I’ve learned a lot over the past eight years of cooking and my palate has definitely become more refined, so today I’m using that new knowledge to give one of the first recipes I ever posted new life. The original version of this Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad was nothing more than just some grilled vegetables, pasta, and a bottled vinaigrette. This time I gave it a little extra love by making my own creamy balsamic vinaigrette, and used an oven grilling technique (okay, maybe it’s just broiling) to make this recipe accessible for those of you who may not have an outdoor grill.
I’m replacing the old recipe post with this new one, so if you are looking for the old recipe you can download it here.
Cook Once Eat All Week
I love making big pasta salads to eat throughout the week and this Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad holds up really well in the fridge. The flavor of the grilled vegetables deepens and permeates the pasta as it refrigerates making it even better the next day. The balsamic vinaigrette is definitely the most tangy the day of and it mellows out as it soaks into the pasta.
So if you prefer a really tangy dressing, add just enough dressing to coat everything right away to help keep the salad from drying out, but reserve at least half of the dressing to add just before serving (after refrigerating).
Don’t Skip Salting The Pasta Water
It’s taken me a long time to come around to the benefits of salting the cooking water for pasta, and pasta salads helped change my mind on the subject. Because pasta is the bulk of the recipe, you really want to make sure it has good flavor on its own, and using salted cooking water makes a huge difference. Not sure where to start when salting your pasta cooking water? Here is a great tutorial on How to Properly Salt Your Pasta Water from Gimme Some Oven.
Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad
Servings 8 1.25 cups eachIngredients
GRILLED VEGETABLES
- 1 zucchini ($1.05)
- 1 yellow squash ($0.88)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.79)
- 1/2 red onion ($0.43)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes ($2.49)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- Pinch Salt and Pepper ($0.05)
CREAMY BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
- 1/3 cup olive oil ($0.69)
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($0.33)
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise* ($0.17)
- 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.05)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
SALAD
- 1 lb penne pasta ($1.00)
- 1/4 bunch Italian parsley (flat leaf) ($0.25)
Instructions
- Wash the zucchini, yellow squash, and red bell pepper. Remove the stems from the zucchini, then cut them into large slices or pieces. Remove the seeds and stem from the bell pepper, then chop it into large pieces. Slice the red onion into thick slices.
- Place the zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, red onion, and grape tomatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle olive oil over top. Gently toss the vegetables until they are well coated in oil. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over top. (Grape tomatoes are generally too small to place directly on a grill, so if using a grill just add the tomatoes to the salad fresh.)
- Grill the vegetables over an open flame until they are charred and tender. OR, adjust your oven’s top rack to be about 6 inches below the broiler unit and turn the broiler on to high. Place the baking sheet under the broiler and watch it closely until the vegetable become charred and tender (about 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven and distance from the broiler).
- Allow the vegetables to cool slightly after grilling or broiling. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and boil for 7-10 minutes, or just until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and allow it to cool slightly (until it’s no longer steaming).
- While the pasta is cooking and the vegetables are cooling, prepare the creamy balsamic vinaigrette. To a jar or bowl add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mayonnaise, Dijon, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together or close the jar and shake until combined.**
- Once the vegetables are cool enough to handle, chop them into smaller, 1-inch pieces. Roughly chop the parsley leaves.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chopped vegetables, and parsley. Pour the vinaigrette over top, starting with half and adding more to your liking. Gently stir the pasta and vegetables until everything is coated in dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad – Step by Step Photos
These are the vegetables I used for my salad: one zucchini, one yellow squash, one red bell pepper, 1 pint grape tomatoes and 1/2 of that red onion. I always like to try to get at least three colors, and always pick smaller vegetables than you think you need because once you slice them up you’ll have more than you expected.
Remove the stems from the zucchini, squash, and red bell pepper, and remove the seed pod from the bell pepper. Slice the zucchini, squash, bell pepper, and red onion into thick slices (so they won’t fall through the slats on the grill. If you’re grilling the vegetables you can add the grape tomatoes to the salad fresh (slice them in half).
If you’re using your oven’s broiler, you can broil them with the other vegetables so they burst and get a little charred as well. Place all the vegetables on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil, and gently toss until the vegetables are WELL coated in oil. Then add a pinch of salt and pepper.
If you’re using a grill, grill the vegetables over direct flame until they are charred and tender (again, add the tomatoes fresh because they’re too small to go on the grill surface without falling through). If using your oven’s broiler, adjust the rack so that it’s six inches below the broiler unit. Turn the broiler on, place the baking sheet of vegetables under it, and watch it closely until the vegetables are charred and tender (10-15 minutes, depending on exactly how close they are to the heat). Let the vegetables cool.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add 1 lb. penne pasta, and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and let it cool. Meanwhile, make the creamy balsamic vinaigrette. In a jar or bowl combine 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 minced clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Whisk the ingredients together or close the jar and shake until combined.
Once the vegetables are cool enough to handle, chop them into 1-inch pieces. Roughly chop 1/4 bunch parsley.
When the pasta is cooled to the point where it is no longer steaming, place it in a large bowl with the chopped vegetables and parsley. Add the creamy balsamic vinaigrette and gently stir until everything is coated. Start with half of the dressing and add more as needed (I used it all).
Serve the Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat. The dressing WILL absorb into the pasta and mellow out, so if you like a tangier dressing, wait to add some of the dressing right away to keep everything from drying out, but reserve some to add just before serving.
Fantastic summer salad. Grilled veggies I had to use (grey squash, yellow squash, asparagus spears). Added grape tomatoes. Doubled the dressing because my family loves everything “saucy” i.e. floating. Very refreshing and enjoyable. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
DO NOT USE YOUR FANCY BALSAMIC VINEGAR FOR THIS RECIPE!
This recipe was fun to make because I had a lot of time on my hands, but it still felt like it took a long time. I have no idea how prepping and roasting veg, mincing garlic, making pasta, and making a dressing is supposed to realistically take less than a hour or two for the home cook, not counting shopping time. No big deal, felt like a labor of love.
When it came to mixing the dressing I decided to go with my top shelf little bottle of balsamic vinegar which already has a lot of sweetness. Turns out it has way too much sweetness and not enough acidity for the recipe. I ended up dumping a bunch of Italian dressing on to make it palatable.
I also wish the parsley measurement was more specific, because the bunch I bought was ginormous and even using less than the recipe called for was way too much, and wish I had picked more of the parsley stem out, the little bits were not fun to eat.
I can see this recipe being a home run if people had made different choices than me. I’m giving it the three stars however because I think what I did wrong was open to interpretation.
This salad is a winner. The dressing recipes on this website are incomparable! This is going to be my ‘go to’ salad this summer. I have used this website for years but became vegan about a year ago. So many recipes are so easily adaptable here and that word ‘easy.’ No huge fancy ingredients, many beans and easy swaps. I just swapped out regular mayo for vegan here and you would never know the difference. My only substitution today was having to roast the veggies in oven instead of grilling on account of the Memorial Day rain:(.
Haven’t tried this yet, hoping it will come together without the Mayo, my aversion to Mayo is lifelong. Will update after trying this recipe.
I think it would be good online citizenship to refrain from rating recipes until after you have tried them.
This a wonderful summer dinner! My husband and I really enjoyed it. I did substitute the regular penne for gluten free penne, but I followed the recipe as written and wouldn’t change a thing.
Hey Beth! Embarrassed to admit I’ve never eaten/used yellow squash. Step 1 on the recipe card has us washing it, along with the other veggies, but no other information given, except to add it to the sheet pan. Do they have seeds, like pumpkin, that need to be scooped out?
I can see chunks of it in the step-by-step photo section, but still no idea how to process it. Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Hi Terry! You simply scrub the outer skin of the squash. The skin is tender and does not need to be peeled. Treat it as you would a cucumber.
Thank you for being here! xoxo
My parents and I have been making this pasta salad every summer, all summer long for years now. It’s amazing as written and the dressing is perfect. We usually have this with grilled steak as a main.
This was delicious! I was amazed at how much it tasted like American grocery store pasta salad (in a good way). I’ve been living in Japan for almost 15 years, and I love how most of your recipes use basic ingredients that I can find even in Tokyo.
This was delicious. I used orzo for the pasta, and added some fresh basil instead of parsley because that’s what’s growing in the garden. I wasn’t sure about the dressing when I first tasted it (a bit strong and tangy for me), but I was using the recipe to meal prep lunches and by the next day it had mellowed and was wonderful.
This was a huge hit. I added a tiny bit of honey and sriracha to the dressing and ended up using a kitchen-sink approach to the non-pasta bit – I roasted the veg, and then added half a leftover cucumber, some chopped ham, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes….yeah. I will definitely be using this recipe as a basis for a never-the-same-thing-twice pasta salad.
I made this for the first time and it was sensational! Served it to company and was asked for the recipe from two people. It is now a favorite for any gathering we go to. Easy, delicious and complements any protein. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed. The only change I would make is to double the dressing because you will want to use it on your salads!
One of my favorite recipes of all time now! I love this dish – tonight I added mushrooms and eggplant as well to keep adding in more veggies, and it was delicious!
This is an amazing pasta salad. We always use all the dressing, which makes the salad. Well, and the roasted / grilled veggies. It’s just a great dish. Served it with honey lime chicken thighs.
I think I want to try it without roasting the tomatoes because if you cut them in half afterwards, they just disappear in the salad after stirring.
This time we made it with whole wheat pasta. I like it much better with regular pasta.
Made this for dinner tonight! Just eyeballed they dressing measurements and added some grilled chicken for extra protein. This was DELICIOUS!!! Adding this to our regular routine for sure!
Delicious!
Didn’t have tomatoes so added some other veggies in – green beans and cubes of sweet potato – great!
Served first warm next to some grilled salmon, later in the evening we had it cold as the salad version – absolutely great :)