Gluten Free Italian Pasta Salad is the perfect, easy summer treat made with amazing fresh ingredients! This gluten free cold pasta salad is perfect as a side salad or even as the main dish.
Why you’ll love this recipe!
Making about 4 healthy servings, this pasta salad truly hits the spot! If you doubt gluten free pasta recipes, this is the one for you. We'll walk through the key ingredients & how you can make the best gluten free pasta salad ever!
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I love this recipe so much and I think you will too because:
- This Italian pasta salad is dairy free and has no meat
- It is packed with tons of fresh zucchini, Brussel sprouts, and other delicious veggies
- The dressing only has 8 simple ingredients
- this salad comes together in under 30 minutes!
Jump to:
Ingredients for the pasta salad
The ingredients in this gluten free pasta salad are very strait forward and comes together so quickly. If you're short an ingredient, you can leave it out or even substitute a veggie for another similar one!
The ingredients you will need to make the pasta salad consist of:
- Pasta - Gluten free pasta can be finicky - for real! I recommend Jovial brown rice pasta, as I find it to be the best gluten free pasta for pasta salad, but of course use what is available to you.
- Veggies - In this recipe, I used broccolini, yellow pepper, zucchini & shaved brussel sprout. Use whatever you have on hand or love!
- Dressing - Definitely follow the dressing recipe to the T and then taste and add more salt/pepper or another ingredient if needed.
- Add Ons - In this case, I added Kalamata olives! These olives are salty and very strongly flavored. Feel free to use your favorite olive variation.
Ingredients for the Italian dressing
This gluten free pasta salad dressing recipe couldn’t be any easier! It’s tangy and has a bit of garlic and olives which make it so delicious! So, lets run through the ingredients:
- Olive oil - This is the base I use for almost all my dressings. I like to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Red wine vinegar - Vinegar adds the perfect tang to this pasta salad.
- Dried oregano, basil, and garlic powder - These spices are going to make the dressing truly come to life!
- Olive juice - I used kalamata olive juice. The olive juice is optional, but I think it adds great flavor.
Ingredient swaps
This pasta salad is very flexible and forgiving if you want to substitute an ingredient. Here are some easy ingredient swaps that will work perfectly:
- Use regular pasta instead of gluten free pasta. If you want to use a non gluten free pasta, the results will remain the same.
- Substitute for other veggies. If you don't have broccolini, broccoli will work just fine as well. If you want to include another vegetable that you love, go for it!
- If you don’t have red wine vinegar, swap it for balsamin vinegar. It won’t have the same flavor, but will still be super delicious!
Instructions
This is the first of many gluten free pasta salad recipes on the site, and I'm excited to share it with you for its vibrant colors & bright flavors. It is also an extremely flexible and versatile pasta recipe, since you can swap veggies for your favorites. Use this recipe as a guideline and go from there! How to make gluten free Italian pasta salad in 4 easy steps:
Step 1: Cook your pasta according to the package instructions.
Step 2: Chop and blanch your vegetables.
Step 3: Make the Italian dressing.
Step 4: Toss everything together and enjoy!
Recipe FAQ’s
Pasta salad is delicious with Italian dressing, but so many other salad dressings are delicious on pasta salads. Don’t feel that you can only use Italian dressing.
If the salad is refrigerated, allow the pasta salad to come to room temperature before eating to allow the gluten free pasta to soften.
100% yes! Rinsing the pasta before assembling the salad will get rid of some of the starchiness and will also cool off the pasta because who wants to eat a warm pasta salad!
Top tips
Making this gluten free, dairy free salad is so simple! Here are a few tips to make sure it comes out perfect every time.
- Save time washing dishes by using the same pot for boiling the pasta and the veggies.
- This salad is so delicious prepared a day in advance. This gives the pasta and veggies lots of time to soak up the flavors from the dressing.
- Scale this recipe! 100% feel free to double or triple this recipe! Just add the dressing slowly and mix. Don't add all the dressing at once.
Related recipes you may love
Here are four more delicious salad recipes I think you’ll love. You can pair them with this pasta salad or make them another day!
Gluten Free Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water after cooking.
- Bring water to a boil in a medium pot with 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Blanch broccoli in boiling water for 1 minute, then use a slotted spoon to remove and place into a bowl filled with ice water. Place onto a towel and pat dry.
- Next, blanch shaved brussel sprouts in boiling water for 30 seconds, then use a slotted spoon to remove and place into a bowl filled with ice water. Place onto a towel and pat dry.
- Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss together.
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a medium bowl until combined.
- Pour ¾ of the dressing over the salad and toss together. Taste and add more dressing as needed. Enjoy!
Test Kitchen Notes
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