Sexy Summer Pasta Salad Recipe! (with Photos)

Need a dish to bring to a summer BBQ or have a party that needs a dish that will “WOW!” everyone?  You will LOVE this and after one bite, they will love YOU!

This is by far, a favorite request and it’s versatile so have fun adding more ingredients!  If you are new to Try it Vegan, note that we LOVE to eat with our eyes first so that is why there is a rainbow of colors in this salad.

Sometimes there are some dishes that require some extra love and this is one of them so plan accordingly and plan to make this the night prior to let all of the flavors marinate or if you don’t have time, make extra because it is AWESOME the next day like some other dishes.

For the record, the hot dog is vegan 🙂

Ingredient Suggestions for Pasta Salad:

(I didn’t measure this time around but offer suggestions below)

• small jar of artichoke hearts in oil (2 cups chopped)
• sun-dried tomatoes in oil (about 10 or 1/2-3/4 cup chopped)
• 2 small cucumbers diced
• 1 zucchini diced
• 1/2 small jar of roasted red peppers or 1/2-3/4 cup chopped
• red, yellow and orange small sweet peppers (2 of each color or 1/2 of bell peppers) chopped
• cup of sliced cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/4-1/2 cup of diced red onion
• 1 pound of pasta

(broccoli florets cut small make a great addition to this salad along with black olives, not shown)

Dressing:

(*****if making a day ahead, make half of the dressing, mix all ingredients and allow the flavors to set overnight.  Prior to serving, make and add the second half)

• 1 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 2/3 cup red vinegar
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
• 2 avacados
• 2 cloves of garlic

Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse with cold water.  Add all ingredients in large bowl.  In a Vitamix or blender, add half of the dressing ingredients (or all if you will serve immediately) and blend until smooth.  Pour over vegetables and pasta and chill prior to serving.

Try it! 🙂