Spaghetti Salad

Our spaghetti salad is the most popular, and most requested pasta salad in our recipe collection. It's loaded with spaghetti, crispy veggies, and cheese!

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword pasta salad recipes, spaghetti recipes

Servings servings

Calories 793kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

For the dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the salad

1 pound spaghetti noodles, broken in half
1/2 cup reserved sun-dried tomato oil
1 cup zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
1 cup red bell pepper chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
1/2 cup red onion finely diced
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes, oil reserved
1 (3.8 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained and rinsed
1 cup parmesan cheese grated or shredded
2 (8 ounce) containers Ciliegine (fresh mozzarella balls), drained
1 cup (plus more as needed) homemade or store-bought Italian dressing (dressing recipe follows)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup fresh basil, julienned

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make The Dressing:

In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, add all the dressing ingredients and shake vigorously until well combined.

Make The Salad:

Cook the spaghetti noodles (1 pound) in well-salted water until al dente. Drain. When well drained but still warm, transfer cooked spaghetti to a large mixing bowl. Add reserved sun-dried tomato oil and toss until evenly coated; set aside. Let cool. (I chop the veggies while the spaghetti is cooling)
To the cooled spaghetti, add zucchini (1 cup), red bell pepper (1 cup), cherry tomatoes (1 cup), red onion (1/2 cup), parsley (1 cup), sun-dried tomatoes (1 cup), olives (1 can), Ciliegine/fresh mozzarella balls (2 containers), parmesan cheese (1 cup) and 3/4 of the dressing. Toss to combine well and evenly coat the salad with dressing. Add more dressing as needed to taste. Adjust seasoning if needed. Add the chopped basil (1 cup) just before serving and toss.

Nutrition