatically better than anything from a bottle.
- It feeds a crowd happily, travels well to picnics, and actually tastes better after sitting in the fridge for a few hours.
02 -
- Rinsing the pasta with cold water is not a sin here like it would be for hot pasta dishes, it stops the cooking immediately and removes excess starch so the dressing adheres properly.
- Do not skip the chilling step, the transformation that happens in those thirty minutes in the fridge is remarkable and the salad tastes like a completely different dish.
03 -
- Salt your pasta water until it tastes like mild seawater, this is your one chance to season the pasta itself and it makes an enormous difference in the final dish.
- Make double the dressing and keep half in the fridge for salads throughout the week, it lasts five days and tastes incredible on everything from greens to roasted vegetables.