Description
This Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Salad features irresistible flavors from sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, and tangy feta, making it ideal for quick dinners or healthy meals.
Ingredients
Scale
- 16 oz rotini pasta or any short pasta
- 8 oz julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup baby spinach or arugula
- ½ cup crumbled feta or mozzarella pearls
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
- optional add-ins: grilled chicken chopped salami, or chickpeas, sliced kalamata olives
- ⅓ cup olive oil use some from the sun-dried tomato jar for extra flavor
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions. Before draining, save ½ cup of pasta water.
- In a large salad bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Add the warm pasta to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat, allowing the pasta to absorb the flavors.
- Gently mix in sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, spinach, red onion, basil, and feta (or mozzarella). If the mixture appears dry, add a splash of the reserved pasta water.
- Serve the salad warm, at room temperature, or chilled; if chilling, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to enhance flavors.
Notes
Feel free to customize with additional proteins like grilled chicken or chickpeas.
Use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes for added flavor in the dressing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 400mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 12mg