This Juicy Veggie Pasta Salad is packed with good quality and super tasty ingredients. I love the combination of fresh tomatoes together with sundried tomatoes . Right now, fresh tomatoes are at their best so take advantage of this seasonal gift from mother nature! I like to buy a mix of orange, yellow and red tomatoes from the farmers' market for the freshest possible ingredients.
When buying sundried tomatoes, look for “sulphite-free.” This is the best way to avoid unnecessary food additives. You’ll notice sulphite-free sundried tomatoes are typically a little darker in colour because they don’t have a preservative to prevent the colour from turning – don't fret, they taste just as yummy. If they're certified organic, there won’t be any sulphites added.
When buying, I also look for oil-packed sundried tomatoes because they're already nice and soft. Side note, if you don't buy oil-packed, they're VERY easy to rehydrate. Simply place them in some warm water for about 10 minutes – voila! – nice soft easy-to-chop sundried tomatoes. In fact, pretty much every time we visit Austria, if we fly back via Venice, Italy, I'll buy a big bag of sundried tomatoes from the airport so I can enjoy them for months. I love making this s undried tomato sunflower spread for Chickpea bread with those tomatoes.
One of the other reasons this salad is so darn tasty is because I used a lot of herbs. I highly recommend using fresh herbs like basil or parsley – or whatever you can get your hands on! My father-in-law’s garden is bursting with fresh herbs right now so I’ve been adding them to pretty much everything I make.
In case you didn’t know, I’m in Austria right now, which is another reason I love this pasta salad because it’s so easy to make. When we travel here, we don’t cook as much as we do when we are home so I’m relying on easy-peasy recipes like this one. Less time in the kitchen means more time for hiking and swimming the lake, which we’ve been doing every day!
I called this recipe “Juicy” Veggie Pasta Salad because the fresh tomatoes combined with the dressing makes it mouth-watering good – which screams juicy to me! Speaking of juicy recipes, if you’re looking for another juicy salad recipe be sure to try my Juicy & Crunchy Kale Salad . It’s my go-to when I’m at home in Toronto – Walker and Vienna both love it too. Vienna will only eat kale if it’s chopped up really, really well.
Whenever I travel I find out where the nearest health food store is and I pick up a bunch of ingredients. That’s how I found some gluten-free pasta. I’m not against glutenous pasta – it’s damn tasty, too - but when I’m cooking for my family I often choose gluten-free because it’s just easier on my digestion. You could also use Chickapea pasta because it’s rich in protein and fibre, too.
Here’s my recipe for my Juicy Veggie Pasta Salad.
Mains & Sides
Juicy Veggie Pasta Salad
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Ingredients
- 400g your favourite dried pasta*
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup chopped, sundried tomatoes
- 1 sweet yellow pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 3/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, parsley)
- Juice from 1 fresh lemon
- 1/4-1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup Feta cheese
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to label instructions, al dente. Drain water and rinse the pasta through cool water.
- Place pasta in a large salad bowl, drizzle with some olive oil (so the pasta doesn't stick while it cools) and place in fridge to keep chilled.
- Meanwhile, chop all the veggies. Be sure to use fresh herbs, as it's key to the wonderful taste of this pasta salad. You can use any fresh herbs you have on hand.
- Prepare the salad dressing. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil.
- Remove the pasta from the fridge, add the veggies, olive, fresh herbs and dressing. Top with feta if using and serve right away or refrigerate until serving. The longer all the ingredients sit together, the tastier it gets! Just keep in mind gluten-free pasta sometimes gets hard if it sits overnight.
- EnJOY as your main or as a side dish.
Notes
This recipe serves 4.
I used a gluten-free penne which was a blend of different gf flours.
If you love pasta as much as my family does, here are a few more pasta recipes you’ll enjoy!
Creamy Avo Pasta Salad
Memories of Tuscany Bolognese
Spicy Sausage with Spaghetti Squash
I make pesto pasta ALL THE TIME, it's Vienna's absolute favourite. I use this Lemon Basil Pesto . Her favourite pasta bowl will be featured in my new cookbook, The Joyous Cookbook (Dec 2019).
I hope you love this recipe! Happy Summer!
Joy xo
I made this recipe this week. It turned out perfectly. So delicious with the sun dried tomatoes.
ReplyGlad to hear that Julia and thanks for taking the time to comment!
I love making pasta salads! The kids always request it before soccer games and for family BBQ's! Yours is beautiful, just wondering what brand GF pasta you used? :)
ReplyI was in Europe at the time when I made this so I don't remember the name of it but at home I like Quinoa Go-go and Chickapea Pasta!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome! I added radishes, red onions, and cucumbers from our garden. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
ReplyGlad to hear you loved it. Your additions sound wonderful too!
This salad is amazing. I used feta cheese,mixed with the olives, tomatoes,very yummy. It tasted like more. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
ReplySounds fabulous!
Oh my this is such a great delicious salad. My husband and I devoured it. We used our own tomatoes from the vine too. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you.
ReplyThat's the best way to do it, with your own tomatoes!! Sound wonderful and I'm so happy you and your hubby loved it!