If you are looking for an amazing, flavorful Italian pasta salad recipe this is it! Sun dried tomato pasta salad is seriously the easiest pasta salad recipe that you could ever make. A bowtie pasta salad with spinach, feta cheese, and sun dried tomatoes that come together with Italian dressing giving this summer side dish recipe amazing flavor!
Sun dried Tomato Pasta Salad
It is no secret that I love my Mother-In-Laws pasta Salad recipes. She has so many that she has been making for years that are easy to make but have the boldest amazing flavors. If you have not yet made her Tuna Pasta Salad, be sure you do! It is AMAZING!
Until she introduced me to all of her pasta salad recipes, I thought there was just the grocery store pasta salad. The world of easy pasta salad recipes is HUGE, I hope to eventually get all of them posted for you guys, you will never buy it at the grocery store again!
This Sun dried Tomato Pasta Salad also known as caprese pasta salad is loaded with bold flavors, that combine for one amazing pasta salad recipe that is so easy to make.
Love Feta Check out these tasty recipes!
- Prosciutto Wrapped Avocado and Feta Cheese
- Greek Marinated Olives
- Feta and Spinach Pita
- Feta and Pesto Stuffed Chicken
- Spinach Feta and Mozzarella Cheese Grilled Cheese
Why You will love this recipe
Easy to make. This pasta salad is so easy to throw together! There is no cooking other than cooking your pasta. Then just grab a large bowl, your tomatoes, pasta, spinach, and a few other ingredients and that is all you need! Seriously you can make it last minute and no one will even know that you were running late. Those are the best types of recipes aren’t they!?! It is perfect for that last minute get together on a summer evening that you make with friends.
Simple ingredients. Tomatoes, cooked pasta, spinach, Feta cheese and Italian dressing are the only ingredients you need.
What to Serve with Pasta Salad
When you are making an easy pasta salad, you want the rest of your meal to be easy to make to. Here are some of my favorite easy summer recipes that I make to go along with it.
Main Dishes to go with Pasta Salad
- Steak Kebab
- Burgers
- Hot Dogs
- BBQ Chicken
- Grilled Steak with Butter
Other side dishes to go with Easy Pasta Salad
- Microwave Sweet Potato
- Grilled Green Beans
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Garlic Green Beans with Bacon
- Easy Fruit Salad
Tips for Making Pasta Salad
Don’t over cook the pasta. It is important to not over cook the pasta. Cook just until al dente and then drain them and then cool the pasta while in the strainer with cold water until all of the pasta is cooled. This will prevent a soggy pasta salad.
Cool the pasta completely. Just like over cooking pasta will give you a mushy pasta salad, so will noodles that are not cooled all the way. As soon as they are done cooking you want to shock the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process.
Let pasta salad sit before serving. You can serve this pasta salad immediately after making it however I find pasta salad is best when it has time to sit in the fridge and all of the flavors are able to mix together. Letting the pasta salad sit for a few hours before serving results in a more flavorful and delicious Italian pasta salad!
What is the best pasta to use for pasta salad?
The main ingredient for this easy macaroni salad is pasta and a shortcut of pasta like fusilli, penne, bow tie, elbow macaroni, or farfalle works best. You can use any type of pasta including whole wheat pasta, chickpea pasta, or any other legume-based pasta you like.
How Long will Pasta Salad Keep in the Fridge?
As long as you store it properly, a pasta salad made with Italian dressing for 5-7 days in the refrigerator. Be sure to store it in an airtight container, like the rubbermaid containers after you have served it for dinner or if you are making it ahead of time.
However just because it will keep that long, does not mean that your house is going to let it be in the fridge that long! In order to have more then one days worth, I have to make a double batch of this recipe or it is GONE, sometimes before I can even get some for myself.
If you store it in the fridge and find that it has dried out a bit, all you have to do is add some more Italian dressing, give it a quick mix, and tada! All fixed!
Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad Ingredients
Pasta. I personally like bowtie pasta for this recipe, however, you can use your favorite large pasta shaped pasta instead if you want to. There are times that I use rotini pasta instead of bow ties, it all depends on what I have in the pantry and what I am in the mood for.
Spinach. Fresh spinach is a MUST for this recipe. I know sometimes it is easier to use frozen veggies in recipes, but for this pasta salad, you have to go with fresh spinach.
Sun dried tomatoes. While the dried sun dried tomatoes are great for some recipes, for this pasta salad with sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and feta cheese it is a must to use the jarred kind. I like to keep a big jar of them on hand. I always grab it at the beginning of the summer so I have enough for every time I want to make this salad. There are different varieties, but I always get the ones in olive oil. You can use any cut of sun dried tomatoes, but I prefer the Julienne Cut sun dried tomatoes when making this pasta salad.
Italian dressing. It is important to use a bold flavored Zesty Italian dressing when you are making this easy pasta salad with Italian dressing. My favorite Salad dressing to use when making pasta salad is this one here.
Feta Cheese. You can get the crumbles or a brick of Feta cheese. Both Bulgarian Feta and Greek feta work perfectly with the
How to Make Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad
Cook your pasta according to package directions.
While pasta is cooking chop up the spinach and the sun dried tomatoes.
Once your pasta is cooked, drain it and rinse with cold water.
In a large bowl add in the cooled pasta, chopped spinach, feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and Italian dressing.
Mix everything well so all of the pasta salad is coated in the dressing, you can add more dressing if you prefer.
Refrigerate the pasta salad or serve right away.
Pasta Salad Recipes
- Chickpea Pasta Salad
- Egg Salad Pasta Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad
Sun dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound bow tie pasta cooked
- 3 cups fresh spinach chopped
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes chopped
- 3/4 cup feta cheese
- 1/2 cups Italian dressing
Recipe Video
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to package directions.
- While past is cooking chop up the spinach and the sun dried tomatoes.
- Once your pasta is cooked, drain it and rinse with cold water.
- In a large bowl add in the cooled pasta, chopped spinach, feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes and Italian dressing.
- Mix everything well so all of the pasta salad is coated in the dressing, you can add more dressing if you prefer.
- Refrigerate the pasta salad or serve right away.
Nutrition
7 Weight Watchers Smartpoints per serving on the Freestyle program
Summer Time Dessert Recipes that go great with this Recipe!
Micah Day says
Sounds relish!