Tomato Pasta Salad is a refreshing change for a summer salad. This version features three different kinds of tomatoes - cherry, sun-dried, and paste - to amp up the zesty flavour. The savoury tomato dressing keeps well, making it an ideal salad for potlucks, picnics, and barbecues.
Summer is officially here. The garden is planted, our world is green, and we're wearing shorts and sandals. We've had lots of rain lately so the garden seedlings have been exploding with growth (along with the weeds)! Every morning I wander out to the garden to have my little recharge for the day. I look to see what's newly sprung, inhale deeply of the cool fresh air, and check out what needs attention. I like to snap off an asparagus sprout (done for the season, now, sadly) or nip a few leaves of lettuce to munch on while I meander the rows. Pippa trots along at my side, looking to see if there's anything edible for her yet. I water the tomatoes in the greenhouse and pinch out any shoots to keep them trim.
Summer Time is Salad Time
I love this time of year, with all the promise of good things to come. We've got two glorious months of summer stretching out ahead of us, and this year we'll hopefully get to do more entertaining out in our yard again. I'm looking forward to picnics, barbecues, and long leisurely lunches on the deck or around the firepit. This Triple Tomato Pasta Salad is definitely going to be in rotation. I've had the recipe in my head for months, and when I set about making it up, the flavour surpassed even what I had imagined. It's got zip and pizzazz, and will be a tasty addition to summer meals.
Pasta Salads signify summer to me - ready for packing along on a picnic or serving as a side dish to an outdoor barbecue feast with friends. This version is particularly delicious in all its ruby red tomato glory. Adding the bright sweetness of fresh cherry tomatoes (we got a few punnets of some wonderfully sweet ones at the farmers market last week), the intense zing of sun-dried tomatoes, and the richness of tomato paste to the dressing makes for a triple threat tomato tornado of a pasta salad.
Triple Tomato Pasta Salad is 'da Bomb'
And it's pretty easy to make, too. All you'll need is some cooked rotini or other spiral pasta (for maximum coating of the delicious dressing), regular or gluten free, cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, sweet onion, black olives, feta cheese, and the quick and easy tomato vinaigrette.
Pour over the rich red dressing and toss it all together.
Voilà. You've got a big bowl of Tomato Pasta Salad. It's great to take to picnics and barbecues (no mayonnaise to worry about) and keeps super well in the fridge for days. You can easily make this salad ahead of time for your next gathering or just to have on hand for easy family meals.
Take a look at these other Easy Pasta Salads:
Or try these other Terrific Tomato Salads:
- 'Tomatensalat' Classic German Tomato Salad
- Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad
- Lobster Salad with Charred Corn & Tomatoes
Summer Livin' is easy when you've got a few tasty tricks up your sleeve!
Guten Appetit!
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Triple Tomato Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 340 grams (12oz) rotini pasta, or other corkscrew pasta, gluten free if necessary (6 cups cooked pasta)
- 1 pint (2 cups/300gms) cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup (70gms) diced sweet onion
- ½ cup (85gms) drained sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil with herbs
- ½ cup (50gms) pitted black olives, sliced or chopped
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley (a good handful)
- 1 cup (130gms) crumbled feta cheese
For the Tomato Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) red wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoons (90ml) mild olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon honey or 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in unsalted water according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process, and drain again.
- Put the cooled, cooked pasta in a large bowl. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves and add them to the pasta.
- Finely dice the sweet onion, coarsely chop the sun-dried tomatoes, chop the parsley, and slice or chop the olives and add them all to the pasta.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl or jar. Pour the dressing over the pasta and vegetables. Toss to combine and coat everything with the dressing.
- Add the feta cheese, if using, and toss again gently to mix it into the salad. It is best if you can leave the salad for about 20 minutes to meld the flavours before serving it.
- Makes 10 cups of pasta salad, serving 8 to 10. Leftover salad keeps well in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
Notes
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Christine
Yummy,!
Couldn’t resist seeing your post today at lunch time! You sure have opened my appetite with this wonderful salad, looking forwards to prepare it!
Thank you my mouth is watering already.
Margaret
Aw, you are too kind. Thank you for your cheerful words. I have to say it is my new favourite pasta salad. I know I'll be making it often this summer. I have a nice big jar of sun dried tomatoes in oil from Costco and a big tub of feta cheese, and hopefully our cherry tomatoes will be ripening soon, so it'll be quick to make.
Sabine macleod
Hi. That is a gorgeous salad. Will make it as soon as I am back from NZ
Love love your posts
Hugs
Sabine
Margaret
You're making me blush - thanks so much, Sabine! Have a wonderful holiday! 🙂
Rosalinda
Thank you Margaret for just the inspiration I needed… I had to make a dish for a last minute potluck and this was perfect, Such a nice change from what I usually make, and it was a hit!! I added chopped garlic scapes for the herbs which added a nice zip and crunch. I don’t often comment but always look forward to reading your posts and have come to rely on them to get out of my comfort zone to try new things. Thanks sis….
Margaret
Thanks so much for your kind words, Rosalinda. It means a lot to me that you read my posts and try out some of the recipes. So glad you liked the salad - I love the idea of the garlic scapes, such a great fit with the rest of the flavours! It's always special to see how recipes evolve and people add their own creative touches to them. XOXO
Sina
Each year I'm amazed at how different the experiences with the seasons, weather and gardens are! We're in a weeklong drought over here and have finally run out of rainwater that we collected in spring. Our Tomatoes are loving this weather, provided they get watered regularly, they are thriving and we have loads and already canned and dried a bunch of them.
So, I'll definitely be giving this salad a try!
Margaret
I really do love the change of seasons, too, and how new and different they feel each year. Our garden is in that lush state of overgrowth right - like a jungle. It's hard to keep up with it all, but such a satisfying feeling to see all that bounty to harvest. We've had it very hot and dry these last few weeks, too, although it started to cool down a lot the last two days. It's either on or the other, it seems like. Our tomatoes are really thriving, too, with lots of big sweet juicy ones that I still have to figure out what to do with! We're lucky to have that problem.
Happy harvest to you, and I hope you enjoy the tomato pasta salad - it's a great (and delicious) way to use up some of those tomatoes!