Cold Spaghetti Salad Recipe

This cold spaghetti salad recipe elegantly combines noodles and raw and roasted vegetables, dressed in a tangy Italian dressing and served on a bed of beautiful greens. Every bite is a blissful combination of flavors. This summer spaghetti salad is 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 this cold spaghetti salad recipe, however, highlights the vegetables.

This summer spaghetti salad tastes heavenly stacked on top of arugula and bathed in an oil-free, scrumptious Italian dressing! 

Jump to:

• Summer Spaghetti Salad Ingredients
• Summer Spaghetti Salad Substitutions
• Vegan Italian Salad Dressing Ingredients
• Spaghetti Salad Dressing Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Make Cold Spaghetti Salad
• Summer Spaghetti Salad Serving Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• More Fabulous Vegan Salads to Try!
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• 💬 Reviews

Although my mom's recipe tasted fabulous, I elevated the flavors by adding various vegetables. For example, I chose arugula as a base for its peppery flavor. 

Summer Spaghetti 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 intense flavor, but the combination is fabulous when combined with red onions.
• 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. 

Summer Spaghetti Salad 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.

Vegan Italian Salad Dressing Ingredients

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. 

• White Vinegar: White vinegar is highly acidic, very crisp and clean, and totally neutral; essentially, this is the tofu of vinegars.
• Red Wine Vinegar: Red wine vinegar is Quite sharp and tangy, it has smokier notes and a fuller body than you'll find in white vinegar. It also lends a rosy hue to foods
• Fresh Lemon Juice: Lemons have a bright citrus flavor that is very tart, owing to the fruit's acidity.
• Maple Syrup: Maple Syrup provides sweetness to the dressing without using refined sugar.
• Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic whenever possible.
• Red Onion: Red onions are quite like yellow onions in flavor when cooked and slightly milder when served raw.
• Green Pepper: Green peppers are considered the mildest in flavor than other colors. They are prematurely harvested and have an apparent bitter taste and crisp sweetness. Furthermore, they are described as having a green, grassy flavor.
• Stone-Ground Mustard: Stone-ground mustard has a sharp, tangy, earthy, and spicy flavor. Its aroma is refreshing and pleasant, while the texture is powdery or sometimes coarse,
• Basil: I prefer using fresh basil for the best overall flavor.
• Parsley: Again, fresh is best if you have it.
• Italian Seasoning: The blend of herbs present in Italian seasoning usually consists of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, with other herbs and spices, sometimes appearing.
• Water: Water thins the dressing and acts as an emulsifier instead of oil.

Also, dressing the noodles and vegetables first intensifies the flavors before serving on the arugula. 

Spaghetti Salad Dressing Ingredient Substitutions

• Apple cider vinegar replaces white vinegar, but add a splash of juice or extra lemon juice to balance the flavors.
• Balsamic vinegar substitutes red wine vinegar in recipes.
• Bottled lemon juice works in a pinch.
• Agave nectar or date syrup is an excellent substitute for maple syrup.
• Replace fresh garlic with minced garlic: use ½ teaspoon of jarred minced garlic in place of each clove; garlic flakes: also called dehydrated (or dried) minced garlic, use ½ teaspoon of garlic flakes in place of each clove, or try granulated garlic: Use ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic in place of each clove.
• Choose red or yellow bell peppers instead of using green peppers.
• Dijon mustard is similar in flavor to stone-ground mustard.
• A general rule of thumb for the dried-to-fresh herb ratio: Use one-third the amount of dried herb for the fresh herb called for in the recipe. For example, if you're converting fresh sage to dried sage in a recipe that calls for 1 Tablespoon of fresh parsley, use 1 teaspoon of dried parsley instead.
• Make homemade Italian seasoning, or use any bottled version you prefer.
• 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

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut asparagus and place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
3. Shake the pan to make sure the asparagus isn't overlapping.
4. Cook for 15 minutes; remove from the oven and allow to cool.
5. Now, cook noodles according to package directions (my noodles cooked in 12 minutes).
6. Drain noodles in a colander, and immediately run cold water over the noodles to stop cooking.
7. Using your hands, move the noodles around in the colander so all the noodles are cooled.
8. Shake any excess water from the noodles in the colander and pour the noodles into a bowl.
9. Add the asparagus and other vegetables EXCEPT for THE BASIL AND PARSLEY.
10. Once dressed, toss all the ingredients together so the dressing covers the noodles and vegetables.
11. Next, cover the salad and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.
12. Garnish before serving.

Summer Spaghetti Salad Serving Suggestions

• The marinated noodles and vegetables absorb the dressing. Even though spaghetti salad can be eaten plain, I like adding vegetables.
• 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 cold spaghetti salad recipe a try. 

Recipe FAQs

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.
• This salad lasts 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
• Consider serving with crusty bread or Vegan Minestrone Soup!

Try this summer spaghetti salad recipe for a quick and easy weeknight recipe. Everyone always comes back for seconds!

More Fabulous Vegan Salads to Try!

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