Sponsored post written by me on behalf of DaVinci Pasta. The opinions and text are all mine.
Garden Fresh Spaghetti Salad features authentic Italian spaghetti and lots of fresh vegetables topped with tangy Italian dressing and zesty Parmesan cheese.
We love this Garden-Fresh Spaghetti Salad! The crunchy veggies combined with the delicious pasta, tangy dressing and zesty cheese make it a party in your mouth.
We tend to eat a lot of pasta salad in the summer to go with grilled meats, (not that we don’t eat them all year around, because we do).
I usually serve pasta salad as a side dish with dinner, and as the main course for lunch.
It is also a delicious and filling snack.
We love using DaVinci Pasta in our pasta dishes. Did you know that DaVinci Pasta is made in Italy with only the finest ingredients?
This makes it the perfect starting point to create many wonderful dishes.
We are huge pasta fans, who isn’t right?!
Baked, boiled, hot, cold, red sauce, white sauce, easy dishes, complicated dishes – we like them all!
Now, about this recipe… It makes a large amount of spaghetti salad (12-16 servings), so it is perfect to make if you are feeding a crowd.
And, it is such an easy recipe that you can’t really mess it up. I just love those kinds of recipes!
We take this Garden-Fresh Spaghetti Salad to various functions such as:
- Potlucks
- Family get-togethers
- School functions
- Work get-togethers
- Picnics
- Anytime we need to feed a crowd
There are only three of us left at home now, so we like to make a big batch on the weekend and eat it for dinner, lunches and snacks all week long, it’s fabulous.
I chose to use cherry tomatoes, zucchini, red and green bell peppers, cucumbers and red onions.
They are some of our favorite veggies and go great with pasta.
The grocery store where I shop had sweet yellow cherry tomatoes, so I chose to use half red and half yellow.
You could certainly use all red if you can’t find the yellow variety.
There is definitely a difference in taste between the red and yellow types.
A tip I learned since the internet became a thing (how did we ever get along without it?) is that if your red onion is too strong and you want to mellow it a little bit you have a couple of options.
- A) Slice it and then soak it in ice water for at least 10 minutes, swirling it around a couple of times.
- B) Place sliced onion in a bowl of water, add 2 tablespoons of fine salt and let stand 5 minutes. Rinse with fresh water.
With both methods, you pat them dry and use sliced or chop as desired.
We don’t mind the onion flavor, and we really like red onions, but this is especially good if you are making this for kids that don’t care for onions.
Another tip for this recipe – you will most likely need the biggest bowl in your kitchen to mix this in.
My large glass mixing bowl was not big enough, so I used my largest plastic mixing bowl.
Not only does DaVinci make many different cuts of pasta, they also make Italian olive oil and other Italian specialty items such as pesto, roasted red peppers and sun dried tomatoes.
Make sure to look for DaVinci Pasta products in your local grocery store, or check out this website to locate a retailer near you. You can also check out their Facebook page.
This goes great with Lemon Pepper Chicken or Honey Lime Chicken.
Garden-Fresh Spaghetti Salad
Ingredients
- 1 package DaVinci Spaghetti 16 ounces
- 1 large zucchini diced
- 1 cucumber peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- ½ medium red onion diced
- 15 red cherry tomatoes halved
- 15 yellow cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 bottle Italian dressing 14-16 ounces
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions (11-13 minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Toss all ingredients, except Parmesan cheese, together in a large bowl.
- Top with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Six Sisters’ Stuff.
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About Mindy
Mindy has been cooking for over 30 years, starting as a young mother who learned how to create delicious meals on a budget. Today, she shares approachable recipes made with everyday ingredients that are easy, affordable, and family-friendly. Her goal is to show that great food doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive.