Bow Ties with Tomatoes, Feta, & Balsamic Dressing Recipe (2025)

I've made this a few times now. It is super quick and easy. And oddly good. I typically make 8 oz of pasta and use a bit more feta.

Great recipe. Really enjoyed the vinaigrette. I had to add chicken for fear of being stoned to death in my household. Will likely make again.

I found this recipe a very good starting point for a quick dinner. I unfortunately forgot to buy grapes, but I think they would have been very good in the pasta. I happened to have red bell pepper on hand, as well as zucchini, so while the pasta cooked, I sauteed chopped red pepper in a little olive oil, then added shredded zucchini once the peppers were softened. I didn't have white balsamic, but the regular balsamic worked just fine. I probably doubled the amount of capers recommended, but didn't use shallots. This was our one-dish dinner and was very good!

I made this exactly as written and loved it. Very flavorful and, yes, the grapes worked perfectly! My new "go to" recipe.

Made it exactly as written...great taste with the grapes.

I was also a little unsure about this because of the grapes but because of the reviews, I was curious to try it. I am so glad I did! One of the best recipes for pasta salad ever. Such a great combination of flavors. I added just a little extra garlic and capers, because we enjoy both. This will be a family favorite from now on!

Love, Love, Love. I make it without the capers, but otherwise as written. It's awesome.

This pasta salad is awesome....don't leave out anything! The grapes add a really nice sweetness that rounds out the flavor. Loved it! It will be my new go to pasta salad for any occasion.

I made a few changes simply due to preference. I eliminated the grapes and capers. I also made 4 cups of dry sea shell pasta, and increased the white balsamic vinegar to 4 Tablespoons. I added kalamata olives (about 1/3 cup of sliced olives) and mixed both feta and shave parmesan cheese. This salad is even better for leftovers and would be great for a summer picnic. Superb!!!

Quite delicious! Although I've made dozens of pasta salads, I think the combination of white balsamic with the dijon made a winning flavor combination and raised it way above the typical pasta-with-italian-vinaigrette salads we've all had for years. Only change I made was to leave out the grapes and substitute halved pitted kalamata olives for the capers which had disappeared from the fridge. Great the next day with sliced cold grilled or rotisserie chicken on top with a little bit more fresh basil on top to perk it up! Kids begged to put this into the weekly rotation.

Was very good with some changes.....I omitted the grapes (I don't care for fruit in my main dishes) and added some cooked chicken (cooked up with some garlic and onions). All my kids loved it -- even the one who doesn't like tomatoes (she just left them out). Will definitely make it again.

Really good! It was a perfect light pasta dish; I will be making this again soon.

I made this for my family and all liked it. Including my children, some of which are picky eaters. A very good dinner on a hot day. Quick and easy. I did substitute chives for the shallots and omitted the capers and added frozen peas.

My family loves this. Excellent!

Great recipe. Used small elbow pasta and had no no shallots so I substituted a couple of green onions sliced very thin. This is a really good light meal and very tasty. The different tastes blended perfectly.

Perfect for a hot summer day. I added chicken breast to turn this into a main dish, the family loved it!

I absolutely love this recipe! I make it for myself or for company when I have cherry tomatoes and basil fresh from the garden. I substitute fresh garlic and saute it for 1 or 2 min. in the 4 tsp. of oil, and I prefer to add the feta to each individual portion immediately before serving. Another plus: The preparation time is barely longer than the time required to boil the pasta!

Great hit at a BBQ - perfect mix of flavors and ingredients!

This was unusual and gorgeous! I'm doing Meatless Month of May, and this was sent as a Meatless Monday recipe... I knew I had to make it tonight and did not regret it! Made as is, no modifications... easy and delicious, will make again!

This recipe was refreshing and very tasty!

This was truly yummy. Very nice flavors and quick to fix.

This was a super easy and tasty pasta salad. I would definitely make it again for sure, and might even add cooked chicken or shrimp to make it a full meal.

Great pasta salad recipe. Have made is several times! It is a keeper! Have not added the capers yet though since I am not a fan of them.

Very please with this recipe. Wasn't too sure about the grapes with the tomatoes but it was the perfect blend of sweet with the tangy of everything else. I did not have white balsamic vinegar and used regular balsamic vinegar. It just gave the salad a brown coloring. Maybe not pretty to look at, but was delicious all the same.

We were VERY surprised but delighted with this salad! I substituted Ricotta salata cheese cubes for the feta with great results. I will make this salad over and over again!

Loved this, and it's even better cold the next day for lunch! One of my husband's favorites. Saved it to my personal file, it's a keeper.

this salad was so so. i found the dressing to be a little too pungent - too much shallots. the capers needed to be chopped, and i found the ration for oil to vinegar off, especially to dress the pasta.

I make this all the time - cold leftovers are soooo good! Easy to make!

Love this recipe - I made it all summer last year after finding it in my Cooking Light magazine. I made it with chicken several times to make it a cold meal. Saw that someone else added shrimp - that sounds delicious! I'm planning to use this recipe again this summer!

Made triple and quadruple batches in the same weekend, first time I used the recipe. Like others, I had a couple of subs, like regular balsamic and some red grapes, but the salad is awesome. My son is vegetarian, and this was a perfect entree salad. He took a large quantity back to college to have for lunches the following week. The grapes are the perfect sweet complement to the other ingredients. I have made similar recipes before, but this was the ultimate combination all the way around. Very versatile for many occasions from everyday dinners to buffet reception. We served with wonderful fresh bread and steamed or roasted broccoli for a complete meal. It can be served at room temp or chilled, with equally good taste.

I have made this several times. the combination of sweet and tart/salty tickles the taste buds. It is delightful.

This was a fast, easy recipe to whip up and I brought it as a side dish to one of our Labor Day weekend picnics. Folks absolutely loved it. I had lots of comments on the grapes, which folks just found intriguing (... and loved!). I had to make a few substitutions to accommodate what was available in my pantry (whole wheat pasta, regular balsamic vinegar, red onion in place of shallots), and it still came out fabulous! This will definitely be a regular on my recipie list.

Grapes and capers TOGETHER in a pasta salad?! I am a believer now that I should never judge a recipe. This was quite a delicious salad with a bit of sweet, acidity, and creaminess. I didn't want to buy white balsamic, so I used regular. It still turned out great. I served with the grilled asparagus. A bit of chopping for the grapes, shallots and tomatoes, but well worth the effort on a weeknight.

Skipped the grapes, but other reviews make me want to try them next time. Dressing is delicious. I used regular balsamic vinegar. Would have loved to have leftovers for lunch, but there weren't any!

My husband goes crazy for this salad! I don't like tomatoes, so I leave those out and add some sauteed shrimp to make it a full dinner salad.

Used green olives for capers, regular balsamic vinegar & chopped onion for shallots as I had these on hand. Did not use the grapes, but would try them next time. Was easy & good way to use up extra tomatoes I had. served it with grilled chicken. Made a nice lunch next day.

Very easy to make and flavorful. It would make a good pasta salad too.

This was really easy to make and really good. My DH took one bite and raved and then went back for seconds. My three year old even liked it and the asparagus. This is also great to take for a lunch the next day.

This was easy and very flavorful. I really liked the way the sweet grapes, savory tomatoes, creamy cheese, and zesty capers played off of each other. Would be nice as a picnic dish. Kids loved it, too!

I made this recipe four times in one week for four different parties. Everyone liked it. Great recipe! Great for a family barbue/reunion. Different from all the rest. Would not want it as a main dish but great as a side.

I too, was skeptical of grapes in a pasta salad, but they did add to the dish. As a previous poster said, it helps balance out the saltiness of the feta and capers, and sourness of the balsamic vinegar. I substituted red onion for the shallots and regular balsamic vinegar for the white balsamic vinegar since that's what I already had. The leftovers for lunch tasted great the next day. It is a great light summer lunch or dinner.

I made this for a July 4th barbecue and it was enjoyed by all. The combination of the salty feta with the sweet grapes is what makes this dish so good.

Yummy!!! I added shredded carrots along with red and yellow peppers for more color. Perfect for 4th of july bbq

I loved this salad. I'll definitely make it again. The grapes made this a refreshing summer salad. The only thing I changed was I used Feta cheese flavored with tomatoes and basil.

Perfect pasta salad for a potluck, barbeque, picnic, or just a nice summer dinner. I was a little skeptical about the grapes but I have to admit they are a perfect complement to the saltiness of the feta and the sourness of the vinegar. Easy and delicious.

Tried this salad last night but only gave it 2 stars due to the changes I made. First of all, my family does not care for fruit in salads (unless it is a true fruit salad) and capers so I deleted these 2 items. When I went to make the dressing, I discovered that my white balsamic vinegar had done bad so I subbed red wine vinegar as my daughter prefers that to red balsamic. Next, I added roasted chicken to it and some artichokes that I had left over from a prevoius meal. I thought that the dressing with the dijon and shallots was delicious. A good solid recipe that I will make again.

got the magazine the other day had company for dinner made this pasta salad and it was a big hit. we all really liked it very simple and good.