Spaghetti salad is an elegant combination of noodles, raw and roasted vegetables, dressed in an oil-free Italian dressing, and served on a bed of beautiful greens. Every bite is a blissful combination of flavors. Ready in 30 minutes!
When salad and pasta come together in a blissful bowl of goodness, all is well in the world. As a kid, I remember my mom making a cold spaghetti salad we loved. Truthfully, it was her way of coning my sister and me into eating vegetables hidden in the spaghetti drenched in Italian dressing. My version of spaghetti salad, however, highlights the vegetables.
Stacked on top of arugula and bathed in an oil-free scrumptious Italian dressing, this spaghetti salad tastes heavenly!
Jump to:
Although my mom's recipe tasted fabulous, I elevated the flavors by adding various vegetables. I chose arugula as a base for its peppery flavor.
Salad Ingredients
- Grape Tomatoes: grape tomatoes are oblong-shaped and smaller than cherry tomatoes. They have thicker skin, so they are less watery than other tomatoes.
- Roasted Asparagus: asparagus is low in calories and a great source of nutrients, including fiber, folate, and vitamins A, C, and K.
- Red Onion: red onions offer a sweet taste to dishes.
- White Onion: These onions tend to have a sharper and more pungent flavor but when combined with red onions, the flavor combination is fabulous.
- Zucchini: Zucchini has a mild flavor, slightly sweet and slightly bitter, with a rich feel.
- Red Bell Pepper: Red bells are sweeter, not bitter, and often have a slight citrus flavor.
- Green Pepper: sharper in taste than red bell peppers, green peppers taste a little bitter, but when combined with other salad ingredients, it offers a fresh grassy taste
- Artichokes: The flavor of an artichoke is a combination of herbaceous, sweet, and bitter with a crunchy texture
- Baby Bell Peppers: a small variety of bell peppers are added for additional flavor, color, and texture.
- Kalamata Olives: the flavor profile of kalamata olives becomes rich, fruity, and meaty with a notable sharpness that other olive varieties don't have.
- Parsley: parsley has a bright, herbaceous, and slightly bitter taste that serves as a contrast to emphasize the other flavors in a dish,
- Basil: Fresh basil is strong and unique, a bit peppery with a hint of anise. It adds a real hint of freshness to anything you put it in.
One way to make chopping vegetables easier and less time consuming, to try a vegetable chopper. Not only does a chopper save time, but it's also very affordable.
Substitutions
- Choose whole-grain or gluten-free spaghetti noodles of choice. Angel hair pasta, spaghetti noodles, and fettuccini noodles work well.
- Although this salad recipe is presented cold, choose to roast all the vegetables together and serve the salad warm.
- Add green or black olives as a substitute for the kalamata olives. Or omit the olives.
- Substitute green onions for the white onion for a lighter onion taste.
- Add fresh dill for an additional herb flavor.
Italian Dressing for Spaghetti Salad
In an attempt to keep it healthy, I dressed the spaghetti salad in an oil-free Italian dressing. Because the dressing enhances the pasta and vegetable flavors, I suggest making the dressing early, so it marinates in the refrigerator.
Also, dressing the noodles and vegetables first allows the flavors to intensify before serving on the arugula.
Dressing Substitutions
- Choose a store-bought fat-free Italian dressing of choice
- Try my Creamy Italian Dressing instead of the oil-free Italian dressing.
- Another dressing suggestion is Lemon Basil Dressing, which tastes fabulous with this pasta salad recipe.
How to Make Cold Spaghetti Salad
Once dressed, toss all the ingredients together so the dressing covers noodles and vegetables. Next, I cover the salad and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour or so before serving.
As a result, the marinated noodles and vegetables absorb the dressing. Even though spaghetti salad can be eaten, I like to add a little more vegetable love. So, I place a base of arugula (or any greens you prefer) in the base of each bowl and top with spaghetti salad.
Because the dressing absorbs into the salad, additional dressing isn't needed for the added arugula. Instead, the arugula intensifies the Italian flavors from the dressing, noodles, and vegetables.
If you are looking for a fabulous, elegant dinner, give this spaghetti salad recipe a try.
Recipe FAQs
Overcooking or undercooking the pasta., not seasoning the pasta enough, and not dressing the pasta salad in advance.
When making cold pasta salad, always rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process, as well as cool the noodles before making the salad.
I recommend making this pasta salad ahead of time because the flavors just get better and more pronounced as it sits. You can absolutely enjoy it right after assembling, but if you have 8 to 12 hours to let it sit in the refrigerator you'll definitely be happy you did.
Tips
- Always salt the water and bring the water to a full boil before adding the noodles to the water to cook them.
- Rinse the noodles in cold water after cooking to cool the noodles down.
- If eating this pasta salad warm, roast all the vegetables with the asparagus, toss with the warm noodles, dress, and serve warm.
- Serve the noodle salad alone, or add greens to the base of the bowl for more nutrient-dense ingredients.
- Consider servings with Vegan Garlic Bread!
Try other tasty vegan salad recipes
If you love cold spaghetti salad, give it a 5-star review below!
📖 Recipe
Spaghetti Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti I used fettuccini noodles
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into bite-sized pieces and roasted
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- ½ white onion diced
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in halves
- 1 zucchini diced
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- ½ cup basil chopped
- 8 ounces Arugula or greens of choice
Homemade Italian Dressing
- 1 recipe oil-free Italian dressing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place cut asparagus on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Cook for 15 minutes; remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Now, cook noodles according to package directions (my noodles cooked in 12 minutes).
- Drain noodles in a colander, and immediately run cold water over the noodles to stop cooking.
- Using your hands, move the noodles around in the colander so all the noodles are cooled.
- Shake any excess water from the noodles in the colander and pour noodles into a bowl.
- Add the asparagus and other vegetables EXCEPT for THE BASIL AND PARSLEY.
- Pour the Italian dressing on the noodles and vegetables, and using tongs, toss the dressing into the noodles and vegetables.
- Cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or more to intensify the flavors.
- Place a generous portion of greens (I used arugula) in the base of each bowl.
- Top with spaghetti salad and garnish with parsley and basil
Notes
- Always add a little salt to the boiling water when cooking spaghetti.
- It's important to trim the pale ends of each stalk because they tend to be woody and tough. You might be accustomed to simply bending each stalk until it snaps in half.
- I buy artichokes packed in water or brine rather than oil.
- Prepare and dress the salad ahead of time, so the flavors develop while in the refrigerator.
- Add 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to add a little spice to the spaghetti salad.
- For added flavor, add vegan parmesan cheese before serving.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Anonymous