This Easy and Vegetarian Pasta Salad recipe is one of the best summer meals you could have! Quick Salad with a light dressing, simple flavors and so refreshing.
I love salad recipes that can feed a crowd and make a wholesome "lunch for two". This pasta salad recipe just does that! Without all the heavy cream or dressing, this can be made with basic ingredients from your refrigerator and pantry.
If you are looking for easy vegetarian recipes for potluck during summers, I highly recommend this pasta salad over heavy deep fried snacks and rice recipes. Best part is, you can go crazy with the vegetables, add a variety of greens to make it even more crunchy.
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Why this recipe works?
- A quick "Meal for 2" during summers with easy prep work
- Easy to source ingredients from pantry and refrigerator
- No heavy cream or dressing
- Healthy, Wholesome and Feeds a crowd
- Can be customized easily
Frankly apart from boiling the pasta and a little bit of chopping, there isn't much time you will be spending in the kitchen for dishing out this salad.
For the whole wheat pasta salad, I have combined a mix of vegetables that were available in the refrigerator, dry Italian herbs and Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer.
You can add a variety of vegetables to this salad and/or Cheese. I make use of whatever is available in the refrigerator. This salad is really great when the refrigerator is almost empty or you are in a mood to clean the entire fridge and make use of all the vegetables.
Salads should be comfortable to eat. I personally don't like stuffing my mouth with a big lettuce leaf. Chopping plays a key role in salads. Ensure all the ingredients are uniformly diced or chopped when it comes to salads.
I have added some Microgreens to this recipe made with coriander seeds. I grow 2-3 varieties of microgreens at home and use them up in salads. High in nutrition and health.
Growing microgreens in a pot is super simple. In about a week you get a whole bunch of microgreens that you can use in your salads. The crunch and freshness they add to the salads is amazing!
Step by Step Recipe
Whole Wheat Fussili Pasta
Water (Boiling Water + salt) for cooking the whole wheat pasta.
Pasta should be cooked al dente (with a bite).
Drain the water, rinse it with tap water to stop the cooking process and set aside to drain.
Add a tsp of oil and mix so that pasta is non-sticky while the rest of the ingredients are being chopped.
Ingredients chopped and prepped for the salad
Mix the ingredients in a wide bowl so that it is easy to toss / mix.
Add the seasonings, herbs, lemon juice. Toss well.
Add the paneer or cottage cheese to the salad mix and a handful of microgreens (optional)
Variations
- Add a bunch of chopped or torn iceberg lettuce leaves or romaine lettuce to the salad. You could also add baby spinach (home grown or store bought).
- You can serve the salad in lettuce cups for a party at home.
- Add feta cheese and some oven toasted croutons, pita chips or tortilla chips for the crunch.
- If you are avoiding bread yet crave the crunch, add some Air Fryer Roasted Chickpeas to the salad.
- Cooked Beans like Black Beans or Kidney Beans make a great alternative.
Recipe Notes
- This salad can be refrigerated and served as cold pasta salad.
- Alternatively, during winters, it can be served as warm pasta by prepping the vegetables, herbs and dressing and adding the cooked pasta at the end.
- If you like, you can add some grilled paneer bits to it instead of finely chopped cubes.
- Lemon Juice can be replaced with balsamic vinegar.
- You can use fresh or frozen paneer for the recipe. For frozen paneer, thaw it and then crumble, in case you are unable to chop them in small chunks.
FAQ'S / Additional Notes
No, I have used whole wheat fusilli pasta for the recipe, you can add gluten free pasta. Soba Noodles or buckwheat noodles also make a great replacement for fusilli.
No, I have added paneer or Indian cottage cheese. You can replace it with vegan cheese or simply skip it if you like. Additionally, boiled chickpeas make a great plant based protein alternative to paneer.
Always add the dressing and the herbs just before serving. Always prep salads and keep it refrigerated (vegetables) until you are ready to serve.
For serving 5 people, I recommend 3 handful portions of dry pasta. Or you could go for 100 gms per person too. If you aim at reducing the carbs, stick to 3 cups of cooked pasta and go crazy with the vegetables.
Yes, the best part about this salad is that you can prep it in advance. Chop all the vegetables, except onions and stock it in the refrigerator. Boil the pasta, drain and add a tsp of oil, mix and then store it in the refrigerator. The pasta will not dry out and will be non-sticky.
Other Salad Recipes to try
- Sprouts Salad Recipe (made with Mung Bean sprouts)
- Khamang Kakdi (Cucumber peanut salad)
- Corn Salad (No Oil Salad)
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Amaranth
Fresh Vegetarian Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For Preparing Pasta
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Fusilli Pasta (heaped cup) 1 cup is 200 ml measurement
- 4 cups Water (for boiling pasta)
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- Salt to taste Check notes
Salad Ingredients
- ¾ cup Corn steamed
- ¾ cup Chopped Capsicum
- 2 Tomatoes (thinly sliced) Read Notes
- 1 Onion sliced or chopped
- 50 gms Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese cubed
- Handful of Microgreens (optional)
Ingredients for Salad Dressing
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Dry Basil Herb Check notes below
- 1 tsp Dry Oregano Check notes below
- ½ tsp Red chilli flakes
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- Juice of half a lime
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Boil water in a vessel and add salt. The water should be salty so that the pasta doesn't taste bland post cooking.
- Add a heaped cup of pasta to the boiling water and allow it to cook until al dente (pasta with a bite)
- Drain the water, allow the pasta to cool in a bowl and drizzle some olive oil to prevent it from drying.
- In the meanwhile, prepare all the ingredients for the pasta.
- Boil or steam corn and keep aside. I have steamed corn in fridge always. I steam it with some turmeric powder and salt for that vibrant yellow colour.
- Slice onions, Chop tomatoes, capsicum or bell peppers and keep aside.
- Wash the microgreens and allow it to dry on a kitchen towel.
- Chop paneer into small cubes.
- In a big bowl, add the cooked pasta along with vegetables, paneer, corn and some microgreens. Sprinkle some salt to taste, dry basil powder, oregano, red chilli flakes, black pepper powder and juice of half a lemon.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp of Olive oil and toss well. Serve immediately garnished with some microgreens.
Notes
- While boiling water for pasta, ensure the water is salty else cooked pasta will taste bland. Taste and check the water before adding the pasta for cooking.
- In case of tomatoes - You can either slice or chop them as required. You can also scoop out the seeds too if you don't prefer seeds in salad. If you have cherry tomatoes in stock, you can use that too by slicing it into 2.
- I grow a variety of microgreens at home and add it to salads or sprouts. These Microgreens are made with coriander seeds. Just snip them, give it a good rinse in the colander and add it to salads. No need to cook. They are crunchy and full of water, nutrition. It is optional, add only, if readily available.
- Since fresh herbs are not accessible all the time, I have used all the dry herbs from the pantry. Please feel free to add fresh herbs.
- Quantity of red chilli flakes and black pepper powder can be adjusted according to preference.
- I have used paneer or Indian Cottage cheese as it was readily available in the refrigerator. You can add crumbled feta cheese or any cheese you prefer to the recipe.
- Feel free to add a variety of vegetables in the salad. Also, the quantity need not be limited to 3/4 cup as stated in the recipe. Go crazy with vegetables and/or pasta.
- This salad recipe is for 2 as lunch. If serving as appetizer, it can be sufficient for 4 people.
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Vidya Narayan