As someone who more or less lives off of tomatoes during the summer, this cherry tomato pasta salad is a staple recipe for me.
Think sweet pickled red onions, sauteed cherry tomatoes, and olives, with tons of herbs, and just a hint of spice. Yeah, arguably there’s a lot going on in this salad, but each component compliments the other so well!!
Whether you meal-prep this for the week or make it for a summer party/picnic, you can’t go wrong with this tomato basil pasta salad!
Ingredients You’ll Need For This Tomato Pasta Salad
Consider this your grocery list!
- Pasta: Duh! Technically speaking, any pasta works well here, but Toscani, fusilli, and farfalle are my favorite pasta shapes for this salad.
- Cherry tomatoes: The quality of your tomatoes will make or break your salad. The majority of flavor and sweetness will come from the tomatoes, so I like to splurge and get farmers market cherry tomatoes – they’re super fresh, perfectly ripe, and have loads of juicy flavor.
- Green olives: Specifically castelvetrano olives.
- Red onion
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh basil
- Fresh parsley
- Lemons: You’ll need both lemon juice and zest.
- Olive oil
- Honey
- Red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
The Method Behind This Pasta Salad
I’m a firm believer in two things; pickled onions should be added to everything (within reason), and charred tomatoes are better than anything. So when I developed this vegan tomato pasta salad, I had to add my two favorite things. And yes, it’s worth the extra time and effort!
Anywho, here’s the lowdown.
The red onions are quick-pickled (and essentially macerated) in the lemon juice, honey, and salt mixture. This will taper the sharpness of the onions and make them sweeter and more enjoyable raw! While the onions macerate, the cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, and red pepper flakes are sauteed in olive oil until slightly charred. Because charred cherry tomatoes are superior!!
Then everything comes together in one big bowl; the cooked pasta, pickled onions, sauteed tomatoes and olives, and herbs. Resulting in the best cherry tomato pasta salad.
A Few Quick Notes
- Once you drain the pasta, rinse it immediately with cold water. This stops the cooking process and will help the pasta retain some bite (al dente).
- If you’re using a shallow skillet/pot to saute the tomatoes and olives, I highly recommend covering the pot with a lid. Otherwise, the tomatoes will splatter all over your stove!
- To save on time, pickle the onions and prep the herbs while the pasta cooks.
- For all my gluten-free girlies, Jovial makes amazing gluten-free brown rice pasta.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or send me a DM on Instagram. Can’t wait for you to make this pasta salad! If you’re looking for more tomato-forward dishes, highly recommend my creamy roasted tomato pasta.
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Cherry Tomato Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2–4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Description
This cherry tomato pasta salad is a summer staple – it’s a combo of sauteed cherry tomatoes and olives and sweet pickled red onions, with just a hint of heat. Perfect for meal-prepping over the weekend or serving at a summer picnic!
Ingredients
Pickled Red Onions
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 2 tsp lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)
- 2 tsp kosher salt
Tomatoes & Olives
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup (6 oz or 175 g) pitted castelvetrano olives, roughly chopped*
- 1 cup (3.5 oz or 110 g) cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes**
Other Ingredients
- 8 oz (230 g) Toscani pasta (farfalle and fusilli also work well)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Begin by cooking the pasta according to the package instructions. Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse immediately with cold, then set aside to cool in the colander.
- While the pasta cooks, pickle the onions. To a large serving bowl or mixing bowl, add the thinly sliced red onion, lemon juice, honey, lemon zest, and kosher salt. Mix well and set aside to quick-pickle.
- Saute the tomatoes and olives. To either the same pot you used to cook the pasta or a deep skillet, add in the olive oil, chopped olives, cherry tomatoes, and garlic. Saute the tomatoes and olives on medium heat until the tomatoes burst and their skin is wrinkled about 6-8 minutes. Make sure to occasionally stir the tomatoes and olives during this time. Then add in the red pepper flakes, stir well, and let the tomatoes and olives continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes. The oil should have a slightly orange-red hue.
- Mix and serve. Once the tomatoes and olives are done, add them to the bowl of pickled onions, along with the cooled pasta, and minced herbs. Mix well to combine and adjust for salt. You can serve this pasta salad immediately (it tastes great warm), or let it chill in the fridge for about 1 hour.
- Store any leftovers in a glass container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
*Sub with pitted green olives.
**If you’re not a big fan of spice, just use 1 tsp of red pepper flakes.
Looks amazing, I can’t wait to try it!
Can’t wait to hear what you think!!
The best pasta salad I have ever made. The best pasta salad I have ever ate!
So happy you liked it Jennifer, thank you so much for leaving a review!