Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
This delicious and easy Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad is packed with fresh summer vegetables like fresh seasonal corn, radishes, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes straight from the Farmer’s Market or even from your garden – it’s coated with a simple dressing, making a tasty side dish.
This salad is perfect for potlucks
This vegetarian summer salad is filled with fresh veggies, pasta of your choosing (I always find myself reaching for rotini, fusilli or bowties in this dish), a dash of dill and a simple to make dressing to add a nice burst of flavor to everything. This classic vegetable pasta salad is absolutely perfect for potlucks because it can easily be doubled to make 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.
RELATED: Vegetarian Mexican Inspired Pasta Salad
What do I need to make a Vegetable Pasta Salad?
Visit your local farmer’s market and pick up some fresh vegetables, then turn them into a delicious vegetable pasta salad, here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients you’ll need for the Vegetable Pasta Salad:
- Rotini pasta
- Zucchini
- Heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
- Radishes, sliced
- Corn (can be fresh, canned or frozen)
- Broccoli
- Shallot
- Parsley
- Dill
Ingredients you’ll need for the Pasta Salad Dressing:
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Be sure to check out the full ingredient list and printable recipe in the recipe card below.
How to make this Summer Pasta Salad
This seasonal vegetable pasta salad comes together nicely in three easy steps:
- TOSS: In a very large bowl, toss together the ingredients for the salad (if using frozen corn, thaw corn before adding to the salad).
- SHAKE: In a jar, add the ingredients for the dressing. Close the lid and shake well to combine. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss to evenly distribute.
- REFRIGERATE: Cover and refrigerate the salad until ready to serve or serve immediately. Toss the salad once more prior to serving.
Make this Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad, then check out my Creamy Ranch BLT Pasta Salad, Vegetarian Mexican Inspired Pasta Salad, and Greek Pasta Salad and more of my summer salad recipes.
TIPS AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Read on for tips and substitution ideas on how to make this recipe, and how to avoid making it a disaster.
Tips
- For best results, cool pasta in cold water prior to adding veggies.
- Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes to allow flavours to marinate before serving.
Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad Substitutions
You can use ANY kind of pasta here that you would like! Since you’re simply mixing it in with a few other ingredients after it has already been cooked, you can have your pick. Any plant based, gluten full or gluten free pasta would work well here! I’ve tried this before with chickpea pasta and LOVED IT!
This salad is so versatile! 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
How to store this pasta salad
Pasta salad holds up great in the fridge, so it’s perfect for meal prep! Store this salad in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. If bringing this to a picnic, travel with this salad in a thermal cooler bag with an ice pack to keep t cool.
Other summer pasta salad recipes to try
- Vegetarian Mexican Inspired Pasta Salad – Tender pasta is combined with Mexican-inspired flavors that’s loaded with corn, black beans, tomatoes, jalapeño, cilantro, and a creamy lime dressing for a perfect summer time salad.
- Creamy Ranch BLT Pasta Salad – This BLT pasta salad is like the classic sandwich but with a few special changes. Everything is coated in a lightened up creamy ranch dressing that makes it all taste so fresh and delicious!
- Greek Pasta Salad – Cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onion and feta cheese are mixed with pasta and drizzled with a homemade Greek salad dressing to create this colorful and appetizing pasta salad!
Summer Pasta Salad Recipe
This delicious and easy Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad is packed with fresh summer vegetables like fresh seasonal corn, radishes, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes straight from the Farmer's Market or even from your garden - it's coated with a simple dressing, making a tasty side dish.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 (16 ounce) box Rotini pasta, cooked according to the package directions
- 1 Zucchini, halved through the length and sliced in half-inch pieces
- 1 pint Heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups Radishes, sliced
- 1 cup Corn
- 1 cup Small broccoli florets
- 1 small Shallot, halved and sliced thin
- ½ cup Parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Dill, finely chopped
For the dressing:
- 1 cup Olive oil
- ⅓ cup Red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a very large bowl, toss together the ingredients for the salad (if using frozen corn, thaw corn before adding to the salad).
- In a jar, add the ingredients for the dressing. Close the lid and shake well to combine. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss to evenly distribute.
- Cover and refrigerate the salad until ready to serve or serve immediately. Toss the salad once more prior to serving.
If you loved this salad be sure to check out my Vegetarian Mexican Pasta Salad.
Notes
For tips, substitutions, storage and serving info be sure to read the full Summer Pasta Salad post.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 318Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 201mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 3g
The provided nutrition information is an estimate and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information.
