Brighten your next summer meal with this fresh and colorful vegetable penne pasta salad. It's packed with veggies like baby spinach, corn, roasted red peppers, carrots, and peas with a tangy homemade olive oil and Dijon dressing.
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If you've been missing recipe content, you're in luck! This month, we're starting to focus on garden-to-table recipes. Now that the garden is growing and our plants are starting to produce, it's time to start making good use out of everything. We're kicking things off with a pasta salad recipe. One of my favorite side dishes to make during the summer is pasta salad. And since we're currently in the midst of another heatwave, it's an easy cold dish to make and enjoy all week long.
I'm using peas and carrots from the garden in this salad. If you have spinach growing, you'll want to use that, too. I put this vegetable pasta salad together after scrolling through old photos on Instagram. I came across a picture of pasta salad I had purchased from the trattoria that used to be next to my old job. I took a screenshot and immediately starting dissecting the salad to create a recipe.
I kept as close to the original salad as I could based on the photo - penne pasta, baby spinach, peas, carrots, corn, and roasted red peppers. The tricky part was figuring out the dressing, so I whipped up my own concoction with olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and seasonings. This salad is colorful, fresh, full of flavor, and a perfect summer side dish!
Vegetable Penne Pasta Salad
If you're looking for an easy, cold dish to serve on the side of summer meals, pasta salad is always a hit. Not only do I like pasta salad on the side of grilled proteins, but it's a satisfying light lunch during the hot summer months. Plus, it keeps in the fridge for about a week and tends to taste even better the longer the longer it sits in the fridge and absorbs all the ingredients' flavors.
We're going to start this pasta salad by preparing the pasta. Cook penne pasta until it's al dente. Then, rise it well with cold water and set it aside.
I used frozen peas, so I allowed them to thaw first. Then, I added the peas, spinach, corn, roasted red peppers, and carrots to a large mixing bowl.
In a smaller bowl, I mixed olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, oregano, and salt and pepper together.
I added the pasta into the bowl of vegetables and poured the dressing over the pasta salad mixture. Then, I tossed everything together.
I let the pasta salad chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld together.
Vegetable Penne Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 1 medium pot
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 small mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- 6 oz. penne pasta
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup corn kernels fresh, frozen, or canned
- 1 cup green peas fresh or frozen
- 1 cup roasted red peppers roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup carrot peeled and diced
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsps. red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- If using frozen vegetables, allow them to thaw first. Then, add vegetables to a large mixing bowl.
- in a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients together.
- Add pasta to bowl of vegetables and toss. Pour dressing over the pasta salad and toss to combine.
- Chill at least 20-30 minutes before serving.
Pasta salad recipes are always customizable. Don't have roasted red peppers? Add a fresh bell pepper instead. Use bottled dressing for a quick fix if you're out of ingredients to make your own. Easy swaps will still create a delicious summer side. For more pasta salad inspiration, click here.
Did you make this Vegetable Penne Pasta Salad recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
