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Home » Pasta » Spaghetti Salad

April 26, 2018 By Sara 38 Comments

Spaghetti Salad

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This recipe for spaghetti salad is a unique pasta salad full of crunchy vegetables and parmesan cheese, all tossed together in a homemade zesty Italian dressing. The perfect dish to feed a crowd when you’re entertaining!

This cold spaghetti salad is my favorite recipe to bring to gatherings. It’s a familiar favorite that’s always the first dish to disappear and people constantly ask me for the recipe.

Spaghetti Salad Recipe | Pasta Salad | Potluck Recipe | Easy Pasta Salad #spaghetti #pasta #salad #dinneratthezoo

This recipe for spaghetti salad is a unique pasta salad full of crunchy vegetables and parmesan cheese, all tossed together in a homemade zesty Italian dressing. The perfect dish to feed a crowd when you're entertaining! #ecover #ad

We have been doing a lot of entertaining lately, nothing fancy, more like simple get-togethers with friends and family. To me, the casual dinner parties are the best kind – everyone always has a great time and I don’t feel pressured to put out an elaborate spread, I just go for easy yet delicious comfort food. This spaghetti salad is a hit at all of our gatherings – it’s fresh, colorful and feeds a crowd!

This recipe for spaghetti salad is a unique pasta salad full of crunchy vegetables and parmesan cheese, all tossed together in a homemade zesty Italian dressing. The perfect dish to feed a crowd when you're entertaining! #ecover #ad

How do you make spaghetti salad?

To make spaghetti salad you’ll need cooked spaghetti, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, bell peppers and red onions. The veggies are all chopped coarsely and tossed with the pasta in Italian dressing.

This salad perfect for entertaining because you can make it earlier in the day, it just gets better as the pasta soaks up all the dressing. Speaking of dressing, I went for homemade Italian dressing here – it’s actually really easy to make, it just takes about 5 minutes!

How do you make Italian dressing?

This Italian dressing is perfect for spaghetti salad, but is also fabulous on a green salad or as a marinade for chicken or fish. The base of the dressing is olive oil and red wine vinegar, which are combined with lots of herbs, spices and parmesan cheese to make a zesty dressing that is SO much better than the store bought variety.

This recipe for spaghetti salad is a unique pasta salad full of crunchy vegetables and parmesan cheese, all tossed together in a homemade zesty Italian dressing. The perfect dish to feed a crowd when you're entertaining! #ecover #ad

This spaghetti salad is a must-try recipe. It’s the perfect side dish to chicken or fish, but hearty enough to serve as a vegetarian entree. While you could use store bought Italian dressing in a pinch, the homemade dressing really makes it special and adds a lot of flavor.

The great thing about this salad is that it’s easy to switch up the vegetables to your liking. Other great options are shredded carrots, steamed broccoli, or sliced celery. You could even add some protein like chicken or shrimp to make it more of a meal. No matter how you serve it, this spaghetti salad will definitely be a hit!

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This recipe for spaghetti salad is a unique pasta salad full of crunchy vegetables and parmesan cheese, all tossed together in a homemade zesty Italian dressing. The perfect dish to feed a crowd when you're entertaining! #ecover #ad
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4.94 from 15 votes

Spaghetti Salad

This recipe for spaghetti salad is a unique pasta salad full of crunchy vegetables and parmesan cheese, all tossed together in a homemade zesty Italian dressing. The perfect dish to feed a crowd when you're entertaining!
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Keyword italian dressing, spaghetti salad
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 461kcal
Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

For the salad

  • 1 pound spaghetti noodles broken in half
  • 1 cup quartered and sliced cucumber
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1/3 cup finely diced red onion
  • 2/3 cup sliced black olives
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/4 cups homemade or store bought Italian dressing dressing recipe follows
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing

  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine or red wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons finely minced red bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced dried onion or 1 teaspoon fresh minced onion
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • For the dressing:
  • Combine all of the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to combine. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  • For the salad:
  • Cook the spaghetti in salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water.
  • Place the spaghetti in a large bowl and add the cucumber, red and green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, red onion and olives. Pour the dressing over the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste if desired. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and parsley over the top right before serving. Salad can be made up to 4 hours in advance.

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 816mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g

This post was originally sponsored by eCover. This post was originally published on August 2, 2016 and was updated on April 26, 2018 with new content.

Filed Under: Eat Your Veggies, Pasta, Salads, Side Dishes Tagged With: Cucumbers, Olives, Peppers, Spaghetti, Tomatoes

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Comments

  1. Kita Bryant says

    April 28, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    5 stars
    I would really love to dig into this one! Spaghetti salad is so darn good!

    Reply
  2. Alison Rost says

    April 27, 2018 at 6:13 pm

    5 stars
    Pasta salads are my thing during the warmer months of the year! They’re so fresh and filling especially during lunch! I think this spaghetti salad is worth a try and I like that you can switch up the veggies whenever you want.

    Reply
  3. wendy says

    April 27, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    This looks so nice and summer -picnic-ish. I just know I would love this dish!

    Reply
  4. Sarah Bailey says

    April 27, 2018 at 1:45 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my goodness, this sounds absolutely delicious – I bet spaghetti works so well in a salad adding a real different texture.

    Reply
  5. Karen Morse says

    April 27, 2018 at 10:06 am

    5 stars
    Salads are the best way to use up all that fresh veggies from the farmer’s market! Which is absolutely why I love them. Adding pasta will make it more filling so it’s the perfect lunch recipe. Great for parties too like you mentioned!

    Reply
  6. Carol Cassara says

    April 27, 2018 at 9:28 am

    5 stars
    That spaghetti salad looks amazing and something that I would totally prepare during this season. I’m all about salads and sandwiches during the warmer months of the year!

    Reply
  7. Tomi C says

    April 27, 2018 at 8:23 am

    5 stars
    The salad yes but that dressing recipe YES!!! I love a good olive oil / vinegar and Parmesan cheese dressing. Reminds me of the one served at our fave Italian restaurant and it goes so well on so many things.

    Reply
  8. Melissa Chapman says

    April 27, 2018 at 8:08 am

    4 stars
    This is a salad I would love to make and it is so healthy looking . I like to cook pasta with veggies so this would be a nice change and the kids will like it too.

    Reply
  9. Jeanette says

    April 27, 2018 at 7:28 am

    This makes me so hungry! I love how easy it is to make in my entire family would love it. It is something I can make up very quickly in on a weeknight anything easy fast and delicious is awesome in my book!

    Reply
  10. Alli Smith says

    April 27, 2018 at 7:25 am

    5 stars
    I love all pasta salads and this one sure looks like a winner! I love the color and all the fresh veggies. Looks delicious!

    Reply
  11. leesa navs says

    June 6, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    Can I use whole grain pasta?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      June 8, 2017 at 9:33 am

      Absolutely!

      Reply
  12. Donna says

    October 6, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    Love this spaghetti salad!

    Reply
  13. Susie says

    August 29, 2016 at 11:04 am

    5 stars
    The best! Omitted peppers, hubby doesn’t care for them, added some garlic powder and Italian seasoning…perfect! Used good seasons zesty italian.

    Reply
  14. Jamie says

    August 17, 2016 at 10:58 pm

    Do you think this would be good to try with zucchini noodles? I just bought a spiralizer and have been looking for a good dish to try it with.

    Reply
    • Sara says

      August 18, 2016 at 10:14 am

      I think if you made this with zucchini noodles you’d have to be sure to serve it immediately as the zucchini noodles will let off excess water as they sit in the dressing. I actually just published a post that has 15 different zucchini noodle recipes: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/zoodle-zucchini-noodle-recipes/. I love my spiralizer, hope you end up loving yours too!

      Reply
  15. Sam says

    August 7, 2016 at 9:57 pm

    Just came upon this great looking salad and going to give it a try!

    Reply
  16. Tricia @ Saving room for dessert says

    August 4, 2016 at 4:05 am

    My husband asked me about making spaghetti salad the other day – my mom used to make something like this every summer. He loves it and now I am inspired! This is a beautiful dish – love your dressing recipe!

    Reply
  17. Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says

    August 3, 2016 at 5:52 pm

    Lovely salad! I love noodles in any form and this is such a delicious way to add some to my plate 🙂

    Reply
  18. cheri says

    August 3, 2016 at 4:13 pm

    5 stars
    Love the pasta salad Sara, I can see why it is a big hit. Simple is almost always better.

    Reply
    • Janice says

      June 29, 2017 at 8:16 am

      I add pepperoni to mine,,,,really good

      Reply
  19. Debbie Oxier says

    August 3, 2016 at 10:54 am

    I make something similar but instead of the parmesan cheese I add a tablespoon of McCormick’s salad seasoning. Yummy!

    Reply
    • Karis says

      February 10, 2017 at 4:34 pm

      Yes I use same seasoning yummy

      Reply
  20. Beatrice says

    August 3, 2016 at 8:27 am

    Great looking pasta salad! The dishwasher tabs look so neat and easy!

    Reply
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With 3 young kids, dinner can feel like feeding time at the zoo! I'm a mom on a mission to create easy, healthy and family friendly recipes ...Read More
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