Summer Pasta Salad with Veggies
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This summer pasta salad boasts a variety of colorful veggies and herbs mixed into bow-tie pesto pasta. This refreshing salad is simple to make. It’s healthy and delicious with a beautiful presentation.
📌 PIN SUMMER PASTA SALAD WITH VEGGIES
🧑🏼🍳 WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS SUMMER PASTA SALAD
- This dish is easy to make. It’s a great alternative to a classic (and possibly boring) pasta salad.
- It’s fresh and healthy. It’s also beautiful, colorful and tasty.
- This recipe is extremely versatile. Use whatever type of veggies you have on hand. If desired, add in some red onion or matchstick carrots, or a protein like chicken or steak.
- It can be served and enjoyed as a main dish or side. It’s perfect for potlucks, picnics and backyard gatherings.
🛒 Ingredients
- Bowtie Pasta
- Basil Pesto
- Sun-dried Tomatoes
- Kalamata Olives
- Feta Cheese
- Roasted Red Bell Pepper
- Grilled Corn
- Zucchini
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Fresh Basil
- Olive Oil
- Freshly-ground Black Pepper
- Kosher Salt
- Pine Nuts
🌽 How to Grill Corn FOR PASTA SALAD
For most of us, corn on the cob is an all-time favorite veggie. When making a fresh summer pasta salad, I love adding in some (slightly-charred) grilled corn kernels to the mix. They contribute delicious flavor and texture.
Here are step-by-step instructions for grilling corn on the cob.
- STEP 1: Remove corn husks and all silk fibers. Brush the corn with a little olive oil. Sprinkle each cob with salt and freshly-cracked pepper.
- STEP 2: Wrap each corn cob in a piece of foil just one layer thick.
- STEP 3: Grill for 20-25 minutes, turning the corn every 4-5 minutes so all sides are grilled. Remove the foil and place the corn straight on the grill. Rotate the cobs until all sides have char marks. Remove from grill.
- STEP 4: If desired, slather freshly-grilled corn with melted butter.
📖 HOW TO MAKE SUMMER PASTA SALAD WITH VEGGIES
- STEP 1: Boil the pasta in heavily-salted water until al dente. Drain well and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- STEP 2: Fold pesto sauce into the noodles.
- STEP 3: With a sharp knife, slice the corn kernels off the cob. Add the kernels to the bowl.
- STEP 4: Add in cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, thinly-sliced grilled bell pepper, and sliced basil. Gently fold them in.
- STEP 5: Transfer the pasta salad to a wide serving platter. A large surface area will best display the beauty of the fresh ingredients.
- STEP 6: With a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini from top to bottom in long wide strips. Holding the ends of a strip, gently twist it into a corkscrew shape. Arrange the twisted zucchini ribbons on top of the salad for an elegant look.
- STEP 7: Lightly drizzle olive oil over the top. Season with freshly-ground black pepper and a coarse salt like Maldon sea salt flakes.
- STEP 8: Sprinkle pine nuts over the surface. Add a few fresh basil leaves. Your summer salad is ready to serve and enjoy.
👩🏻🍳 RECIPE FAQ
One pound of pasta can feed four adults when served as a main course. As a side dish, 16 ounces of pasta will feed six to eight people.
In general, it’s best to serve pasta salad the same day you make it or within 24 hours. After that time, the veggies in the salad will go limp and the texture of the pasta may be soggy.
Sliders, steak, chicken, spicy grilled lime shrimp, baked potatoes, rustic artisan bread, Parker House rolls, and garlic hummus.
🥗 MORE Summer SALAD RECIPES
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Watermelon Arugula Salad
- Cold Spaghetti Salad
- Watergate Salad
- Tropical Fruit Salad
- Broccoli Salad with Bacon
RATE THIS RECIPE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flavor testers rated this the BEST summer pasta salad with veggies. They loved the colorful veggies and herbs folded into bowtie pasta with pesto. They said the flavors and textures were amazingly delicious.
If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with friends. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.
PrintSummer Pasta Salad
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Description
This summer pasta salad with veggies is delicious, healthy and satisfying. It features beautiful colors, textures and flavors. The perfect recipe for weekday meals and summer potlucks.
Ingredients
- 16-ounce box bowtie pasta, cooked al dente (according to package instructions)
- 1 cup basil pesto, homemade or store bought
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, grilled and sliced
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2 ears grilled corn, kernels sliced off the cob
- 1 zucchini, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- Garnishes: fresh basil leaves and pine nuts
Instructions
- Add cooked pasta and basil pesto to a large mixing bowl. Toss until the pasta is well coated.
- Add in feta cheese, Kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, grilled red pepper, grilled corn kernels, and halved cherry tomatoes. Fold these ingredients into the pesto pasta.
- Transfer the pasta salad to a large serving platter. Arrange twisted zucchini ribbons within the body of the salad. Add a few additional cherry tomatoes and pieces of grilled corn on the surface.
- Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Add a bit more feta cheese.
- Garnish with basil leaves and a generous sprinkling of pine nuts.
- Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Party, Potluck
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American, Italian
SUMMER PASTA SALAD with veggies 👉🏻 join the convo
Do you enjoy shopping at farmers markets for fresh summer veggies or growing your own at home? What do you think about this healthy and delicious summer pasta salad filled with colorful ingredients? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation in the comments below!
This was good but despite so many yummy ingredients, we found it needed something to lift the taste. Adding a good splash of lemon juice helped.
That sounds so good! I hope your family enjoys it. Thanks for stopping by!
This looks really delicious. We’re planning to have this tonight with some hamburgers. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I am so excited.
I really enjoy eating salads in the summer versus heavier meals. This salad has lots of delicious ingredients, I can’t wait to taste
I really hope you like it. Its delicious.
That pasta salad looks super good! It’s like, two of my favorite healthy meals in one. Thanks for sharing with us your recipe. :)
Youre so welcome. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Looks so delicious and vibrant. Looks perfect for summer!! Keep up the amazing work you’re doing (:
It is perfect for summer. Thank you so much. It means the world to me.
This salad is truly amazing. So many colorful veggies. It’s so healthy and delicious.
Thats what I lIke. Healthy and delicious, check and check. lol
Oh my god this looks amazing! I love how colorful and filling this salad looks.
Its really filling and super colorful. What more could one ask for? lol
Oooh! this puts me in pasta salad heaven! Can wait to try some of your recipes!
Thank you so much! I hope you like them as much as I did making them!
That pasta salad looks to die for! I’ll keep this in mind for my next BBQ!
It really is. It is perfect for a BBQ, everyone will love it.
Now this is my kind of salad. I’ll have to make this for my family soon because I know they will love it!
Thats great. I hope they enjoy it.
Love this salad! Its serious summer perfection, here! I might need to schedule a BBQ party just so I have an excuse to make this!
Thats a perfect excuse to throw a BBQ! lol.
I love how pasta salads are so versatile and can practically be made with anything in your pantry that go together, plus the colours are so pretty. I love corn in salads.
Thats exactly why I love it so much too! Plus, its so yummy!
This pasta salad looks so great, and I love that it is flexible enough to use whatever I have on hand from the garden that day!
Thats one of my favorite things too! Great salad to make any day of the week.
this looks so delicious! I love all the colors of the veggies, especially the grilled corn! PS love your serving utensils in these pictures!
The colors are one of the best parts. They make eating it that much better
I will really miss this salad when the summer’s produce is history! This is such a filling, flavorful, and colorful salad to enjoy at this time of year – I love it!
I totally agree with you. This is the perfect summer salad. Thanks for stopping by.
This looks AMAZING! I love anything with pesto….all of my favorites are in this salad! Will be making this salad this week for sure.
Im so glad you like the pasta salad with veggies. Its beyond delicious .