Marinated vegetarian pasta salad is great for celebrations or parties where many people gather. This is because it’s easy and simple to prepare a large amount at once. Plus, you can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Then when you want to eat it, you take it out and eat it at room temperature. It’s very tasty.
Vegetarian pasta salad
It’s low in calories and low in carbohydrates. Because it’s a combination of roasted or baked vegetables and pasta, topped with sauces. They only need to be marinated for 30 MINUTES to become a delicious and juicy dish full of earthy flavors. Serve it at room temperature. It’s the best meal prep for summer or for lunchbox. In the winter, you can warm it up in the oven or microwave for a quick meal.
How to make:
So EASY -> Baked or grilled vegetables -> Marinated in dressing -> Toss with pasta.
PRO TIP: You can eat JUICY pasta without too much oil. Because you need to add some pasta cooking water to the dressing. This way you don’t need to add too much olive oil to keep the pasta juicy.
This is because the pasta cooking water contains starchy. It can emulsify well with the oil, thickening the dressing and combining with the vegetables and pasta, giving the pasta more flavor. In this way, you don’t need much oil and dressing to make the pasta tastier and more aromatic.
PRO TIP: Let the vegetable mix well with some of the dressing first. It’s best to marinate them for 5 minutes before mixing them with the pasta. This way the vegetables can better absorb the dressing.
PRO TIP: The pasta should be cooked a little softer, as it becomes firmer when cold.
Stir the cooked and drained pasta with some of the dressing to help it absorb the dressing before you mix it with the vegetables.
Vegetables for pasta salad
The biggest advantage of this dish is that you can use any vegetables you have in the fridge or leftovers from the week. You don’t have to prepare any special vegetables. This saves money and eliminates leftovers. It’s very convenient. You can eat many different vegetables at once, they’re very healthy and nutritious.
Just be aware that different vegetables need different baking times. When you bake, there are no charred BBQ edges. You can also put the roasted vegetables in the pan and sear them on both sides. But you need to preheat the pan. Only a high temperature can achieve this effect.
- 25 minutes – above vegetables, cauliflower, and root vegetables such as carrots or squash.
- 15 minutes – broccoli, green beans, beets (diced).
- 5 minutes – asparagus, peas.
- No cook – olives, pickles, artichokes, dried tomatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and leafy vegetables.
Marinade dressing for pasta salad
The ingredients are very simple and you can find most of them at home. These are your usual spices.
- You just need to marinate this dressing with hot baked vegetables. This will allow the vegetables to soak up the dressing and become juicier and tastier.
- Toss with pasta alone so the noodles can soak up the dressing.
- Mix them and marinate them with the dressing for at least 30 minutes to 3 hours to get more flavor.
- Save some to add at the end, or use it on pasta to be eaten the next day.
Other easy 20 minutes noodles:
Cherry Tomatoes Pasta With Tomato Confit
Salmon Alfredo – Buttery and garlicky.
White Sauce Pasta – Creamy and garlicky.
Vegetarian Chow Mein – Less than 20 minutes.
Watch how to make:
Marinade Vegetarian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 400 g curly pasta, or any other dried pasta (Note 1)
VEGETABLES: (NOTE 2)
- 2 zucchini, cut into 1.5cm / 2/3" chunks
- 1 eggplant, cut into 1.5cm / 2/3" chunks
- red and yellow bell peppers, cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces
- 200 g button mushrooms, halved
GARNISH:
- 120 g feta, crumbled into big chunks
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
MARINADE / DRESSING:
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup (85ml) olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs or Italian herbs, or dried basil, parsley, oregano, thyme
- 1/3 cup (85ml) lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes, or red pepper flakes (optional)
- 50 ml cooking pasta water, note 3
Instructions
MARINADE/DRESSING:
- Put all ingredients in a jar and shake well. Set aside 10 minutes.
ROASTED VEGETABLES:
- Preheat oven to 250°C/480°F (230°F fan ) – super high heat to get charred BBQ edges.
- Put all vegetables on 2 trays, don't overlap. Roast 25 minutes, tossing once.
- Marinate veggies – Add some dressing to the roasted vegetables and mix well. Set aside.
PASTA SALAD:
- Prepare a pot of water and 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook the pasta according to package directions, but cook ADD 2 minutes longer. (Note 1) Pour off the water and drain.
- Add some dressing to the pasta and mix well. the vegetables and mix them with pasta. Set the pasta aside for at least 15 to 30 minutes to give them more flavor.
SERVING:
- Sprinkle with feta and chopped parsley and serve!
MAKE AHEAD:
- Make sure you eat them at room temperature. You can also bake the cold pasta (Note 4) or microwave it.
- Be sure to save some dressing for leftovers. After heating, they'll become dry. Therefore, you need to add some dressing to make them juicy.
Video
Tips & Notes:
- 25 minutes – above vegetables, cauliflower, and root vegetables such as carrots or squash.
- 15 minutes – broccoli, green beans, beets (diced).
- 5 minutes – asparagus, peas.
- No cook – olives, pickles, artichokes, dried tomatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and leafy vegetables.
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