Easy Spaghetti Salad recipe – cold pasta salad loaded with fresh veggies, mozzarella cheese, and Italian dressing. Made this delicious pasta salad for a potluck and everyone raved about it! Spaghetti, yellow squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, black olives, and mozzarella tossed in Italian dressing – SO good! This is the perfect side dish for summer barbecues, potlucks, and family get-togethers.
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Pin This RecipeEasy Pasta Salad Recipe
This Summer Spaghetti Pasta Salad is one of our favorite pasta salad recipes. Tender pasta loaded with fresh veggies, cheese, and Italian dressing. It is super easy to make and is loaded with a lot of flavor. This is a great side dish for summer barbecues and potlucks. It is always a crowd-pleaser. Add this to your menu ASAP! You won’t be disappointed.
How to Make California Spaghetti Salad
This Italian pasta salad is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a large pot, bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook pasta in boiling water according to the package directions for al dente pasta. Drain the cooked spaghetti and rinse with cold water. In a large mixing bowl, combine spaghetti, zucchini, yellow squash, chopped tomatoes, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, red onion, black olives, and fresh mozzarella. Add a bottle of Italian salad dressing and toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours before serving. Transfer the pasta salad to a serving dish and garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- You can use regular or gluten-free spaghetti.
- Can substitute Greek dressing or Caesar vinegarette dressing.
- What can I add to cold pasta salad?
- parmesan cheese
- fresh herbs
- cooked chicken
- English cucumber
- asparagus
- broccoli
- spinach
- shrimp
- mini pepperoni
- Can Spaghetti Salad be made in advance? Yes! I actually think this tastes better the next day after the flavors have time to meld together.
- How long does Spaghetti Salad last? The pasta salad will keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What to Serve with Cold Spaghetti Salad Recipe
This recipe has quickly become a family favorite. Tender pasta, crunchy vegetables, and zesty dressing. One bite and it is sure to become one of your favorite pasta salads too! I like to whip up a batch on Sunday evenings for us to eat with lunch and dinner during the week.
This goes great with grilled chicken, burgers, hot dogs, anything! This makes a lot of food. You can easily divide the recipe in half if you don’t need to feed a crowd. Whip up a big batch ASAP!
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Summer Spaghetti Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 (12-oz) box thin spaghetti
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 squash diced
- 3 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 (2.5 oz ) can sliced black olives, drained
- 8- oz fresh mozzarella cubed
- 1 (16-oz) bottle Italian salad dressing
Instructions:
- Cook thin spaghetti according to package directions, then drain and rinse in warm water.
- Place tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, onion, olives, and cheese in a large bowl.
- Add cooked thin spaghetti noodles and a bottle of Italian dressing. Mix well.
Notes:
- You can use regular or gluten-free spaghetti.
- Can substitute Greek dressing or Caesar vinegarette dressing.
- What can I add to cold pasta salad?
- parmesan cheese
- fresh herbs
- cooked chicken
- English cucumber
- asparagus
- mini pepperoni
- Can Spaghetti Salad be made in advance? Yes! I actually think this tastes better the next day after the flavors have time to meld together.
- How long does Spaghetti Salad last? The pasta salad will keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Steph
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This Recipe
What brand of dressing do you use in this recipe???
any one that you enjoy