Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad has asparagus, red bell pepper, and mushrooms with a fun pasta shape, and this is a perfect meatless pasta salad. And this recipe has a lot of veggies compared to the amount of pasta, but see notes for making the recipe even lower in carbs!

Click here to PIN this Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad!

Recently I discovered Whole Wheat Orecchiette at the store in my new town, and my mind started spinning with thoughts of making a really drool-worthy vegetarian pasta salad. It seems like there are a lot of ho-hum combinations that give pasta salad a bad name, but I like the challenge of coming up with something that’s really good. 

This Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad has wonderful flavors from roasting the vegetables, and then I added this fun pasta shape, sliced green onion, chopped parsley, kicked-up Italian dressing and coarsely grated Parmesan to make a truly fantastic salad.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• asparagus
• brown Cremini mushrooms
• red bell pepper
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• whole wheat Orecchiette pasta, or use any smallish whole wheat pasta shape
• salt for pasta cooking water
• thickly sliced green onion
• coarsely chopped parsley
• freshly ground Parmesan
• Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link), or other low-sugar Italian Dressing
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or other all-purpose seasoning blend
• coarse ground black pepper

What if you don’t have Orecchette Pasta?

If you can’t find the whole wheat Orecchiette I used, just use any smallish whole wheat pasta shape, even macaroni. 

What other vegetables can you use?

If you don’t have asparagus or aren’t a fan, I’d just increase the mushrooms and red peppers and you’d still have a delicious salad. Or add another roasted vegetable like green beans, zucchini, or even cauliflower. (Check roasting times if you use other types of veggies.)

How can you make this salad lower in carbs?

This salad has a lot of veggies in proportion to the amount of pasta, so it might be lower in net carbs than you think. But if you want to make a version that’s lower in carbs, just use even less pasta and more vegetables!

How to Make Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. Cut the asparagus, mushrooms, and red bell pepper into pieces that are similar size and shape and toss together in a bowl the olive oil, salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
2. Spread the vegetables out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast 15-20 minutes at 400F/200C. (My vegetables are too crowded; next time I would use two baking sheets!)
3. Here’s how the veggies look when they’re roasted.
4. Let the vegetables cool for about 4-5 minutes, then dump them in a colander and let the excess liquid drain off.  (Don’t skip this step or the salad will be watery. 
5. While they drain, mix together Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) or other low-sugar dressing of your choice, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or other all-purpose seasoning blend, and black pepper to make the dressing.
6. Once the vegetables have drained, put them in a bowl and toss with 3-4 T of the dressing mixture.
7. I loved the salad with the Whole Wheat Orchiette pasta I found (and here’s how to pronounce Orecchiette), but you can use any smallish whole wheat pasta shape. Cook the pasta according to package directions until it’s al dente, drain, and rinse with COLD water. Then let pasta drain well, stirring a few times so it doesn’t stick together.
8. When the pasta is cooled and well-drained, mix it into the marinated vegetables and toss with the rest of the dressing.
9. Add freshly grated Parmesan and toss again.
10. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature for a delicious meatless pasta salad.

More Vegetarian Pasta Salads:

Kale Pasta Salad 
Pesto Pasta Salad 

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

This Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad has asparagus, red bell pepper, and mushrooms with a fun pasta shape.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 12 oz. brown Cremini mushrooms, cut into thick half inch slices
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into thick strips about 1 inch long
• 2 T olive oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste (for seasoning roasted vegetables)
• 1/2 lb. whole wheat Orecchiette pasta (or use any smallish whole wheat pasta shape)
• salt, for pasta cooking water
• 1/2 cup thickly sliced green onion
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly ground Parmesan

Dressing Ingredients:

• 6 T low-sugar Italian Dressing (see notes)
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
2. Break a piece of asparagus to see where the woody part starts, then trim all the asparagus to that size and cut into 1 inch pieces.
3. Cut out stem and remove seeds from red bell pepper, and cut into strips about 1 inch long.
4. Wash mushrooms if needed and cut into thick slices (or half-slices if the mushrooms are large.)
5. Put the prepared vegetables into a bowl and toss with 2 T olive oil; season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
6. Spray or brush baking sheet with olive oil or nonstick spray and arrange vegetables in a single layer. (Next time I’d use 2 pans if the vegetables look crowded.)
7. Roast vegetables 15-20 minutes, or until they’re starting to shrivel but not completely soft.
8. While vegetables are roasting, fill a medium-sized pot with water, add about 1 tsp. of salt, and bring to a boil.
9. Remove vegetables from the oven and cool on the baking sheet 4-5 minutes.
10. While vegetables cool, whisk together the salad dressing, Spike Seasoning, and coarse ground pepper.
11. Chop the parsley and slice the green onions.
12. When the roasted vegetables are partly cooled, put them in a colander placed in the sink and let them drain until any excess liquid runs off.  (Don’t skip this step or the salad will be watery.)
13. After vegetables drain, put them back in the same bowl and toss with 3-4 T of the dressing mixture and let vegetables marinate.
14. When pasta water is boiling, add the pasta, stir, and reduce heat to a low boil. Cook until the pasta is barely al dente (check package cooking time.)
15. Drain pasta into a colander placed in the sink and rinse with COLD water, and then let drain well, stirring a few times so it won’t stick together.
16. When the pasta is well-drained, add it to the marinated vegetables, mix in the rest of the dressing, chopped parsley, and sliced green onions, and gently stir to combine.
17. Add the freshly-grated Parmesan, stir again, and serve salad slightly chilled or at room temperature.
18. This was still quite good after it had been in the fridge overnight, although pasta salad like this is best freshly made.

Notes

I used Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) but use any purchased Italian dressing that's low in sugar. I'm a big fan of Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), but use any all-purpose seasoning blend you have on hand.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 209Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2.5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7.8gCholesterol: 7.2mgSodium: 410mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 4.9gSugar: 5.2gProtein: 8.2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Using a moderate amount of whole wheat pasta and lots of low-glycemic roasted vegetables makes this Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad a good choice for Phase 2 or 3 of the  original South Beach Diet or other low-glycemic diet plans. This is probably a bit high in carbs for traditional low-carb eating plans, but there are a lot of vegetables for the amount of pasta so it might be lower in net carbs than you think.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Pasta Recipes or Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2013. It was last updated with more information in 2021.

Share This: