This flavorful summer pasta salad, featuring zucchini and yellow summer squash, is a good choice for a vegan/vegetarian potluck, yet easy enough to make as part of an everyday meal. It's delicious with grilled vegetables and vegan burgers, and the parsley pesto gives it a brighter, fresher edge than a typical mayo-based pasta salad that can taste heavy in summer heat.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Zucchini and yellow summer squash. You can reverse the ratio — two yellow squashes and one zucchini, or one of each plus another tender summer squash like pattypan.
- Parsley pesto. A fresh, lemony alternative to basil pesto — add basil leaves too if you have them, for a more classic pesto flavor alongside the parsley's grassier note.
- Pine nuts or walnuts. Either works well in the pesto — toasting brings out more flavor and a deeper aroma than using them raw.
- Sun-dried tomatoes. Add a concentrated, tangy depth that balances the fresh vegetables and keeps the salad from tasting flat once chilled.
- Nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan. Stirred into the pesto, it rounds out the flavor with a savory, cheesy note that a plain herb-and-oil pesto can lack.
Variations
- Swap the pasta. Any short pasta shape works well in place of penne — fusilli and farfalle both hold the pesto nicely in their curves.
- Add protein. Chickpeas or cubed baked tofu make this a heartier main dish rather than a side.
- Add heat. A pinch of dried red pepper flakes gives the salad a subtle kick.
- Add olives. Chopped Kalamata or green olives add a briny contrast to the fresh vegetables.
- Make it a lemon-forward version. An extra squeeze of lemon and some zest right before serving brightens the whole dish, especially if it's been sitting in the fridge a while.
Tips for the Best Summer Pasta Salad
- Cook the squash briefly with the pasta. Adding it to the pasta water just before draining keeps it tender-crisp instead of mushy, and saves washing an extra pot.
- Rinse under cool water. This stops the cooking and keeps the salad from turning mushy or sticky as it sits.
- Adjust with lemon and salt. A little more of each, added judiciously and tasted as you go, really brings up the flavor of a chilled pasta salad, which tends to taste duller cold than warm.
- Add the cherry tomatoes last. Scattering them over the top just before serving keeps them fresh and juicy instead of releasing their liquid into the salad.
- Don't skip toasting the nuts for the pesto. It's a small step that makes a noticeable difference in the final flavor of the whole salad.
Make Ahead & Storage
This salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, making it a solid make-ahead option for a potluck or a week of easy lunches. If making it more than a few hours ahead, hold back the cherry tomatoes and add them just before serving so they stay fresh, and taste again before serving since pasta tends to absorb dressing as it sits.
How to Serve
Serve as a potluck dish, or alongside grilled vegetables and vegan burgers for an easy summer meal.
Recipe
Summer Pasta Salad with Parsley Pesto
A flavorful summer pasta salad with zucchini and yellow summer squash tossed in a bright parsley pesto — great for a potluck or an easy everyday meal.
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Servings:
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup parsley leaves
- basil leaves several, optional
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts or ½ cup walnut halves toasted or not
- juice of ½ lemon plus more, to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 to 8 ounces penne pasta or other, preferably whole grain
- 2 medium-small zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 1 medium-small yellow summer squash cut to match zucchini
- ½ medium red bell pepper finely diced
- ⅓ cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 to 2 scallions thinly sliced
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- dried hot red pepper flakes optional
- 1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes or so
Instructions
- Combine the parsley, basil, pine nuts or walnuts, lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor along with ¼ cup water, and process until the mixture is coarsely and evenly pureed. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente. Just before draining it, add the squashes to the water, and simmer for a minute or so. Drain and rinse the pasta and squashes under cool water, then drain well again.
- Combine the squash and pasta mixture in a large serving bowl with the bell pepper, dried tomatoes, and scallions. Add the pesto and toss well.
- Season with salt and pepper, and add a bit of heat with red pepper flakes if you'd like. Add a bit more lemon juice if you'd like — a combination of lemon juice and salt, judiciously added, helps bring up the flavor.
- Scatter the cherry tomato halves over the top and serve.
Notes
You can reverse this and use two yellow squashes and one zucchini, or one of each plus another kind of tender summer squash like pattypan.
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