An easy Italian pasta salad with balsamic dressing! 20 minutes and a few simple ingredients are all you need to enjoy this great balsamic pasta salad. Minimum effort, mega taste!
1red onion thinly sliced and softened (see note 1)
1tbspvinegar to soften the onions (any vinegar is fine)
1/2 cupcherry tomatoes, red and yellow mixedhalved
1/2 cupfeta cheesecrumbled into big chunks
1/2 cup parsleychopped
1/4 cupolivessliced
10walnuts
STEP BY STEP IMAGES
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Instructions
Pasta
Boil 1 litre (4 cups) of water with 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the whole grain pasta first since it takes 4 to 5 minutes more to cook than the regular ones. After 5 minutes, add the tricolor pasta. Bring it to a boil again and simmer for 10 minutes.
3/4 cup rotini pasta, 1/4 cup regular rotini pasta
Basil balsamic vinaigrette
Shake together all ingredients in a jar.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon mixed Italian dried herbs, 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
Balsamic pasta salad
Prepare the rest of the ingredients, chopping and slicing while the pasta is cooking.
1 red onion, 1 tbsp vinegar
Slice the onion thinly and submerge in a bowl of water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vinegar. This softens and takes the bite out of raw onions. Drain and squeeze the water out after 10 minutes.
Once pasta is cooked, strain the cooked pasta. Rinse to stop it from cooking further and to avoid it from sticking together.
Toss pasta with vegetables and mix-ins. Add in the dressing and toss again.
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, red and yellow mixed, 1/2 cup feta cheese, 1/2 cup parsley, 1/4 cup olives, 10 walnuts
The pasta salad can be served immediately or chilled. It tastes even better the next day.
If you're planning to chill the salad, reserve about 2 to 3 tablespoons of dressing. Chill the pasta salad in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or more. Toss with the remaining dressing before serving.
Video
Notes
MAKE-AHEAD OPTION (refrigerating): This pasta salad keeps well in the fridge for 4 days. Store in airtight containers. Reserve 3 tablespoons of dressing (as mentioned in the instructions above) and add before serving since
FREEZING: It keeps for 2 months in the fridge, though the texture may not be the same. You can preserve the texture if you store the dressing separately. Do not add herbs since they tend to brown in the freezer. Thaw the salad in the fridge overnight.
Soaking the onions in vinegar and salt gives a kind of "pickled" effect and can be done for any salad that uses raw onions. It tastes even better if soaked longer, for about 30 minutes.
You can use 1 cup of whole-grain pasta or a mix of whole-grain and regular pasta. I've mixed tricolor pasta for variation.
Though any short pasta can be used, rotini is best suited for this pasta salad. The dressing and bits of cheese cling onto the curves, making every bit of it flavorful.
Himalayan pink salt adds additional flavor to the balsamic vinaigrette, making this a unique pasta salad.
You'll need only 1/4 cup of olive oil for this salad recipe for 4 servings and is definitely a low-calorie option without any compromise on taste.
For gluten-free Italian pasta salad: Use gluten-free brown rice pasta. The cooking instructions are the same as above.