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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“The dressing on this pasta salad is fantastic. I made slight modifications to the veggies and used what I had in the garden (fresh peppers instead of roasted) and I added some sautéed chicken to make it a main dish. It was delicious and a great, cooling summertime meal!”
Lee Anne
Easy Recipe for Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
This summer 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. 😉 I made a really basic tangy vinaigrette using olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, minced garlic, and seasonings, and it seriously ties everything together.
BUT if you don’t have a well-stocked pantry, any basic bottled Italian dressing, like we use in our classic pasta salad recipe, will do well. You could also choose something like a Caesar dressing (not creamy-style) or a Greek vinaigrette. Go with what you love or have to hand!
Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad
Servings 10 servings (1.5 cups each)Ingredients
Vinaigrette
- ½ cup olive oil ($1.40)
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar ($0.49)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.06)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.14)
- 1 garlic clove (minced, $0.06)
- ¾ tsp salt ($0.03)
- ¼ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.04)
Salad
- 12 oz. bowtie pasta ($0.98)
- 2 Roma tomatoes (215g, $0.40)
- 1 yellow squash (275g, $0.90)
- 1 zucchini (200g, $0.65)
- 1 crown broccoli ($1.83)
- ½ cup fresh parsley (chopped, $0.54)
- 1 12oz. jar roasted red peppers (drained, $2.13)
- ½ red onion (130g, $0.54)
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients.
- 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.
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Equipment
- Medium Bowl
- Large Bowl
- Medium Pot
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad Step-By-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Make the dressing: Add 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 to a bowl.
Mix well to combine and set the dressing aside.
Cook the pasta: Cook 12 oz. bowtie pasta (or other short shaped pasta) according to the package directions (boil until tender, drain in a colander). Give the pasta a quick rinse to cool it off, then let it drain well.
Prep your veggies: 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 12 oz. 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.
Add all the prepped veggies and the cooled cooked pasta to a large bowl.
Assemble the salad: 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.
What Else Can I Add?
I used fresh broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and parsley in this salad, then tossed in a few roasted red peppers just for fun. The great thing about a recipe like this is how flexible it is. You can mix and match based on what’s in season, what you’ve got in the fridge, or what your family likes best.
And if you want to turn it into more of a main dish or just boost the flavor, you’ve got options there too:
- Cauliflower
- Black olives
- Asparagus (grilled or sauteed asparagus)
- Chopped spinach
- Artichokes
- Grilled chicken
- Parmesan cheese
- Crushed baked tortilla chips
- Feta cheese
- Shrimp scampi
- Salami
- Mozzarella cubes or pearls
Serving Suggestions
I love serving this as a side for casual summer dinners. It’s great with sweet corn fritters and grilled okra for a super summery plate. It also pairs perfectly with a slice of savory tomato pie or with smash burgers at your next cookout. But honestly, I can’t think of anything this summer vegetable pasta salad wouldn’t go with.
Storage Information
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. The pasta will absorb some of the dressing as it sits, so I recommend making extra if you plan to make it ahead. Give everything a good stir before serving. Don’t let this salad sit out for more than two hours (or one hour if it’s over 90°F) to keep everything food-safe.
More Summer Pasta Salad Recipes
Our Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad recipe was originally published 6/14/11. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 7/17/25.
Made for supper because eastern WI was hot and humid and a cold supper seemed more appealing. We followed recipe exactly and added two cans of chickpeas for protein. It was easy and delicious. When we eat the leftovers we should some Parmesan cheese or feta cheese. I forgot when we had supper tonight.
Yummy recipe. Added a can of cannellini beans to add a little protein.
This was very good. I didn’t have all the veggies, but used what I had. Also just had egg noodles. The dressing was great and it went well with our burgers. This was easy and my family really enjoyed it. Thanks for the recipe!
Add a dollop of pesto. Mind officially blown.
The dressing on this pasta salad is fantastic. I made slight modifications to the veggies and used what I had in the garden (fresh peppers instead of roasted) and I added some sautéed chicken to make it a main dish. It was delicious and a great, cooling summertime meal!
Loved this recipe. Veggies straight from the garden into the sald. I didn’t put any broccoli in. Simply because we are not growing any. Perfect summertime salad.
I am always.looking for recipes with
veg for my two grandsons.
I am going to try blending some of the veg into the dressing.
It just might fool the BIg Boys in our family as well.
I will let you know.
People are. not always in agreement about hiding veg.
At 9 and 6 – I pick my fights.. lol lol
I’m about to make this for the second time! Easy and delicious. Thank you for the great recipes on this site.
One has to sauté the veggies
Hi Carol. Sauteeing the veggies for a pasta salad is certainly one way to make it, as is roasting the veggies. I do hope you get a chance to try the recipe, as leaving the veggies raw creates a textural component that’s absolutely magnificent, and that you miss out on when you cook the veggies.
This … BLEW MY MIND! It’s so yummy and I cannot wait to whip this up for every picnic I have this summer. Thank you so so much for sharing!
Alli B | http://www.onthetripside.com
I made this earlier in the day, to have for dinner. I added tiny mozzarella balls to it. I found I needed to add a lot of seasoning to it, as it was kind of bland, but that could have been due to the dressing I used {Ken’s Light Italian}. Served with grilled chicken and shrimp.Â
If you used Ken’s dressing instead of making the dressing in the recipe, then you shouldn’t rate this recipe because that’s not what you made.
i prepared this, and i think this would go well with brown lentils… would add more protein and be very filling. yum.
So good! I used marinated red peppers and they came with 2 cloves of garlic in the jar…chopped them for the dressing and had no waste. I added some mozzarella pearls and served with baked salmon. For leftovers the next day i added a splash of the red pepper juice from the jar and chopped salami.
Totally delish! I made this with fresh red bell pepper, black olives, artichoke hearts, lightly steamed asparagus and fresh mozz squares. I used high protein pasta to add more protein as well. Sooo good in the summer!
Made this as the pasta salad of the week for my teen boys’ school lunches. VERY good flavor and I added chickpeas in for more filling protein. I think it will be a keeper! Hubby liked it too.