It’s that time of year again. The time of year when all I want to eat are cold salads with crunchy vegetables. And since fresh broccoli is one of my favorite crunchy vegetables, I decided to build a pasta salad featuring broccoli and my new favorite homemade salad dressing. This Broccoli Pasta Salad features a tangy homemade tomato vinaigrette, nutty sunflower seeds, savory red onions, and pops of creamy-salty feta. This flavor-texture combo is just magic!
Pasta Options
I used a rotini pasta for this salad because all the little twisty crevices are great at grabbing onto the salad dressing, making sure there’s tons of flavor in every bite. That being said, you could definitely do something like a penne, bowtie, or orecchiette instead. I think the nutty flavor of whole wheat pasta would actually go really well with the flavors in this salad, too.
Salad Dressing Options
I’ve included a homemade tomato vinaigrette with this recipe, but if you’re not a fan of tomato you could do a basic Italian dressing in its place, or something like a champagne vinaigrette. I’d stick to dressings that are light and tangy.
Is the Broccoli Raw??
The last time I posted a salad recipe with raw broccoli, there were quite a few people who were surprised that you could (or that you would want to) eat raw broccoli. Yes, the broccoli in this salad is raw. Raw broccoli is deliciously crunchy but does have a very different flavor from cooked broccoli. If you prefer cooked broccoli, I suggest using roasted broccoli to give an extra flavor boost to the salad.
Broccoli Pasta Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette
Servings 4 1.5 cups eachIngredients
Tomato Basil Vinaigrette
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.05)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.20)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp sugar ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 6 Tbsp olive oil ($0.96)
Salad
- 1/2 lb. rotini pasta ($0.38)
- 1 lb. broccoli ($0.89)
- 1/2 cup diced red onion ($0.16)
- 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds ($0.25)
- 4 oz. feta ($1.65)
Instructions
- Prepare the vinaigrette first. Whisk together the tomato paste, red wine vinegar, basil, garlic powder, sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl until smooth. Begin to whisk in the olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Set the vinaigrette aside.
- Cook the rotini pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Drain the pasta in a colander. Rinse briefly with cool water to cool off the pasta. Drain well.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut the broccoli florets off the stems, then roughly chop the florets into small, bite-sized pieces. Finely dice the red onion.
- Once the pasta has drained, transfer it to a large bowl. Add the chopped broccoli, red onion, and sunflower seeds. Crumble the feta over top. Drizzle the dressing into the bowl and then gently toss the ingredients until they are evenly combined and everything is coated in dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Equipment
Nutrition
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How to Make Broccoli Pasta Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette – Step by Step Photos
Begin the tomato vinaigrette first. Whisk together 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, ½ tsp dried basil, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper until smooth.
Begin to whisk in olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, until you’ve incorporated 6 Tbsps. Set the dressing aside.
Next, cook ½ lb. rotini according to the package directions (boil 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Drain the pasta in a colander. Give it a brief rinse to cool it off, then let it drain well.
Chop about 1 lb. of fresh broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces. They don’t have to be pretty florets, just chop away until the pieces are fairly small. Also finely dice about ½ cup red onion.
Once cooled, transfer the pasta to a bowl and add the chopped broccoli, diced red onion, ¼ cup unsalted sunflower seeds, and about 4oz. feta.
Pour the tomato vinaigrette over top…
Then gently toss everything together until well combined and everything is coated in dressing. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for later!
Made this tonight using the Banza pasta instead and threw the broccoli in the pasta water for 30 seconds. This was amazing!
Great recipe. Please peak at the print options, however. I like saving trees and conservation. I do not want to print 1 line on a page #2
Take screenshots of the recipe, email them to yourself and move it to your recipe folder. You can include your notes, if any, as well.
That way you don’t use any paper at all.
I will pair it with my cold poached salmon! Yum!
I really liked this recipe, except the red onion was too strong. I’d like to try it again with green onions for a milder flavor. I also would add chopped carrots for some color. In fact, I blanched the broccoli in order to enhance its color.
I love the idea of carrots for this! Another way to make the red onions a little less potent is to soak them for about five minutes in ice water. That takes that really sharp edge off the flavor. :)
Pardon my dumb dinner brain, I swear anytime I sit down to meal plan it’s like I’ve never made a single dinner in my life – despite cooking what feels like every day for the last thousand years. So I’m sorry if this is a dumb question but what would you pair this with to serve for dinner or would you consider this a full dinner?
It looks beautiful and I cannot wait to try it. I’m also thoroughly perplexed that some people didn’t know you could or would want to eat raw brocolli. It’s the main way I eat it. So strange.
Haha, your comment made me laugh! “despite cooking what feels like every day for the last thousand years” :D I usually do a “what to serve with…” section, but it looks like I forgot it this time. I need to go back and add that. I would probably pair this with something like Garlic Marinated Chicken, maybe my Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken Dinner (in place of the simple side salad), or Mediterranean Turkey Burgers.
Is there something I could use instead of feta to make this recipe vegan?
Hmm, I like the little salty pops of flavor that the feta provides, so perhaps some sort of olive? That won’t provide the same creaminess as the feta, but that might be as close as you can get.
Violife vegan feta is SO GOOD. In my grocery store it’s in the produce section (that’s where they keep a lot of the vegan stuff). Definitely worth a shot if you’ve never tried it! I’ve subbed it in for feta cheese AND goat cheese; it crumbles, it melts, and it’s to die for on crackers :)
What would you sub for sunflower seeds?
Maybe pine nuts or walnuts?
Pine nuts
I didn’t think I would love it, to be honest. This is such a yummy recipe!! I love it, can’t wait to make it again!
Wow, it blows my mind that anyone didn’t know that you can eat broccoli raw… this looks amazing, I can’t wait to try it!
This looks really good, and I’ll try it this weekend. However, I need to find a lactose-free protein substitute for the feta cheese, as my daughter is lactose intolerant. Another poster mentioned chicken; what do you think about rotisserie chicken? Or maybe some baked tofu? Or chickpeas?….
I think chicken would be awesome in this!
I just made this recipe for DD’s dinner at work tonight. I used some deli chicken instead of the feta and chopped some unsalted almonds in place of the sunflower seeds. I also roasted a 12-ounce bag of broccoli florets. It’s fabulous! I did add some feta to my taste-test–yum!–but DD requested hers “on the side” in case it bothers her. Thank you for the recipe!
This is really delicious! I used shallot instead of red onion and toasted pine nuts instead of sunflower seeds (just what I had on hand) but everything else was as written. I’ll definitely be making it again. I might reserve part of the dressing next time so I can top each serving with some right when I eat it.
I was skeptical of raw broccoli but I’m glad I tried it! It works really well! :)
Cannot wait to try this. I was actually planning on prepping a broccoli pasta salad this weekend for next week’s lunch. It’s a recipe I have made for years and love but is not great nutritionally (mayonnaise-based dressing and quite a bit of crumbled bacon, it’s fine if you’re just having one serving but every day for a week is not good for the arteries…..). Going to make this instead, healthy and fresh!!
I imagine this salad would be good with the addition of some chicken, tuna or salmon???
I bet it would be great with all of those!
This looks incredible. If you don’t mind me asking, how long would this salad last for? I am planning to make this for a future meal prep.
The longevity of the salad can depend on a lot of things like the freshness of the ingredients and conditions within your refrigerator, but I would say about four days.
This recipe looks fabulous for Spring Beth! Thanks for a great idea that I will try this weekend! Feta, broccoli and tomato are a winning combination! And I bet it tastes better on the second day – fantastic for easy lunches!