Italian Vegetarian Pasta Salad (Printable Version)
Colorful pasta tossed with fresh vegetables, mozzarella, and a zesty Italian vinaigrette dressing.
# What You 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 (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 fresh lemon juice
15 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
16 - 1 garlic clove, minced
17 - 1 tsp dried oregano
18 - 1/2 tsp kosher salt
19 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
# Directions:
01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the short-cut pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain through a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to halt the cooking process. Set aside to cool completely.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, toss together the cooked and cooled pasta, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, diced bell pepper, sliced black olives, quartered artichoke hearts, and sliced sun-dried tomatoes.
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, kosher salt, and black pepper until the mixture is well emulsified and smooth.
04 - Pour the prepared dressing over the pasta and vegetable mixture. Add the mozzarella pearls, chopped basil, and parsley. Toss gently but thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly 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 miles better than anything from a bottle and takes about sixty seconds to whisk together.
- It feeds a crowd happily and tastes even better the next day, so you can make it ahead without any stress.
02 -
- Rinsing the pasta is essential here because residual heat will continue cooking it and turn your salad mushy.
- Do not skip the chilling step because the dressing needs time to soak into the pasta and the vegetables need time to release their juices into the mix.
03 -
- Cut all your vegetables roughly the same size as the pasta so every forkful has a balanced mix instead of one giant onion slice hijacking a bite.
- Let the dressed salad sit at room temperature for ten minutes before serving because the cold muffles the flavor and the warmth wakes everything back up.