This Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad is a colorful confetti of fresh veggies tossed with orzo pasta in a flavorful sun dried tomato dressing. Sweet and chewy sun dried tomatoes are perfect with roasted chickpeas, fresh cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, pine nuts, herbs, and snappy feta cheese. Enjoy this for dinner with grilled chicken or shrimp and then save the leftovers to pack up for the perfect lunch!
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad Ingredients
Orzo pasta: A small, rice-shaped pasta. Orzo is a quick cook and perfect for pasta salad. When you chop your other ingredients small like the orzo, your pasta salad will be perfectly spoon-able!
Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans. We roast them to add some texture to this recipe but to save time they are perfect right out of the can!
Persian Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are the “mini” cucumbers you can find at most grocery stores. They are great because they are super sweet and have thinner skins and fewer seeds. You also could use an English cucumber, but because they are larger, just slice in halves or quarters instead of rings.
Sun Dried Tomatoes: The star of this show! Flavorful, chewy, and sweet, they really lift up the other fresh vegetables in this pasta salad. When shopping for sun dried tomatoes, be sure to buy the ones packed in oil. This ensures that they will be tender and chewy instead of hard, which they tend to be when packed dry. For this recipe, you’ll also reserve the oil that they’re packed in as a main ingredient in the sun dried tomato dressing.
Cherry tomatoes: Perfect for that burst of fresh tomato flavor. They add brightness and juiciness to the pasta salad.
Red Onion: When chopped finely, they add the perfect amount of flavor and dimension to this mix of veggies. Feel free to substitute yellow onion, or even scallion.
Fresh herbs: A mix of fresh parsley and cilantro is amazing here, but feel free to just use one or the other.
Toasted pine nuts: Toasting is non-negotiable! A toasted pine nut is intense in flavor, compared to an untoasted pine nut, which can be waxy and flavorless. You can sub slivered almonds or pepitas– just make sure whatever nut or seed you add isn’t salted.
Feta: Soft and creamy yet sharp and zingy! Feta is a Mediterranean sheep’s milk cheese that can really stand up to the intense flavor of this Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad.
Sun Dried Tomato Dressing: Super simple to make, the reserved sun dried tomato oil is blended up with a little mayo, lemon, garlic, salt & pepper and even more sun dried tomato. Yum!
How to make Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Before you toss this pasta salad together you’ll need to cook your orzo, roast your chickpeas and toast your pine nuts. The good news is that you can chop and prep all your veg while everything cooks. Then at the end, it all comes together effortlessly!
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt liberally. Cook the orzo according to the package instructions, drain, then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. In a 375° oven, roast the drained and dried chickpeas on a sheet tray with extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. Toast the pine nuts dry and on a separate sheet tray. These can turn from golden to black in just a few moments so don’t stray too far.
- While your orzo is cooking and your chickpeas are roasting- start prepping your veggies. Halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the cucumbers. Dice the onion as small as you can manage and mince the fresh herbs. Measure out your sun dried tomatoes and reserve the oil that they were packed in for the dressing. You should be able to fine julienned sun dried tomatoes packed in oil at the grocery store. But if you have sun drieds that were packed whole, just slice them into thin strips.
- Next make the dressing by blending the reserved sun dried tomato oil with mayo, lemon, garlic, salt & pepper, and even more sun dried tomatoes. Blitz this up in a blender, mini food processor, or by using an immersion blender.
- Once your pasta, chickpeas, and pine nuts have cooked and cooled, toss with all of your glorious vegetables. If you are serving this to company or just want to make a beautiful presentation, reserve a small handful of each veggie plus the herbs before tossing the pasta salad. After tossing with the dressing, sprinkle the reserved veggies and herbs and top with the crumbled feta and pine nuts for a pasta salad that’s vibrant, multi-colored, full of texture, and delicious!
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
- pink sauce pasta
- sausage kale pasta
- 30-minute gnocchi bolognese
- brown butter and sage ravioli
- tortellini alla panna
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
- 1 cup dried orzo pasta
- 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 oz. pine nuts, roughly 1/2 cup
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, julienned and packed in oil
- 10 oz. cherry tomatoes
- 3 Persian cucumbers
- 1/4 of a red onion
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, cilantro, or a mixture of both, finely chopped
- 3 oz. feta cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Sun Dried Tomato Dressing
- 2 large lemons, zest and juice
- 1/4 cup reserved sun dried tomato oil, can supplement with EVOO
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Cook the Pasta, Chickpeas and Pine Nuts
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt liberally. Cook the orzo according to the package instructions, drain, then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.*
- Preheat your oven to 375°. Drain the chickpeas and pat dry. On a sheet tray, toss with extra virgin olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste. Roast for 10-15 min. They should be golden brown on the outside and still soft in the middle. Set aside to cool.
- Toast the pine nuts dry and on a separate sheet tray for 3-5 minutes, checking every minute after the three minute mark to ensure they don't burn. Set aside to cool.
Prep the Veggies
- Halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the cucumbers into rings. Dice the onion as small as you can manage and finely chop the fresh herbs.
- Measure out your sun dried tomatoes and reserve the oil that they were packed in for the dressing. If the sun dried tomatoes were packed whole, slice them into thin strips.
- Crumble the feta cheese and set aside.
Sun Dried Tomato Dressing
- Zest and juice the lemons and add to a blender. Add the reserved sun dried tomato oil. If you don't have enough for the full 1/4 cup, add in a little regular extra virgin olive oil to make up the difference.
- Add in mayo, garlic clove, sun dried tomato pieces, and salt & pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.
Toss and Serve
- Toss the cooled orzo and chickpeas with the prepped veggies, herbs and feta cheese, reserving some of each to add at the end. Toss the pasta salad with the Sun Dried Tomato Dressing, top with the reserved veggies, herbs, and feta, and enjoy!
Equipment
- 1 Blender, or mini food processor/ immersion blender
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @femalefoodie so we can see what you’re cooking!
