This summer pasta salad is everything you want when it’s too hot to cook! Quick, nearly no cook (just boil pasta) and full of bright, fresh, bruschetta-inspired tomato flavours.
Also – a useful tip for how to store basil that actually really, truly works!
Bruschetta summer pasta salad
Every Christmas break, I have intentions of tackling ambitious bucket list recipes. Pâté en Croûte! Babi guling! Mole!
But instead of a 12 hour charcoal-roasted suckling pig, I find myself planning meals calling for minimal effort. Lazy mini pizzas. 3-minute smash burgers. And anything-goes pasta salads.
Today’s Bruschetta pasta salad was born from fridge scraps – tomatoes, leftover manchego cheese, random pasta, and rocket/arugula, tossed in a garlicky balsamic dressing. Simple yet delicious!
When work resumed last week, I made it properly (yes, I even went to the store!), switching basil for rocket, parmesan for manchego, and it was even better. Low effort, high reward – perfect for easing out of the summer holiday haze. Give it a try!
My three golden pasta salad rules
Because nobody should suffer bland pasta salads!
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Always infuse the pasta with flavour by tossing it with the dressing while it’s hot. It will suck up that tasty flavour in mere minutes!
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Soft cooked pasta – Pasta firms up as it cools. The colder it is, the harder it gets. Nobody wants rock hard cold pasta salads! To solve this, overcook your pasta beyond al dente so it’s softer than pleasant in hot pasta dishes, but it’s the perfect texture for cold pasta salads!
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Salted cooking water – Always cook your pasta in salted water, so the pasta absorbs a bit of salt as it cooks so it’s tastier. Pasta cooked in salted water is tasty even plain. Pasta cooked in unsalted water is flat and boring.
Ingredients for this summer pasta salad
In short, all you need is:
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pasta
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tomato
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basil
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balsamic
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garlic
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extra virgin olive oil
But for those of you wondering why, what if, and “what can I use instead of…..” – here’s the full version!
1. FOR THE PASTA SALAD
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Pasta – I used ziti / penne, but any short pasta will work great here. Bow ties (fun!), small shells, twirls etc.
Really small pasta like risoni/orzo, tiny stars, novelty ones like alphabet shapes etc will also work but the volume of the pasta salad will reduce. Long pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine etc also works, though I prefer to serve it warm if using long pasta (I never got my head around cold long pasta).
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Tomato – Any size, colour or shape, small (eg cherry tomatoes) or large (I used what is sold as “truss tomatoes” here in Australia). Just make sure they are ripe! If not, but you are committed to making this, I recommend roasting the tomatoes to coax out flavour and sweetness. See FAQ below for directions.
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Basil – The classic herb herb used for bruschetta, because tomato and basil are the best of friends!
If you don’t have it / expensive / out of season, add 1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs or other dried herbs of choice into the dressing instead, or use other fresh herbs eg parsley, dill, oregano. Tomatoes are friends with other herbs other than basil, you know! 🙂
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Parmesan – Not used in bruschetta, but I added this for a little flavour boost. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if you didn’t have parmesan but it is definitely a little tastier with.
2. OPTIONAL EXTRAS (if you’re feeling fancy)
The above is what I use for the base recipe, and it is delicious as is. It doesn’t need anything more, but if I want to elevate it, I like to add a drizzle of balsamic glaze and sprinkle of pine nuts. The tiniest touch of sweet/tart from the balsamic glaze and toasty nuttiness of pine nuts adds that extra little za za zoom to this pasta salad, and also looks good!
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Balsamic glaze – This is balsamic vinegar that has been reduced and has a syrupy consistency. It has a sweeter flavour than regular balsamic vinegar and is used for drizzling to finish dishes, like Caprese Salad. It looks great and adds a terrific pop of flavour.
Can’t find it at the shops? Make your own. It’s so easy, it’s just simmer and reduce balsamic vinegar with a touch of sugar or honey. I’ve popped directions in the recipe notes.
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Pine nuts – It goes so well with the flavours in this pasta salad, a classic pairing with tomato and basil (like – pesto!). Feel free to leave it out or substitute with pepitas, sunflower seeds or
3. Dressing
We’re using a simple balsamic dressing today. I like the extra balsamic flavour it adds to the dish, and how it stains the pasta a warm brown colour.
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Balsamic vinegar – Any basic balsamic vinegar is fine though if you’ve got a quality aged one, now would be a good time to break it out!
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Extra virgin olive oil – As with the balsamic, the better the olive oil, the tastier the dressing.
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Garlic – The moment you smell the garlic hitting the hot pasta, you understand why we include it!
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Salt and pepper – Because dressing without salt is bland!
How to make bruschetta summer pasta salad
It’s simple. In a nutshell:
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Toss cooked pasta and tomato (separately) with dressing, then leave for 10 – 15 minutes to absorb the flavour; then
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Toss pasta with the tomato, basil and parmesan. Serve!
OK…..there’s a few minor little extra details, and there’s a reason for each. So for those interested in why we’re overcooking the pasta, why we salt the tomato later, why we pour off the tomato juices… here’s why!
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Overcook pasta until soft – Cook the pasta in salted boiling water*. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes beyond the recommended time per the packet until the pasta is overly soft, well beyond al dente. Why? Because the pasta firms up when it cools, and gets even firmer when chilled in the fridge. Don’t be that person who serves up hard pasta salad!! Always overcook your pasta for pasta salads!
* I really do recommend cooking pasta in salted water for pasta salads, to get a bit of salt into the pasta itself else the pasta can be a bit bland.
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Dressing – While the pasta is cooking, shake up the dressing in a bottle. (Or whisk, if you want to be normal, but shaking is more effective).
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Pasta flavour absorption – Drain your paste then put it back into the same pot (save washing up). Give the dressing a good shake then pour 2/3 of it over the pasta. Stir well – it will smell amazing! – then leave for 15 minutes until it cools to room temperature, during which time the pasta will absorb the dressing flavour. YUM.
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Chop tomatoes – Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes into 1 cm / 0.8″ squares, reserving all the watery juices (it becomes part of the pasta salad dressing). Don’t chop too small, else it becomes salsa-ish and becomes hard to eat with a fork.
My technique: cut slices, stack, then cut into square(ish) pieces. For the root piece, I cut around the root then chop into squares.
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Marinate tomato – Transfer the tomato and all the watery juices into a large bowl. Pour over all the remaining dressing, then gently toss. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes for the flavours to meld, or however long you’ve got remaining for the pasta to cool.
⚠️ Don’t leave the tomato for much longer than 15 minutes else it might get a little too soft and mushy.
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Tomato juices – Pour the tomato juices over the pasta salad then toss the pasta. I do this before adding the tomato to minimise the tossing once the tomato is added as the tomato is a bit delicate so we don’t want to bash it around too much. Also, I want to salt the tomato before adding it into the pasta salad.
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Salt the tomato – Then sprinkle salt across the tomato and gently toss to mix through. We do this at the end else the salt draws too much liquid out of the tomato.
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Finish – Add the tomato into the pasta, plus the basil and parmesan. Then gently stir to combine before pouring into a serving bowl.
Spruce it with balsamic glaze and pine nuts
Now, you can absolutely stop here and you’ll be happy, satisfied and probably feeling a little smug that you’re enjoying such a tasty meal that called for such minimal effort.
However, if you happen to be making this Bruschetta Summer Pasta Salad to take somewhere, or if your mother-in-law dropped in for a surprise visit, or if you’re making this for a team lunch and your team happens to be filled with actual real chefs, then you might want to add the extra touch and finish it off with a little drizzle of balsamic glaze and pine nuts. It looks good and adds an extra pop of flavour and it’s low effort.
So, now that I’ve confessed my lazy Christmas-break cooking sins, it’s your turn for confession. Tell me your secrets, I want to know! (And don’t be surprised if an iteration of it appears on this website at some point. 😈 I promise I’ll credit you!) – Nagi x
Bruschetta Summer Pasta Salad FAQ
It’s best enjoyed freshly made as the tomato tends to get soft overnight. But it will keep for 2 days in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing.
Just use gluten free pasta!
That’s ok! You can improve them simply by roasting which brings out the sweetness and softens them. See below for directions.
For large tomatoes (ie not cherry tomatoes – I’d add an extra tomato as they shrink. Cut in half (keep seeds in), drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the 1/2 tsp salt and pinch pepper. Roast cut side up at 200°C/425°F (180°C fan) for 25-30 minutes until soft (but not charred). Cool 15 minutes, then roughly chop (they will collapse as they are soft), scrape into balsamic soaked pasta (including all juices), pour over the reserved dressing, add basil, toss, YUM.
Cherry tomatoes and other small tomatoes – follow roasting directions in Bursty Tomato Burrata Salad
That’s ok! Just add dried herb into the dressing. I would use 1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs, or rosemary (crush with fingers to bring out flavour), or an equal mix of oregano, parsley and thyme. You can also use another fresh herb eg parsley, dill, oregano – tomatoes are friends with other herbs other than basil, you know! 🙂
I like using medium size short pastas for pasta salads because they are stab-able (with a fork), like penne, ziti (pictured), macaroni, bow ties.
Large short pasta like large shells, rigatoni, paccheri and calamarata are a little too large for small chopped tomato, but you could use them and cut the tomato into larger bite-size pieces (I think it would be lovely, actually, with the tomato marinated in the balsamic).
Risoni/orzo and other small spoon-able pastas will also work but the volume made will be less.
I can’t get my head around cold long pasta, but if you can, it could be used too.
Watch how to make it
PS I forgot to add salt into the tomato, as per the recipe below. I realised when I ate the video version, it was a little under seasoned! 🙂
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Bruschetta summer pasta salad
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Cooling: 15 minutes
cold pasta salad, pasta salad
Western
Servings6 as a meal, 10 as a side
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
Optional extra finishes (Note 4)
Prevent screen from sleeping
Instructions
Short directions
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Cook pasta in salted water until extra soft, toss with 2/3 Dressing, cool. Toss tomato with remaining Dressing, leave 10 min. Pour off juices into pasta, toss. Add 1/2 tsp salt into tomato, toss. Add into pasta with basil, parmesan. Finish with balsamic glaze and pine nuts. Enjoy!
Full directions
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Dressing – Shake the ingredients in a jar (or whisk in a jug).
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Soft cooked pasta – Bring a large pot of water to the boil with the 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook the pasta per the packet time plus 2 minutes, until the pasta is overcooked and soft. (Note 5) Drain in a colander, then return the pasta into the same pot.
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Flavour the pasta – Give the dressing a good shake then pour 2/3 of it over the pasta. Stir (enjoy the smell!). Set aside to cool for 15 minutes and let the pasta absorb the dressing flavour.
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Bruschetta – Put chopped tomato and all watery juices into a bowl. Pour over remaining Dressing, gently toss. Set aside for 10 minutes or until the pasta is cool to let the flavours meld.
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Finishing (the order matters!) – Pour the juices accumulated in the tomato bowl into the pasta then toss to disperse. Add the salt into the tomato, gently toss, then add the tomato into the pasta. Add the basil, parmesan, gently toss.
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Serve – Pour into a big bowl and serve! If using extra finishes, drizzle with a swish of balsamic glaze (not too much, it’s strong!) and sprinkle with pine nuts. Eat!
Recipe Notes:
2. Tomatoes – Any type, any colour, sweet, juicy and ripe are of course best. If yours are not but you’re committed to making this, roast to coax out sweetness. See FAQ above for directions.
3. Salt – If you don’t have cooking salt / kosher salt, halve for table salt, increase 25% for salt flakes.
4. Optional extras to elevate, but this pasta salad is flavourful without so don’t feel obliged! Use for serving bowl if part of a buffet, or individual bowls if serving yourself at home (better distribution per person).
5. Extra soft pasta – Pasta firms up when cold so when it’s extra soft hot = perfect texture cold in pasta salads. Nobody wants rock hard pasta in their cold pasta salads! 🙂
Leftovers will keep for 2 days in the fridge though the tomato is a bit softer than ideal. Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition per serving assuming 6 servings.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 580cal (29%)Carbohydrates: 72g (24%)Protein: 16g (32%)Fat: 26g (40%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 6mg (2%)Sodium: 1410mg (61%)Potassium: 640mg (18%)Fiber: 5g (21%)Sugar: 8g (9%)Vitamin A: 1456IU (29%)Vitamin C: 23mg (28%)Calcium: 140mg (14%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Life of Dozer
Take a peek into my camera roll for a Christmas break Dozer catch up! There was our annual Christmas Nagi/Dozer selfie attempt fail:
There were Christmas outfits…
There were ice packs to help cool him down on extra hot days (and it was blazing hot this Christmas!)…
And there was AI Dozer. Yes, this is what AI produced!!
In a nutshell, Christmas 2024 was very good to Dozer, a suitable end to what has been his most challenging year to date. He spend a lot of time surrounded by his favourite people, at the beach, receiving plenty of special tasty treats, and spent a lot of time doing this:
It’s ok, I had a towel on the ground beside him to lie on. 😂
