by 
The concept behind this roast pepper pasta salad is super simple: take a bunch of summer veggies, roast them until jammy (and slightly charred), combine with minced sun-dried tomatoes, pasta, and basil, and toss with a roasted garlic herb vinaigrette.
It’s the ultimate summer pasta salad that pairs well with almost anything.
As I said, the concept behind this pasta salad is to roast a bunch of summer veg. So along with the peppers and cherry tomatoes, feel free to throw in zucchini, eggplant, and any other veggies you have on hand (which is why I’ve nicknames this the “farmer’s market pasta salad”).
Ingredients
- Fusillotti or any similar pasta: Love the Rummo fusillotti and the fusilloni pasta from Monograno Feliccete for this specific salad. The long spiral shape holds the dressing so well!
- Bell peppers: I typically get these at the farmers market – around August, there’s always an abundance of sweet peppers. Highly recommend using a mix of red, purple, and orange peppers for color.
- Cherry tomatoes: As with the peppers, I like to use a mix of red cherry tomatoes and sungold cherry tomatoes, just for color.
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Sun-dried tomatoes: If you can, get sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil; they pack a lot more punch, and I like using the leftover oil in the dressing for this pasta salad.
- Fresh basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Lemons
- Honey: Cane sugar, maple, and agave all work well as substitutes.
- Italian seasoning: As long as the seasoning you use has oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, and marjoram; you’re golden!
- Aleppo pepper, chopped Calabrian chili in oil, or dried Calabrian chili flakes: Lately been loving using chopped Calabrian chili in oil for the dressing; they pack a lot of heat and flavor as opposed to using dried pepper flakes.
- Kosher salt: Specifically, Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you’re using Morton kosher salt, reduce the salt by half. Morton is much saltier and denser than Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
Method Behind This Roast Pepper Pasta Salad
Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.
Prep the peppers and aromatics. Slice the peppers off the core and de-seed. For the shallots, peel off the outer skin, slice in half, and then slice across lengthwise to get even slices. Add the peppers, shallots, tomatoes, and garlic cloves to the prepared sheet pan. Generously drizzle with olive oil and salt, and toss to coat. Roast the peppers and aromatics for 22-25 minutes or until the peppers are slightly charred and the cherry tomatoes burst and are slightly charred as well. NOTE: Don’t slice the shallots too thin; they lose volume when roasting and will burn if cut too thin. Additionally, roast the pepper slices skin-side up to allow them to char properly when roasting.
Cook the pasta. While the peppers and aromatics roast, cook the pasta. Add the pasta to a large pot of water and cook according to package instructions – salt the water to season the pasta from within. I like to overcook the pasta slightly because pasta firms up when it’s cold. Drain and rinse the pasta and dump it into a large mixing bowl. Feel free to toss the pasta with 1-2 tbsp of butter (adds another layer of flavor).
Assemble. Once the veggies are done roasting, remove the peppers from the pan and slice into thin pieces. Add the sliced roasted peppers to the bowl of pasta, along with the roasted shallots, tomatoes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and basil.
Make the dressing. Whisk all the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar or small bowl. Pop the garlic out of the skins and mash against your board to make a paste. Add the garlic to the jar with the vinaigrette and whisk to incorporate. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad along and toss to combine. Adjust for salt and enjoy.
A Few Notes
- You may need to pull the cherry tomatoes out halfway through roasting. Depending on how big they are, they might start to char before the peppers and shallots are done. And if you do pull the tomatoes out early, make sure to scoop up all of the juices as well; otherwise, that juice will burn and stick to your pan when you finish off the peppers and shallots.
- Overcook the pasta! Pasta firms up (quite a bit) when it’s cold, so overcooking it will give you perfectly done pasta with just enough bite when it’s cold outta the fridge.
- ADD FETA! Adding this note in all caps because it’s that important. I’m dairy-free, and unfortunately, the plant-based feta just doesn’t cut it for me, which is why I didn’t add it here. A 1/2 cup of crumbled feta will elevate the salad and make it even better.
- Leave the basil leaves whole. Originally, when testing this recipe, I minced the basil, and it made the salad look messy.
So excited for you to make this pasta salad. Don’t forget to leave a starred review and rating – always love hearing your feedback.
Print
Roast Pepper Pasta Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner, Salads
- Cuisine: American
Description
Jammy and charred sweet summer peppers, cherry tomatoes, and shallots with fusillotti pasta and basil, tossed in a roasted garlic herb vinaigrette – aka a classic pasta salad that takes full advantage of summer produce.
Ingredients
Roasted Veggies
- 3–4 medium sweet peppers (150 g or 4 oz sliced and de-seeded)
- 7 oz (180 g) cherry tomatoes, whole
- 2 medium shallots (4 oz or 110 g sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves, skins on
- Olive oil and Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Other IngredientsÂ
- 8 oz (225 g) dry fusillotti or any similar pasta
- 86 g finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 18 g basil leaves
Roasted Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp (38 g) lemon juiceÂ
- 3 tbsp (32 g) olive oil (use oil from sun-dried tomatoes)
- 1 tbsp (20 g) honey
- 1 ½ tsp dried Italian herbs*
- 1 ½ tsp Aleppo pepper or Calabrian chili flakes OR 1 tbsp chopped Calabrian chili in oil
- 1 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (start with 1 tsp and adjust as needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Prep the peppers and aromatics. Slice the peppers off the core and de-seed. For the shallots, peel off the outer skin, slice in half, and then slice across lengthwise to get even slices. Add the peppers, shallots, tomatoes, and garlic cloves to the prepared sheet pan. Generously drizzle with olive oil and salt, and toss to coat. Roast the peppers and aromatics for 22-25 minutes or until the peppers are slightly charred and the cherry tomatoes burst and are slightly charred as well. NOTE: Don’t slice the shallots too thin; they lose volume when roasting and will burn if cut too thin. Additionally, roast the pepper slices skin-side up to allow them to char properly when roasting.
- Cook the pasta. While the peppers and aromatics roast, cook the pasta. Add the pasta to a large pot of water and cook according to package instructions – salt the water to season the pasta from within. I like to overcook the pasta slightly because pasta firms up when it’s cold. Drain and rinse the pasta and dump it into a large mixing bowl. Feel free to toss the pasta with 1-2 tbsp of butter (adds another layer of flavor).
- Assemble. Once the veggies are done roasting, remove the peppers from the pan and slice into thin pieces. Add the sliced roasted peppers to the bowl of pasta, along with the roasted shallots, tomatoes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and basil.
- Make the dressing. Whisk all the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar or small bowl. Pop the garlic out of the skins and mash against your board to make a paste. Add the garlic to the jar with the vinaigrette and whisk to incorporate. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad along and toss to combine. Adjust for salt and enjoy.
I adore this recipe! It’s easy to make (student friendly for sure) and it tastes so fresh! My go to pasta salad!