Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
If you’ve been looking for a good sun-dried tomato pasta recipe, stop scrolling, you found it. A deliciously rich homemade sun-dried tomato pesto, with feta and roasted pine nuts, brightened with lemon and fresh herbs, and tossed through orzo pasta. Perfect for lazy weekends, picnics, work lunches, and non-boring school lunch box recipes.
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
This cold pasta salad recipe was born out of an unending quest for more lunch ideas that I can meal prep on a Sunday and be sorted for the week, and ticks all the boxes. It’s light, it’s bright and it's so simple to make.
But this ain't no ordinary old tomato pasta salad, this is a sun-dried tomato pesto pasta salad, made with the most delicious homemade sun-dried tomato pesto, even the biggest sun-dried tomato haters will be won over.
This recipe uses orzo for the pasta, which I love because all the tiny pieces get covered in the pesto, and makes each bite super falvourful. But you can use your fave pasta, I won't judge.
You can also change it up by adding your fave seasonal pasta salad ingredients, to that end, roast pumpkin goes beautifully with it.
Cooking tips for making sun-dried tomato pasta salad recipes:
- Let the pasta cool before mixing with any herbs or salad leaves so they don’t wilt.
- Add a little olive oil to the drained cooked pasta while waiting for the pasta to dry.
- If you’re meal prepping this, hold off adding the herbs or salad leaves until the day of eating for ultimate freshness.
- Another meal prep tip, Choose marinated feta in place of your standard block of feta if you need it to last up to 5 days.
- This recipe calls for ½ lemon being zested into thin strips. This is an optional (but tasty) garnish so if you don’t have the zester tool to do this, don’t worry.
What is the difference between sun-dried and semi-dried tomatoes?
The difference is the moisture content. Semi-dried are more plump and fleshy because they have more moisture in them (40-60%) than the sun-dried (80-90%). I have used both semi-dried in this recipe, but you can also use sun-dried tomatoes, so pick whichever you prefer.
More easy orzo pasta recipes
- If you’re looking for more recipes with sun dried tomatoes, this Cherry Tomato and Harissa Orzo is a good one.
- My Orzo Basil Pesto Pasta Salad is another work lunch winner.
Store for 4-5 days in the fridge. Do check the use within dates of your feta. For a longer lasting feta, choose marinated feta that’s preserved in olive oil.
Ingredients and substitutions
How to make it - step by step!
- Add your pasta to salted boiling water. Cook to packet instructions - some orzo sizes vary.
Once your pasta is cooked, drain and then pour onto a lined tray, mix through a little olive oil. Allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Add pine nuts to a tray. Place in the oven for 5-7 minutes until lightly browned. Check to make sure they don’t burn. Set aside.
Add all the pesto ingredients except for the olive oil in a nutribullet or food processor, blitz to combine.
If using a nutribullet, add the olive oil and in short bursts, pulse until the mixture is just combined. For a food processor, while the processor is running, slowly add in the olive oil and blitz until you get your desired consistency. Scrape down the sides or add a little more oil if needed.
To a mixing bowl, add pasta, pesto, lemon juice, pine nuts, rocket/arugula, basil leaves, and oregano leaves. Mix to combine.
Garnish, crumbling over feta. Scatter over lemon zest strips and more rocket/arugula and herbs.
- Add your pasta to salted boiling water. Cook to packet instructions - some orzo sizes vary.
Once your pasta is cooked, drain and then pour onto a lined tray, mix through a little olive oil. Allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Add pine nuts to a tray. Place in the oven for 5-7 minutes until lightly browned. Check to make sure they don’t burn. Set aside.
Add all the pesto ingredients except for the olive oil in a nutribullet or food processor, blitz to combine.
If using a nutribullet, add the olive oil and in short bursts, pulse until the mixture is just combined. For a food processor, while the processor is running, slowly add in the olive oil and blitz until you get your desired consistency. Scrape down the sides or add a little more oil if needed.
To a mixing bowl, add pasta, pesto, lemon juice, pine nuts, rocket/arugula, basil leaves, and oregano leaves. Mix to combine.
Garnish, crumbling over feta. Scatter over lemon zest strips and more rocket/arugula and herbs.
Watch the how to video
Watch the how to video
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
Pesto ingredients
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 130g (¾ metric cup) Sun dried or Semi-dried tomatoes in oil (drained & sliced)
- 70g (½ metric cup) toasted almonds
- 1 clove garlic
- 50g (½ metric cup) grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp chilli / red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Salad ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups orzo / risoni pasta
- 50ml lemon juice
- 75g (1/2 metric cup) sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 200g feta
- 3 cups rocket / arugula
- 1 bunch basil leaves
- 3 tbsp oregano leaves
- 50g pines nuts
- 1/2 lemon zest strips
- Add your pasta to salted boiling water. Cook to packet instructions - some orzo sizes vary.
- Once your pasta is cooked, drain and then pour onto a lined tray, mix through a little olive oil. Allow to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Add pine nuts to a tray. Place in the oven for 5-7 minutes until lightly browned. Check to make sure they don’t burn. Set aside.
- Toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Add all the pesto ingredients except for the olive oil in a nutribullet or food processor, blitz to combine.
- If using a nutribullet, add the olive oil and in short bursts, pulse until the mixture is just combined. For a food processor, while the processor is running, slowly add in the olive oil and blitz until you get your desired consistency. Scrape down the sides or add a little more oil if needed.
- To a mixing bowl, add pasta, pesto, lemon juice, pine nuts, rocket/arugula, basil leaves, and oregano leaves. Mix to combine.
- Garnish, crumbling over feta. Scatter over lemon zest strips and more rocket/arugula and herbs.