Summer vegetable pasta salad is the perfect addition to your next warm weather picnic or barbecue. Tossed in a homemade vinaigrette dressing, this vegan pasta salad is filled with fresh summer produce like zucchini, summer squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, and corn.
Recipe summary
Flavor: Mild, fresh, light, flavorful.
Made with fresh ingredients: Tender rotini is tossed with zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, bell pepper, corn, and red onion in a homemade vinaigrette.
Serves: 16 people
Similar to: Summer Tortellini Salad, Zucchini Ribbon Salad
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Pasta - You'll need 16 ounces of dried (uncooked) pasta for this recipe. Rotini is a classic choice, but any medium sized pasta will work. Macaroni, farfalle (bow ties), or penne are great options.
- Summer vegetables - For this recipe, I used fresh summer squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red onion, green bell pepper, and corn (can be canned, frozen, or cut fresh from the cob). Feel free to substitute with your favorite vegetables, like cucumber, shredded/diced carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and olives.
- Dressing - Olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and red pepper flakes create a simple and flavorful vinaigrette dressing.
How to make homemade dressing
- Add your dressing ingredients to a bowl or liquid measuring cup.
- Whisk to combine and pour over your salad ingredients. Toss gently until fully coated.
Variations
What else can be added to your pasta salad? Here are a few ideas:
- Cubed cheese
- Shredded cheese
- Crumbled feta cheese
- Cucumber
- Olives
- Shredded carrot
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Celery
Frequently asked questions
Yes, substitute the dressing ingredients with eight ounces of your favorite bottled dressing, like Italian dressing, ranch dressing, or thousand island dressing.
Pasta salad will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. However, fresh produce degrades over time. Pasta salad with fresh veggies looks and tastes best when served within 1 day of preparing.
Summer vegetable pasta salad is a great recipe to make ahead and store before an event or party. I recommend making your pasta salad at least 2 to 3 hours ahead of time to chill in the refrigerator and allow flavors to meld.
📖 Recipe
Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini pasta, uncooked
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 small zucchini, cubed
- 1 small summer squash, cubed
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 cup corn
Vinaigrette dressing
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook rotini according to package directions for al dente pasta. Drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is room temperature.
- Place pasta in a large bowl with cherry tomatoes, zucchini, squash, bell pepper, onion, and corn. Set aside.
- In a bowl, add olive oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine. Pour over pasta salad ingredients and toss until evenly coated.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to chill and allow flavors to meld.
Recommended Equipment
Video
Notes
- Storage: Prepared pasta salad will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, but will have best flavor and appearance if served within the first day.
- Pasta salad looking dry? Pasta salad will continue to soak up dressing as it sits. If it begins to look dry, feel free to toss in additional oil and vinegar.
- Variations: Add sliced olives, cubed cucumber, shredded carrot, shredded/cubed mozzarella or cheddar cheese, crumbled feta cheese.
What a great salad!! I have so many vegetables from my garden and tomorrow is a church gathering. I was browsing on what type of salad I wanted to make and I found yours. I love it. It is so good, I started eating it already. So, I'll rather make another batch my myself with the leftover noodles I have. Very good. Thank you!! Looking forward to making again and again.
Hi Grace, so glad to hear you enjoyed the salad!