| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 35 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds tricolor spiral pasta
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 2 cups oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 8 ounces sharp white Cheddar, diced into 1-inch pieces
- One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 English cucumber, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups Basil Vinaigrette, recipe follows
- 1/3 cup Champagne vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 shallot, roughly chopped
- 4 cups fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Spread the pine nuts in an even layer on a small baking sheet. Transfer to the oven, and toast until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained pasta, toasted pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes olives, Cheddar, chickpeas, cucumbers, and basil vinaigrette. Toss well. Serve cold.
- Add the vinegar, honey, mustard, shallots, basil and some salt and pepper to a blender. Blend until well combined. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil; blend until fully combined.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 724 |
| Total Fat | 41 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 72 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Cholesterol | 23 mg |
| Sodium | 592 mg |
Reviews
This is the best pasta salad I have had in my whole life!!!!! ❤️
This was incredibly delicious! I wanted more tomatoes, so I added halved grape tomatoes, as well as the sun-dried. For everything else, I followed the recipe. The champagne vinegar is milder than regular white. It makes the flavor of the dressing nothing short of amazing. The pine nuts add a nice crunch, as well as the cucumber slices. I would, without question, make this again.
This was a real crowd pleaser! I have kids that don’t like onions and are very picky. They ALL loved this pasta salad. It makes a lot! This will be my go to pasta salad. I made everything the day before but kept the dressing separate. I mixed it all together right before serving. The fresh basil boosted the flavor!
This was good as most pasta salads are. I liked the sun dried tomatoes because they added a little something different. I didn’t use the champagne vinegar, just white wine vinegar.…I would make it again but see if that made a difference
The vinaigrette for this salad is amazing, best pasta salad I’ve ever made.
This is a fabulous salad! It was so fresh tasting and satisfied everyone’s palates.
So tasty! I’ve made this several times and love it more each time I try it!
Great salad and a little different from the usual pasta salad. I used some jarred basil pesto that I had on hand and added the vinegar, dijon, honey, shallot and a little more olive oil and this worked fine. I only had about 1C of sundried tomatoes but this also worked fine, you can adjust the amounts to your liking. I cut my cucumber smaller – personal preference. Don’t leave out the pine nuts! Will definitely make this again. It would be fantastic with chicken added too.