This healthy bruschetta pasta salad is a perfect salad dish to have cold in the summer or warm in the winter. It is a delicious alternative to sandwiches at lunch and can be made in advance if you prefer.
How to make sure this recipe is perfect for lunch
If you enjoy this healthy bruschetta pasta salad recipe cold it is easy to make it up in advance and it should last for 4 days in the fridge.
Alternatively, if you enjoy it as a hot dish simply prepare it in two separate containers and warm your pasta in the microwave first before stirring in the other ingredients. The warmth from the pasta will melt the parmesan slightly and warm the tomatoes a little. The warmth also releases some of the basil aromas which is always nice in my opinion too!
Video: How to make this healthy bruschetta pasta salad recipe
Adaptions to this recipe
If you want to make changes to this recipe then a few changes I can recommend are to add cucumber or courgette. you may prefer to cook the courgette a little first the choice is yours.
Another change you could make is adding small balls of mozzarella instead of parmesan cheese. That is equally delicious and makes it even more filling.
Disclaimer: Just Average Jen is not connected with any weight loss plan. Please check nutritional values and/or syns yourself as these are approximate to the best of my knowledge.
Enjoying this healthy bruschetta pasta salad on a diet
If you are trying to lose weight then whilst this does have some olive oil in don’t panic. If you follow Slimming World, Weight Watchers (WW), Noom or any other weight loss plan this is still a great recipe to try. It is of course important to check yourself any plan you follow and remember all nutritional information and ingredients are found in the recipe card below.
The olive oil isn’t necessary and you can either syn or count the olive oil with 1 tablespoon of olive oil being 6 syns (approx) on Slimming World or you use or omit it completely. The other elements of the recipe are all syn free except the parmesan cheese which can easily be synned according to taste.
Parmesan cheese syns for Slimming World
25g Parmesan cheese, grated is 5 syns (approx).
30g Parmesan cheese, grated is 6 syns (approx).
If you prefer to use Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padana fresh parmesan then a great choice is a level tablespoon as this is just one syn (approx).
Personally, I wouldn’t use as much as 30g of parmesan but if you choose to then you may be able to use this as your healthy extra a choice.
Other recipes you might like
If you are looking for easy lunch ideas then I have a lunch ideas directory that may help.
Do you love pasta as much as I do? Check out my pasta guide full of lots of tasty pasta recipes you will enjoy.
Easy bruschetta pasta salad recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main meal
- Method: Easy hob recipe
- Cuisine: Slimming World
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Easy and delicious lunch recipe for bruschetta pasta salad
Ingredients
4 cups cooked pasta
1–2 Tablespoons olive oil, to personal preference
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup basil, loosely packed
Parmesan cheese, to taste
Instructions
Cook your pasta according to package directions. If preparing immediately, do not rinse the pasta. If planning to prepare later and serve cold, rinse well before storing pasta in the fridge.
Chiffonade the basil by stacking several leaves and then rolling into a tube shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the basil into strips.
Place the pasta in a large bowl and pour on the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust the olive oil to personal preferences.
Stir in the minced garlic until evenly distributed.
Add the diced tomatoes, red onion, and basil. Stir until well mixed, being careful to avoid bruising the tomatoes and basil.
Season to taste with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Note: this recipe can be served warm or cold.
