As soon as the warm weather of summer rolls around all I want to eat are crunchy vegetables and cold pasta salad. This Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad is my go-to with a medley of colorful vegetables, a tangy homemade vinaigrette, and plenty of ways to customize it based on what I have on hand, or what I’m craving that day. Plus it holds up great in the fridge, so it’s perfect for meal prep!
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Perfect for Potlucks
This classic vegetable pasta salad is absolutely perfect for potlucks because it makes a huge batch and it goes with everything. Not to mention it holds up well to travel and is still super delicious after it’s been sitting on that picnic table for a bit. ;)
Vegetable Options
I used fresh broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and parsley, plus threw in some roasted red peppers for fun. But you can add so many different vegetables to this mix. Here are a few more options:
- Cauliflower
- Fresh bell pepper
- Black olives
- Asparagus (steamed or grilled)
- Chopped spinach
- Artichokes
Other Add-ins
In addition to swapping out some of the vegetables, you can experiment with adding other ingredients to this salad to either add more flavor or make it into a full meal. Here are a few ideas:
- Grilled chicken (Yogurt Marinated Chicken or Garlic Marinated Chicken)
- Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Parmesan cheese
- Toasted pita bread
- Feta cheese
- Salami
- Mozzarella cubes or pearls
Dressing Options
The recipe below includes a really basic tangy vinaigrette, but if you don’t have a well stocked pantry and want to buy a bottled dressing for this salad, any basic Italian dressing will do well. You could also choose something like a Caesar dressing (not creamy-style) or a Greek vinaigrette.
Love summer salad recipes? Then you’ve got to try our Creamy Cucumber Salad! It’s cool, refreshing, and the perfect recipe to cool down during the hot summer months!
Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
Servings 8 1.5 cups eachIngredients
Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup olive oil ($1.28)
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar ($0.53)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Salad
- 12 oz. bowtie pasta ($0.79)
- 2 Roma tomatoes ($0.63)
- 1 yellow squash ($0.75)
- 1 zucchini ($0.85)
- 1 broccoli crown ($1.07)
- 1/2 red onion ($0.19)
- 1 12oz. jar roasted red peppers ($1.99)
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley ($0.35)
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette first. Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, oregano, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Set the dressing aside.
- Cook the bowtie pasta according to the package directions (boil 7-10 minutes or until tender), then drain in a colander. Rinse briefly to cool the pasta, then let it drain well.
- While the pasta is cooking and draining, prepare the vegetables. Chop the tomatoes, squash, zucchini, broccoli, and parsley. Slice the roasted red peppers (drained) and the red onion.
- Place the pasta and chopped vegetables in the largest bowl you have. Give the vinaigrette a brief whisk, then pour it over the salad. Stir the pasta and vegetables until everything is coated in dressing. Give it a taste and add salt or pepper, if needed. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Liquid Measuring Cup
Nutrition
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How to Make Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad – Step By Step Photos
Make the dressing first. Whisk together ½ cup olive oil, ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 clove of minced garlic, ¾ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Set the dressing aside.
Cook 12oz. bowtie pasta (or other short shaped pasta) according to the package directions (boil until tender, drain in a colander). Give the pasta a quick rise to cool it off, then let it drain well.
While the pasta is cooking and draining, prepare the rest of the vegetables. Chop two Roma tomatoes, one yellow squash, one zucchini, and drain and slice one jar of roasted red peppers.
Chop one crown of broccoli into small bite-sized florets and slice ½ of a red onion. Roughly chop ½ cup parsley (not pictured).
When the pasta is cool and drained and all the vegetables chopped, it’s time to assemble the salad. Place everything in the largest bowl or container you have, give the vinaigrette a quick whisk, then pour it over the pasta and vegetables.
Stir until everything is really well coated in dressing. Give it a taste and add salt or pepper if needed. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat. Make sure to give it a stir after refrigerating and just before serving to redistribute the dressing.
Great recipe but I’m really trying to cut oil out of my diet. Do you know of any substitutes for the oil in this dressing? Or do you have any recipes for oil free dressings that would work well with this pasta salad?
I think grilling the veggies would add a lot of flavor to this :)
I made this earlier today and had it for lunch. I was very pleased with it! I think I may make this to take to my family reunion in June. :)
This is great!
Thx
Okay, I just found my handwritten ingredient list and calculations… I included the roasted red peppers there, but forgot to type them in here! I used 2/3 of a jar, although I forgot to write down the size of the jar. I think it was probably around 12-15 ounces. I’m sure it wouldn’t matter if you used a little more or less. I’ll add it to the list right now :)
I don’t see roasted red peppers in ingredient list but do in pictures? How much of those did you use? Thanks so much! Love your recipes!
If it taste as good as it looks, that would be great. I love pasta salad anyway, I am going to try it.bettye103
Looks delicious! I plan to try this soon!
Just FYI, the roasted red peppers aren’t listed on your ingredient list.
This was fantastic! I’ve been eating it for days and I’m not tired of it at all. Thank you :)
i added sliced black olives and tuna to this recipe to make it more of a main dish – and it is SO GOOD!!
I made this today and just wanted to thank you for this recipe! Our garden is still producing a little produce and this was a great way to use up what we have left. I did make a few alterations that I wanted to share. I cooked the broccoli and zucchini in the pasta water by adding it at the last 2 minutes, just to take off the raw taste. I also didn’t have any yellow squash so I used one large zucchini and both red and green pepper. After tossing altogether, I cut some fresh basil and diced up a bit of mozzarella cheese and threw it in as well. The cheese bites gave a nice creaminess to this dish. It was fabulous and I will def. use this recipe again!
I really enjoyed this, but definitely the pour the vinaigrette over the pasta before adding anything else is really important, I didn’t follow that direction and some pasta was less flavourful as others. Overall great idea, i mixed in some grilled veggies and lots of raw veggies… Great way to use leftover veggies that I haven’t finished! Definitely a keeper.
i impressed my friends today with this, and i wouldnt change a thing- that said, i used whole wheat penne and cherry tomatoes cut in half (what i had on hand).
the dressing was simple and the salt amount was perfect. A+++ recipe!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was DELISH! I roasted the broccoli, yellow squash, and zucchini squash for a bit (maybe 20 min??), and added grilled chicken that had been marinated in FF Italian dressing since my fiance balked at the idea of a dinner with out any meat. I loved being able to incorporate more veggies into our meal.