This easy vegetable pasta salad is loaded with rainbow of vegetables and tossed with simple (yet flavorful) balsamic dressing! Perfect side dish for any bbq meal.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
You guys, this salad is anything but boring.
Loaded with colorful fresh veggies, every bite bursts with juicy crunch, a hint of sweetness, and finishes with a moderate heat from cayenne pepper.
If you’re not into spicy, you may omit it. But that little bite at the end is the best part, especially if you have a cold beer to go with it.
Ingredient notes:
- Pasta – I like to use farfalle pasta, because it’s so pretty! But you can use any short pasta like fusilli, rotini, and penne. Choose shorter/smaller shapes of pasta, so it’s easy to eat. Also, pasta with grooves and folds is great as it hangs onto all the seasoning and dressing and tastes much better!
- Vegetables – You can use absolutely any kind of veggies that can be eaten raw. These veggies add not only vibrant colors to the salad, but also lots of nutrition and texture. (And the texture is everything!!!)
- Herbs – I especially love the peppery sweet burst from fresh basil. Toss it in right before serving.
- Salad dressing – We’re making very basic olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. I love adding a pinch hot pepper flakes. And I’m also obsessed with McCormick’s Tuscan Rosemary & Sun-dried Tomato. It make a huge difference, but Italian seasoning works too!
How to make this summer salad:
- Cook, drain and cool the pasta. Don’t rinse!
- Chop/grate veggies into small pieces, ideally uniform size.
- Cut basil leaves into strips by rolling them into a log.
- Make the salad dressing.
- Toss everything together in a large bowl.
This salad is delicious at room temperature as well as straight from the fridge. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make-Ahead Tips:
This pasta salad is ideal for making ahead! Simply toss everything together (yes, the dressing and all!) and refrigerate until ready to serve.
It’ll hold its shape perfectly for up to 2 days!
Storing Tips:
Store the salad in the fridge for up to 5 days, in an airtight container.
Serving Ideas:
This easy salad compliments any grilled meat beautifully. Here’re some ideas:
Hope you’ll enjoy!
Veggie Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For salad:
- 8 oz (225g) farfalle pasta Note 1
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 cup broccoli florets blanched or steamed Note 2
- ½ cup peas if frozen, thawed
- ½ cup corn kernels if frozen, thawed
- 1 medium carrot
- 1-2 tablespoon minced red onion
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves
For salad dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more to taste
- ½ teaspoon McCormick Tuscan Rosemary & Sun-dried Tomato seasoning or Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Pasta: Cook the pasta in salted water al dente per package directions, 11-12 minutes. Drain and cool. Do NOT rinse under cold water.
- Veggies: Cut bell peppers and celery into small cubes. Roughly chop blanched broccoli. Grate the carrot on a large box grater.
- Layer the basil leaves, roll into a log, and slice into strips.
- Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing until well combined.
- Combine: In a large bowl, toss the vegetables and pasta. And then add the dressing and toss until well combined.
- Serve at room temperature, or cold. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips & Notes:
Store the salad in the fridge for up to 5 days, in an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts:
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
Great combination of flavors and colors!
Shinee says
Thank you, Megan!
nikki says
Id love to make this salad but theres no recipe for the dressing?
Shinee says
Oh my, it must have been deleted, while I was switching the recipe platform. Sorry about that. And thank you for letting me know, Nikki. I just updated the recipe.
Renee says
Need to know portion size & calorie count
How much sugar too
Shinee says
Hi, Renee! Because I’m not a nutritionist, I don’t know how to calculate this information. Sorry.