This easy, vibrant and cold Gluten Free Pasta Salad is a must have dish during the summer months and the holiday season. Paired with an Italian vinaigrette dressing, classic vegetables and hard boiled eggs.
Pour over room temperature water to just cover the eggs.
Pop on the lid and place over a medium-high heat on the stove. Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, remove the lid and boil for 5 minutes.
Whilst cooking, half fill a small-medium sized bowl with cold water.
Once cooked, turn off the heat and remove eggs using a slotted spoon, and place in the cold water.
Allow eggs to sit in cold water for 10 minutes.
Remove and dry off. Peel off the shells.
Slice eggs lengthways or however you desire. Set aside.
Pasta
In a large pot, fill it 2/3 of the way up with water and add salt. Bring to a rolling boil and add pasta. Cook according to packet instructions until a bit softer than al dente. Stir the pasta as it cooks to prevent it from sticking together in the pot.
Drain off water through a colander and rinse pasta under cold water for 5 seconds.
Keep pasta in the colander sitting in the pot it cooked in. Drizzle pasta with olive oil and gently mix with a wooden spoon so the oil coats all of the pasta. This will keep the pasta from sticking as it cools. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Vinaigrette
Grab a medium sized mason jar or a glass jar that can be fitted with a lid.
Add all vinaigrette ingredients to the jar.
Place on the lid and give it a good shake until all ingredients are well combined.
Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Vegetables
In a large mixing bowl or large serving bowl, add cold pasta. TIP: make sure the bowl is large enough to hold all of the pasta and vegetables combined.
Add all chopped vegetables to the pasta and gently mix with a wooden spoon until vegetables are well distributed through the pasta.
Stir through sliced hard boiled eggs.
Pour over the vinaigrette and gently mix until the pasta and vegetables are coated in the dressing. TIP: the dressing can pool/sit at the bottom of the bowl, be sure to mix it all through from the bottom.
Serve and enjoy! Or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. If serving straight from the refrigerator, I recommend letting the salad sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before consuming. This softens the pasta and prevents you from eating firm/hard pasta from the fridge.
Notes
Cook your hard boiled eggs first to allow them time to cool down. You can cook your eggs in advance/the day before and leave them in their shells then peel when ready to add to your salad. Choose either gluten free penne or spirals for this salad, either work great. Make the vinaigrette in advance/the day before and keep it stored in the airtight glass jar in the refrigerator until ready to use. If serving the salad after it’s been refrigerated either on the day you made it or the following days, I recommend letting the salad sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before consuming. This softens the pasta and prevents you from eating firm/hard pasta from the fridge. Store in a large airtight container, refrigerated, for 1-3 days. If your salad has dried put too much the next day or following days, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil to add back moisture and to refresh it.