This EASY Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad is loaded with fresh ingredients like juicy tomatoes, zucchini, squash, asparagus, and bell pepper, all tossed together with a delicious lemon herb dressing!
This might truly be one of my favorite summer pasta salads. So many fresh veggies seasoned and roasted to perfection, tossed with warm pasta and the most delicious homemade lemon herb dressing! This roasted veggie pasta salad is perfect for picnics or cookouts and makes a great side dish when grilling chicken, fish or steak. Best part is this pasta salad can be enjoyed warm or cold and it has SO much flavor!
This entire meal can easily be made in under 30 minutes and the most time consuming part is honestly all the chopping. I love that I can use up whatever veggies I have sitting in my fridge and roast them up for this pasta salad! I used a combination of zucchini, squash, tomatoes, asparagus, bell pepper and red onion, but you could also use broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, mushrooms, corn, and beyond. You really can’t go wrong!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Whole wheat rotini noodles
- Cherry (or grape) tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Asparagus
- Bell pepper
- Red onion
- Fresh basil
- Lemon Herb Dressing (see recipe below!)
How to Make Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad
One of the many reasons I make this pasta salad so much is because of how simple it is to throw together! Here’s how I make it in 5 easy steps:
- Chop your veggies. This might be the most time-consuming part, but hey play that podcast or blast some music – I promise it’s worth all the chopping! I like to try to make sure all the veggies are cut roughly the same size so that everything cooks evenly in the oven.
- Roast in the oven. Spread your chopped vegetables in an even layer on a large sheet pan (feel free to use two sheet pans for this if needed) and drizzle the veggies with a little olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes. You could also grill your veggies if you want that nice char flavor!
- Boil the pasta. While the veggies are roasting, bring your water to a boil, sprinkle in some salt, and cook the pasta according to the package directions. I personally prefer this pasta salad warm, but if you wanted a cold pasta salad, simply run your pasta under cold water after draining it in a colander!
- Make the dressing. This is another thing you can whip up while the veggies are roasting! Just whisk together the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, oregano and salt/pepper in a jar or bowl and set aside until ready to use. So, SO good and is a dressing I use for so many different meals! It honestly deserves it’s own post.
- Toss the salad. Now for the fun part! Once the veggies are roasted, mix them together in a large bowl with the pasta salad, fresh basil and drizzle the whole thing with the lemon herb dressing. Give it a good toss, season with additional salt, pepper and Italian seasoning and dig in!
Homemade Lemon Herb Dressing
I can’t tell you how much I love this dressing. Bright lemony flavor, tangy Dijon mustard, delicious garlic and fresh herbs really make this the perfect dressing for this pasta salad because it tastes amazing and quickly gets absorbed by all the pasta and veggies! SO. MUCH. FLAVOR. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Olive oil – I like to use a good olive oil that doesn’t have to be expensive, just make sure it’s cold-pressed and organic for the most flavor (in my opinion)
- Lemon – I just love the bright, fresh flavor fresh lemon juice brings to this dressing. Feel free to add a little bit of the zest too for even more lemon flavor!
- Apple cider vinegar – this adds a nice tangy flavor that goes perfect with the olive oil and lemon juice, but feel free to use red wine vinegar or white vinegar if thats what you have on hand
- Dijon mustard – this adds a little zip and helps to emulsify the dressing
- Garlic – I always like to use fresh garlic in my salad dressings, but a 1/4 teaspoon of dried minced garlic or garlic powder will work if that’s all you have
- Seasonings – a delicious combination of dried oregano, salt and pepper
Prepping and Storage
The great thing about this pasta salad is that it tastes great warm OR cold and will last up to 3 to 4 days in your fridge. Just make sure to store any leftovers in a sealed, airtight container. You can easily prep this pasta salad ahead of time by chopping up all your veggies and making the salad dressing up to a day before making.
If you do make this salad ahead of time, make sure to reserve a little bit of dressing to toss right before serving. The noodles and veggies will soak up a ton of the dressing (which is great for flavor!!), but you’ll want to freshen it up with more dressing when ready to serve.
More Pasta Salads You’ll Love
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
Ingredients
For the pasta salad:
- 1 lb whole wheat rotini
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 yellow squash, chopped
- 1 pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes, sliced
- 1 small bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt/pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (optional)
For the lemon herb dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (half a lemon)
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- Arrange the veggies on a baking sheet (you may need two), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Give them a good toss and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, until veggies are fork tender.
- While the veggies are roasting, bring your water to a boil, sprinkle in some salt, and cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- To make the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients in a jar or bowl until combined and smooth.
- When the veggies are done cooking, mix them together in a large bowl with the pasta salad and toss with the dressing. Stir in the fresh basil and season with additional salt and pepper, as needed. Enjoy!
Notes
*This pasta salad will last up to 3 to 4 days in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge. Feel free to enjoy this warm or cold!
Nutrition Facts:
- Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe
- Calories: 282
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 307 mg
- Fat: 7.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.5 g
- Fiber: 7.6 g
- Protein: 9.3 g
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
