Weeknight Pasta(bilities) Salad
Every Night Pasta Salad
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Dinner
Cuisine
American
Author:
Weeknight Dinner Party
Servings
8
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Calories
520
Growing up, there always seemed to be pasta salad. It showed up at cookouts, pool days, graduation parties, and random weeknights when nobody wanted to turn the oven on. My mom would make it ahead of time and somehow it always tasted better the next day. We’d steal bites straight from the bowl while deciding what else we wanted to eat. This is an homage to all of those variatiosn.
Cold pasta gets lightly dressed while still warm so it actually absorbs flavor instead of just wearing it. Salty olives, slightly sweet sun-dried tomatoes, sharp feta, crisp cucumbers, and savory salami make every bite feel balanced. The red wine vinaigrette brings brightness, and It’s Thyme to Party gives everything that herby, homemade flavor that makes pasta salad worth making instead of buying.
The best thing about pasta salad, is you can add whatever you like, and take out what you don't. For this recipe, we make our own dressing. It's tangy with high-acid, but rounded out nicely with some dijon mustard and grated garlic. But, in all honesty, sometimes we use our favorite store-bought dressing, and you there's no shame in that.
I think you'll want this one on repeat.
Why You’ll Love It
Perfect for cookouts and gatherings
Gets better as it sits
Big deli-meets-garden flavor
Easy to prep ahead
A complete meal or side dish
Minimal cooking required
Ingredients
Dressing
-
1 cup, olive oil
-
¼ cup, red wine vinegar
-
¼ cup, white vinegar
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1 garlic cloved, grated
-
1 tablespoon ,whole grain/dijon mustard
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1 tablespoon, It's Thyme to Party
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1 teaspoon, salt
-
1 teaspoon, pepper
Salad
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16 ounees, pasta
-
7 ounces, sun dried tomatoes
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6 ounces, mixed and pitted olives
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9 ounces, dried uncured salami
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8 ounces, feta cheese
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½ red onion, thinly sliced
-
Kirby Cucumbers, diced
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Handful of arugula
Directions
Cook the Pasta. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook 16 ounces pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse briefly under cool water until no longer hot.
Make the Dressing. In a small bowl or a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine 1 cup olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, ¼ cup white vinegar, 1 clove of grated garlic, 1 tablespoon whole grain or dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon It’s Thyme to Party, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Shake or whisk until smooth.
Dress the pasta. Transfer the cooled pasta to a large bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of dressing and toss to lightly coat. This first layer helps the noodles absorb flavor while they cool.
Prep the Mix-Ins. Slice and prepare the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, salami, feta, cucumbers, onions, arugala.
Assemble. Add all salad ingredients to the bowl with the pasta. Pour over t dressing and toss until evenly coated. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed
Chil and Serve. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Best served cold!
Recipe Note
Considerations
Dress warm noodles first: Adding a little dressing early keeps the pasta flavorful instead of bland in the center.
Let it rest: Pasta salad always tastes better after sitting.
Cut everything similarly sized: You want every bite to feel balanced.
Use good feta: Block feta crumbled yourself makes a noticeable difference.
Save extra dressing: Pasta absorbs dressing overnight—refresh leftovers with a splash of olive oil and vinegar.
Nutrition
Nutrition
- per serving
- Calories
- 520
- Carbs
- 43 grams
- 14%
- Protein
- 20 grams
- 39%
- Fat
- 25 grams
- 21%
- Saturated Fat
- 126 grams
- 28%
- Trans Fat
- 0 grams
- Cholesterol
- 51 milligrams
- 17%
- Fiber
- 5 grams
- 21%
- Sugar
- 11 grams
- Sodium
- 760 milligrams
- 33%
- Iron
- 4 milligrams
- 20%
- Potassium
- 1104 milligrams
- 32%