Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
This quick and easy 30-minute sun dried tomato pasta salad is vibrant, refreshing, and absolutely packed with flavor that’ll have the entire family clamoring for seconds all summer!
Servings: 4 - 6 people
Calories: 766kcal
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 (8-ounce) jar of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, diced
- 2 lemons, juiced
- ¼ cup of minced parsley
- ¼ cup of minced basil
- ¼ cup of reserved sundried tomato olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons of water
- ½ package of super firm tofu, crumbled with your fingers (to resemble feta cheese)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Pasta Salad
- 1 pound of pasta of your choice
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups of chopped spinach
- 1 small red onion, diced
- ⅓ cup of minced parsley
- ½ cup of minced basil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Remove the sun dried tomatoes from the jar and set aside until step 4 and save ¼ cup of the oil.
- In a small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Mix well and allow the crumbled tofu to marinate for 10 minutes while the pasta is cooking.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the sun dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, spinach, onion, parsley, basil, and dressing. Allow it to marinate while the pasta cools down for 10 minutes.
- Once the pasta is cool, add it to the bowl with all of the ingredients and mix well. Taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
- Cook the pasta al dente: This ensures it won’t become soggy as it soaks up the dressing. If you plan to always serve it directly from the refrigerator, though, al dente pasta can be a little hard, so it’s best to cook it normally.
- Partially dress the pasta salad while warm: The pasta absorbs the vinaigrette more. Adding ½ while the pasta is still warm gives you the perfect amount of flavor without all the dressing disappearing.
- To cool pasta quickly: Rinse it under cold water or spread it across a large tray, then optionally place it in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Calories: 766kcal | Carbohydrates: 129g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 2775mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 3708IU | Vitamin C: 84mg | Calcium: 168mg | Iron: 10mg
