Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Olives

 A colourful and delicious Mediterranean roasted vegetable pasta salad with olives and sundried tomatoes with bow tie pasta and a tasty marinade.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Olives

As a family, we love a pasta salad for lunch or dinner. 

Don't get me wrong, we do love traditional pasta recipes which are served hot like creamy mushroom carbonara or spaghetti bolognese, but there is something special about a pasta salad.

My latest pasta salad is this roasted vegetable pasta salad with olives and sundried tomatoes.

Although don't worry if you don't like one of those, I do offer variations.

Why are pasta salads so good?

Here are a few reasons why pasta salads are so good.

1. Easy to make
2. Colourful and appealing
3. Usually packed with vegetables
4. Great for using up vegetables and salad
5. Tasty dressings
6. You can use different pasta shapes each time
7. A dressing is lighter than pasta sauce
8. Serve for lunch or dinner
9. Can be made ahead for lunch boxes
10. Taste delicious

Pasta salad tips

Here are a few tips for making the best pasta salad.

• Get ahead - prepare your salad, veg and dressing ahead of cooking the pasta or while it is cooking
• Plenty of water - cook your pasta in deep salted, boiling water
• Al dente - only cook the pasta until it is al dente, which is firm but cooked.
• Cool it - once the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander, then rinse with cold water until the pasta is cold
• Shake it - make sure as much water as possible is shaken from the pasta
• Make it colourful - add a good selection of salad or vegetables to your pasta, remember we need to eat the rainbow for a variety of nutrients
• Fresh herbs - add fresh herbs for a pop of flavour
• Room temperature - if you are storing pasta salad in the fridge, take it out and allow to come to room temperature before serving as the cold can dull the flavours

Which pasta shapes are good for pasta salad?

You can use a variety of pasta shapes when making pasta salads, although you do want to avoid the giant pasta shapes as those are more for stuffed baked pasta dishes like this vegan spinach and cream cheese stuffed pasta.

Here are a few pasta shape ideas:

• Farfalle  - bow tie pasta
• Conchiglie - shell pasta
• Penne pasta - pasta tubes
• Rigatoni pasta - pasta tubed with groves
• Messicani pasta - I call it belly button pasta
• Spirali pasta - twirly spiral pasta

Of course, there are so many pasta shapes, you might have your own favourite.

You could even use a mixture if they cook in the same time.

This is quite a fun idea when making pasta for children.

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What you need to make a Mediterranean vegetable pasta salad

Here are the simple and delicious ingredients you need to make this easy vegan pasta salad.

1. Pasta
2. Red peppers
3. Courgettes (zucchini)
4. Red onions
5. Olives
6. Sundried tomatoes
7. Sundried tomato oil
8. Fresh basil
9. Dried oregano
10. Chilli flakes
11. Salt & pepper

What's in the dressing?

The dressing is very simple.

There is so much flavour from the roast vegetables and the herbs, so it doesn't need much extra flavour added.

I did use some of the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes which has a lot of flavour.

More pasta dressing ideas

Here are a few more ideas for dressing a pasta salad.

• Pesto - thinned down with olive oil
• Sundried tomato paste - thinned down with some pasta water
• Red pepper paste - thinned down with pasta water
• Ranch dressing - your can try my easy but delicious vegan ranch dressing recipe 
• Tapenade - try mixing some olive tapenade through the pasta

Which vegetables are good in a pasta salad?

Here's a selection of salad and vegetables that work well in a pasta salad.

1. Aubergine - also called eggplant
2. Beetroot - raw or pickled, but expect your salad to turn pink
3. Broccoli - lightly cooked or roasted
4. Butternut squash - roasted
5. Cauliflower - lightly cooked or roasted
6. Corn
7. Courgette - also called zucchini
8. Cucumber
9. Green beans - lightly cooked
10. Peppers - fresh and crunchy or roasted
11. Red onion - fresh or roasted
12. Shallots
13. Spring onions
14. Sweet potatoes - roasted
15. Tomatoes - fresh or roasted

Making pasta salad child friendly

If you're making a pasta salad for children make sure you add some vegetables or salad that your child likes.

I often add lots of corn to keep my son happy and he also loves olives and cucumber in a pasta salad.

It doesn't have to be just what they like, but make sure there is plenty they like in there.

A lot of children prefer crunchy vegetables rather than cooked vegetables so consider that too when planning your salad.

You also might think about the dressing, so children would prefer it without dressing, so you could mix the vegetables into that pasta, serve the children, and then add the dressing for the adults.

More vegan roasted vegetable recipes

Here are a few more delicious roast veg recipes you might like to try next.

roast veg gnocchi bake

• Easy Roasted Vegetable Gnocchi Bake - a colourful oven-baked dinner
• Moussaka with Roasted Vegetables - I prefer this roast veg version to the original
• Roasted Vegetable Rice Bake  - an easy weeknight bake where the vegetables and rice are cooked together
• Sheet Pan Vegetable Fajitas - vegetables are roasted in the oven with spices for easy fajitas
• Vegan Roast Vegetable Pizza with Cream Cheese - just gorgeous and who doesn't love pizza

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How to cook vegan roast veg pasta salad

Scroll down for step-by-step photos followed by a full printable recipe.

Step 1

• Preheat your oven (full details and ingredients in the recipe card below).
• Add your chopped vegetables to a large baking sheet (or two) in a single layer.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Start boiling a large pan of salted water, ready to cook your pasta.

Step 2

• Add the olives and sundried tomatoes, chilli and herbs.
• Next, add the oil and toss well, then spread in an even layer.
• Roast until soft and starting to char, set aside to cool
• Once the pasta is cooked, rinse until cold and make sure you have shaken off as much water as possible.
• Add the vegetables to the pasta and toss well.
• Serve and enjoy!

pasta salad, roast veg pasta salad, roasted vegetable pasta salad, salad, mediterranean pasta salad

dinner

British, vegan, vegetarian

Yield: 6

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Olives

A colourful and delicious Mediterranean roasted vegetable pasta salad with olives and sundried tomatoes with bow tie pasta and a tasty marinade.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

Ingredients

• 500g (18 oz) farfalle pasta
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 courgette, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 red onion, sliced thickly, the cut into chunks
• 100g (1 3/4 cups) sundried tomatoes (about 10 sundried tomatoes)
• 5 tablespoons oil (from the sundried tomato jar or olive oil)
• 70g (1/3 cup) green olives
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 handful of fresh basil

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180c/160c fan// 350f/ gas mark 4. You could use an air fyrer but you would have to cook the vegetables in batches.
2. Add your chopped vegetables to a large baking sheet (or two) in a single layer.
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Start boiling a large pan of salted water, ready to cook your pasta.
5. Add the olives and sundried tomatoes, chilli, and herbs to the vegetables.
6. Next, add the oil from the sundried tomatoes jar and toss well, then spread in an even layer.
7. Roast until soft and starting to char, set aside to cool
8. Cook your pasta until it is al dente, then rinse until cold and make sure you have shaken off as much water as possible.
9. Add the vegetables and oil from the pan to the cold pasta and toss well.
10. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

• You can swap the vegetables to use what you have.
• Make sure the pasta is rinsed cold under cold running water, to wash off the starch and stop the cooking process so you will have firm glossy pasta.
• You can store the pasta salad in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• When taking it out of the fridge to serve, allow it to come to room temperature as this will improve the flavour.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

496.84

Fat (grams)

15.5 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

1.46 g

Carbs (grams)

77.42 g

Fiber (grams)

6.79 g

Net carbs

70.64 g

Sugar (grams)

11.85 g

Protein (grams)

14.38 g

Sodium (milligrams)

219.04 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

0 mg

https://www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2023/02/roasted-vegetable-pasta-salad-with-olives.html