Last week I shared a glimpse of a vegetable pasta salad I whipped together for a Super Bowl Party. I have been promising this post for a week now and today I am here to deliver!
My number one goal with this recipe was to make it light and healthy without compromising taste. Most pasta salads are drowned in not-so healthy dressings and include at least a few not-so-great-for-you ingredients.
Instead of making substitutions, I stripped it down and started with veggie noodles, then added any vegetable that made sense.
I finished it off with an easy homemade dressing and after a few spoonfuls, looked forward to indulging in leftovers for days to come!
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
2 12 oz. boxes vegetable pasta of choice
(I combined Market Pantry Veggie Farfalle + Market Pantry Tri-Color Rotini)
1 medium red pepper, diced
1/2 zucchini squash, chopped
1/2 yellow squash, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
3.8 oz. can black olives, sliced
15 oz. can garbanzo beans
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
***
cook time: 30 minutes
servings: 16 sides
***
Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, chop your vegetables and measure out ingredients. Make sure noodles are cooled. If necessary, run cold water through noodles while they are draining.
3. In a large bowl combine pasta, red pepper, squash, olives, tomatoes, and beans. Sprinkle in cheese. Pour dressing over pasta mixture and toss gently or store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
With the addition of black olives, you might not even need to add much salt to the salad.
I recommend adding the cheese gradually, and decide how much you want according to who will be eating it. I threw a little extra in knowing it would be served at a party, but would have held back a little if it was just being made for my household.
Store the leftovers in the refrigerator and enjoy as a meal, a side, or even on top of salads for days!
By keeping the dressing on the side, I was able to enjoy the pasta longer and even added black beans and feta cheese to it a couple of times!
Feel free to go nuts and create your own vegetable pasta creation. If you do, please share your added ingredients in the comments section below.
Enjoy!
Kate @ Coffee with Kate
Nothing better than a great pasta salad in the summertime. With all of the snow we’re getting now I’m definitely lovin’ this idea and looking forward to warmer days!
seekingstyle935
This looks so yummy!
xo Jennifer
http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com
Cassie
Looks yummy!
Diana
This looks delicious! *bookmarks*