Aleppo Pepper Pasta Salad

This Aleppo Pepper Pasta Salad has it all – and I feel like I have a good enough pasta salad authority to say that with a bit of confidence. Every piece of this pasta salad is a texture and flavor dream – with the salty olives and the jammy tomatoes, plus the perfectly citrusy Aleppo pepper, and a ton of herbs to make everything feel bright and summery. Plus, it’s super easy to make. If you are a pasta salad fanatic or new to the pasta salad game, this is a great recipe to add to your list.

First, let’s talk a bit about pasta salad

Ok, hold up – if pasta salad in your mind is mayo-based barbecue staple that is pretty delicious, but also pretty heavy, don’t worry, that’s the pasta salad of my memories, too. And honestly, that turned me off of pasta salad for a good. long. time. I’m not a huge mayo girl, I’m not a huge cold noodles girl, so I thought, why bother?

But that’s when I looked long and hard at pasta salad and thought “ok, if I could make my dream pasta salad, what would it be?” And that’s how this Aleppo pepper pasta salad came to be.

I needed a pasta salad to include a few main things:

• Something deliciously spicy, but not too spicy – and that’s how Aleppo pepper because the star of this pasta salad. It has a citrusy tang to it, making it one of the more acidic pepper flakes, and it adds a gorgeous red hue to this pasta salad while also giving it a signature bright, peppery flavor.
• Something briny but also sharp – enter in, the olives and the lemon zest, both of which are slowly simmered down with tomatoes, making a jammy, vegetable-forward vinaigrette to toss the pasta salad in. Yes, it’s cooked, but yes, it’s worth it!
• Textural interest – which is why the onions aren’t cooked, they are left to quickly pickle in some lemon juice, so they keep some bite to them when you add in the tomatoes and olives. It sounds weird, but it totally works.
• Herbs, lots of them – this pasta salad is not mayo based, and it’s not designed to be heavy. It’s designed to be deliciously filling but light. Herbs help accomplish that ten times over. I like a mix of tender herbs, like parsley, dill, basil and mint. But use what you have!

Ingredients you’ll need for this Aleppo pepper pasta salad

Now that we’ve covered a bit about this pasta salad, here is everything you’ll need to make this citrusy, peppery, summer pasta salad that just *might* be my favorite pasta salad on the internet:

• 1 medium red onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• Outer skin layer of one lemon, shaved into peels
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1 1/2 lemons
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives, 24 olives
• 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces dried pasta shape of choice
• 1 cup mixed tender herbs, such as parsley, dill, mint, basil
• 2 ounces manchego cheese, grated or roughly chopped

How to make the dressing for this Aleppo pepper pasta

The “dressing” for this salad is essentially everything that goes on it, except for the herb and the cheese. Half of the dressing is slowly simmered to bring out all the flavor, and the other half is dressed in lemon juice and kept raw, to keep some bite to it. Here’s how to prepare everything for the pasta salad dressing:

• Thinly slice the red onion and add to a large bowl. Grate in the garlic cloves. Squeeze over the lemon juice and toss to combine. Set aside.
• Halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the olives. Add these and the lemon peels to a large sauté pan. Add the Aleppo pepper, red pepper flakes and half a teaspoon of salt. Pour in the olive oil.
• Place this pan over medium heat and let the oil come to a simmer. Swirl to combine and let this sizzle for 10-12 minutes or until the tomatoes start to collapse and the oil is a deep red.
• Pour the tomato mixture over the red onions and stir to combine. 

And just like that, everything is ready to be made into pasta salad!

What is the best way to chill pasta for pasta salad?

So now that you have the dressing, you want to get your pasta cold enough to mix in. I like to cook my pasta like you normally would, for 7-10 minutes in salted water until al dente, but then I add the twist. For this method, I treat the pasta like any eggs I’m boiling where I want to stop the cooking. I immediately drain my pasta, then refill the pot with cool water, then drain my pasta again. This shocks the pasta, cools it, and gets it ready to be a cool (but spicy!) base of a summer pasta salad.

How to finish this pasta salad

The dressing really is the biggest part of this Aleppo pepper pasta salad recipe. After it is finished, just cool the pasta and add it to the bowl with the dressing. Toss in the herbs and the chopped up cheese, and you’ll be ready to serve!

Looking for other summery recipes?

Here are a few of my absolute favorites:

And that’s it for this Aleppo pepper pasta salad!

f you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.