Italian Vegetarian Pasta Salad (Printable version)
Colorful pasta toss with fresh veggies, mozzarella, and zesty Italian vinaigrette in 30 minutes.
# What you'll need:
→ Pasta
01 - 10.5 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 (or diced mozzarella)
→ 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
# Directions:
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 in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to halt further cooking. Set aside to drain 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 fully emulsified.
04 - Pour the dressing over the pasta and vegetable mixture. Add the mozzarella pearls, chopped basil, and chopped parsley. Toss gently but thoroughly until every component is well coated 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 is so good you will want to put it on everything from green salads to grilled bread.
- It comes together in thirty minutes and actually tastes better after sitting in the fridge, making it the ultimate make ahead dish.
02 -
- Do not skip rinsing the pasta under cold water, residual heat will continue cooking it and you will end up with mushy salad.
- The dressing tastes overly sharp when you first mix it but mellows beautifully after chilling, so trust the process and do not add more oil to tone it down.
03 -
- Salt your pasta water until it tastes like mild seawater, this is the single biggest difference between a bland salad and one that tastes seasoned throughout.
- Let the salad sit out at room temperature for fifteen minutes before serving because the flavors bloom and the olive oil loosens up from its chilled state.