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“This was sooo delicious! Made it tonight for my family and we loved it. So full of flavor. Thank you!! My husband finished it off so unfortunately no leftovers for tomorrow!” ~Krissy
Spaghetti salad marries a cool crisp veggie salad with hot pasta. It’s genius!
You’re going to thank me for this one, not only is it super delish, healthy, and family friendly, but the very idea is so appealing ~ when you combine hot pasta with a cool crisp salad the effect is wonderful. There are lots of contrasting temps, textures, and flavors going on and it brings something a little different to the table: always a good thing.
What you’ll need
As written the recipe is vegan, but feel free to add some cheese like shreds of Parm, or crumbles of feta, if you like.
- spaghetti ~ I use regular spaghetti, not thick or thin.
- green and yellow waxed beans ~ barely steamed and still snappy.
- cherry tomatoes ~ halved or quartered to release their juice.
- fresh corn kernels ~ flash cooked in the microwave then sliced from the cobs.
- red onion
- basil
- toasted pine nuts ~ toasting makes all the difference.
- extra virgin olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- garlic
- fresh rosemary
- salt and (fresh cracked!) black pepper
- baby lettuce leaves (optional)
why we quick blanche some of the veggies
Blanching is a cooking technique involving briefly boiling food, followed by immediate cooling in ice water. It helps preserve color, texture, and flavor. I do this with the green beans and corn. You can use the leftover pasta water if you like, or you can do this in the microwave. Either way your veggies will be brightly colored and crisp tender. Perfect for spaghetti salad!
A simple red wine vinaigrette is the ‘sauce’ for spaghetti salad
I dress the hot pasta with half of it, then the fresh veggies with the rest. If you serve it asap, you’ll get that lovely contrast of temperatures, but you can just as well serve the whole thing at room temperature, or chilled.
If I had to choose one type of meal to eat for the rest of my life it would have to be pasta…
- Pasta with Radicchio, Bacon, and Walnuts
- Zucchini and Lemon Pasta
- Kale and Pancetta Pasta with Lemon and Garlic
- Spaghetti with Peperonata with Tuna and Olives
- Wild Mushroom Pasta with Hazelnuts
- Brussels Sprout Carbonara
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Spaghetti Salad
Ingredients
dressing
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Salad
- 1/2 lb spaghetti
- 2 cups blanched or lightly steamed green and yellow beans, cut in 1 to 2 inch pieces
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, or quarters
- 2 ears steamed corn, kernels removed
- 1/4 small red onion, slivered
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (instructions in the notes below)
- basil leaves
- baby lettuce leaves, optional
Instructions
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients, taste to adjust anything you like, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water just until al dente. Drain and immediately dress with about half of the dressing. Put the pasta in a large shallow serving bowl.
- In a separate bowl toss the beans, tomatoes, corn kernels, and onions with the other half of the dressing. Do this while the pasta is cooking.
- Spoon the salad over the pasta, and garnish with pine nuts and basil leaves. Serve immediately.
Notes
- I laid down a bed of baby lettuce underneath the spaghetti just to add to the ‘salad’ vibe.
- Be sure your beans and corn are just lightly steamed, you don’t want them to be raw.
- As written the recipe is vegan, but feel free to add some shaved or grated Parmesan on top, or some crumbled feta if you like.
- To toast pine nuts, put them in a skillet over medium heat and stir almost constantly until they turn golden, this will happen fairly quickly. I like to use a little olive oil in the pan, which will make the process happen even faster.
Nutrition
Well, I made this recipe because I’m a pasta lover. I thought the red onions was really different. I didn’t have red wine vinegar so I used balsamic vinegar. It was okay the first night. But the next day it was fantastic. I am sharing the recipe with my friends. As always you recipes are wonderful. Thanks again. Joan!
Thanks so much Joan, it’s so nice to hear from you long time fans 🙂 thanks for your support.
Ooooh ka-DANG! Just in time.. hello weekend yumminess!
Have a delicious weekend!
Sue, what would be a good trade off for the green & yellow beans?
I know the taste won’t be as good, but could frozen corn, that’s been thawed, be used when fresh can’t be found?
I’m craving pasta & veggies. I’d like to make this salad this week.
It depends on what you can find, but I’d say zucchini, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli or cauliflower come to mind. And yes, you can use frozen corn, there are some really good brands out there.
Thank you for the great ideas!
This also excellent served cold.
Definitely, I love it cold.
This was sooo delicious! Made it tonight for my family and we loved it. So full of flavor. Thank you!! My husband finished it off so unfortunately no leftovers for tomorrow!
This looks great and will try it this weekend,sadly I haven’t seen any yellow beans at the two Farmers Market I go to this year.I have not seen the vendor that had green,yellow and purple Romano`s the last two years.Alas I will keep looking.Thanks for the recipe.
Yellow beans are elusive, for sure. In fact when I spotted some at my supermarket they inspired this recipe. Love them.
Thank you ! My family loves salads of any kind and this one looks fab.