Hi guys, I am back with an easy and nutritious salad for you to try during these warmer days. If you thought that salads were boring and un-satisfying, think again! Today, I am here to bust that myth and show you that salads not only can be satisfying, but they can also be nutritious and delicious! This Super Easy Italian Pasta Salad is a must try; especially for any hot summer night or during your picnics.
Before diving into the recipe, I do want to stipulate that if you are sensitive to gluten or are trying to avoid consuming too much gluten, you can easily substitute regular pasta for a gluten-free alternative. This is exactly what I did by using Teff & Brown Rice pasta. It came out just as delicious and even more nutritious as teff and brown rice pasta is high in proteins, fibers and some minerals.
Now let’s jump straight into the recipe. Here is what you’ll need to make this:
Super Easy Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients*:
- 250 gr of cooked pasta, cooled off (feel free to use gluten-free pasta)
- 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped (or use parsley if you don’t have basil on hand)
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 2 mozzarella balls, diced (250 gr)
- 2 Tbsp of capers (or 3/4 cup of olives)
- 1 cup of fresh arugula (totally optional but so nice in this salad)
- sea salt & pepper flakes to taste
*ingredients for this salad will serve 2 to 4 people
Basil Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp of dry basil (or some fresh basil leaves)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp of coconut sugar (optional)
- 1/3 cup of water
- 1 Tbsp of sea salt
How to:
Place all of the salad ingredients into a big salad bowl. Then, prepare your salad dressing by adding all of the ingredients into a blender (or whisk them into a small bowl). Once the vinaigrette is ready, pour it onto your salad and mix everything well.
And that’s it! You’ve got yourself a Super Easy Italian Pasta Salad that you can easily enjoy on a hot summer night, at lunch or even bring to a picnic or potluck. If you do make this one, please let me know and tag @deliciouslyvibrant on your socials so I can see it :).
Bon appétit!
Sarah.
Note: this recipe was inspired and adapted from Lindsey over at Pinch of Yum. You can find her original recipe right: HERE.
