Healthy Pasta Salad
This lightened-up pasta salad is made with cucumbers, tomatoes and a basil balsamic dressing. It's mayo-free, gluten-free and vegan but still super delicious!
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: healthy pasta salad
Servings: 6 cups
- 8 oz macaroni or penne pasta I used gluten-free penne
- 2 cups tomatoes chopped
- 2 cups cucumbers peeled and chopped
- 3/4 cup red onion chopped
- 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons basil minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Prep pasta: Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and run cold water over cooked pasta to cool.
Mix ingredients: Add drained pasta into a large bowl with tomatoes, cucumber, and onion.
Make dressing: Whisk together balsamic vinegar, basil, olive oil, coconut sugar, crushed red pepper and salt. Pour over salad ingredients and mix well.
Serve: Refrigerate until cold. Serve and enjoy!
Mix-ins – Feel free to switch up your mix-ins for this pasta salad… I often do! Sometimes I change up the veggies based on what I have on hand. Feel free to get creative and make this your own!
Red onion – Not a fan of red onion feel free to use yellow onion instead.
Feta – Adding feta to this pasta salad would be a great addition if you don’t need it to be dairy free.
Avocado – Want to add a little creaminess and healthy fats to your pasta salad? Add in some chopped avocado!
Dressing – I love the balsamic dressing paired with this salad but any dressing would work if you’re in a pinch. Some options: Greek Salad Dressing, white balsamic vinaigrette or lemon vinaigrette.
Serving: 3/4 cup | Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4g | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g