Zucchini Pasta Salad
Zucchini Pasta Salad has all the flavorful ingredients I love in pasta salad, with zucchini noodles replacing the pasta! And this is a perfect salad for warmer weather, and it’s a great way to use up zucchini if they get too plentiful in the garden.
PIN the Zucchini Pasta Salad to try it later!
Zucchini Pasta Salad has all my favorite pasta salad flavors in a low-carb and gluten-free zucchini noodle salad, and if you’re reading this blog chances are good you’re interested in healthier summer food that’s delicious and won’t leave you feeling deprived. I’ve made this tasty pasta salad recipe with zucchini noodles many times since I first came up with it, and it’s always been a hit.
The recipe is a low-carb and gluten-free offspring of my a family-favorite salad I’ve been making for years, and if you’re not worried about carbs that’s also a fabulous recipe with all my favorite pasta salad ingredients! But I’ve been surprised at how well the pasta salad with zucchini noodles has been received whenever I’ve served it; I hope you try it if you like the idea of a pasta salad that’s low in carbs!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- turkey or pork Italian sausage
- Roasted Red Peppers in a jar (affiliate link)
- black olives
- green onion
- zucchini (or buy zucchini noodles in the produce department)
- Basil Pesto (affiliate link)
- Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) or other low-sugar purchased vinaigrette dressing
- fresh-ground black pepper to taste
How to make Zucchini Noodles for Zucchini Pasta Salad:
Several years ago I posted about How to Make Zucchini Noodles, and since then every summer I’ve had fun sharing Spiralizer Recipes that use the tasty noodles made from zucchini. Now you can buy zucchini noodles already made if you prefer that option!
Can the Zucchini Pasta Salad be a main dish?
This mock pasta salad made with zucchini noodles is wonderful served as a low-carb side dish, but since it has Italian Sausage included, I’d be happy with a big bowl of this for a delicious low-carb dinner. You could increase the amount of sausage if you prefer serving it as a main dish.
How low in carbs is the Zucchini Pasta Salad?
This delicious mock pasta salad has only about 8 net carbs per serving and 15 grams of protein!
How to make Zucchini Pasta Salad:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Brown the sausages over medium heat, turning often; then move them to a cutting board to cool. (Some sausage comes 5 in a package, even better!)
- While sausage cooks, whisk together basil pesto, purchased vinaigrette dressing and some black pepper. (I used Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) which is really low in sugar.)
- Drain roasted red peppers, pat dry with paper towels, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Drain olives. Thinly slice green onions to make 1/4 cup. (Photo taking must have broken down on those two ingredients!)
- As soon as sausage is cool enough to handle, cut into slices about 3/8 inches (1 cm.) thick.
- I used two medium-sized zucchini about 10 inches long. I made my noodles with the Spiralizer (affiliate link) shown here, but try one of the other methods in my post on How to Make Zucchini Noodles if you don’t have that. (Or buy zucchini noodles at the store in the produce department!)
- Put the zucchini “noodles” into a bowl big enough to hold all the ingredients and stir in the dressing. (You may not want all the dressing if you prefer your salads to be more dry.)
- Then add the sausage slices, roasted red pepper pieces, olives, and green onions and gently combine.
- Serve right away or chill.
- This Zucchini Pasta Salad was still surprisingly good even after it had been in the fridge overnight.
More Ideas with Zucchini Noodles:
- Tuna Zucchini Noodles with Green Olives
- Zucchini Noodles with Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce
- Zucchini Noodle Bowl with Peanut Sauce
Zucchini Pasta Salad
This Zucchini Pasta Salad is perfect for a summer party, and this amazing zucchini noodle salad salad is so delicious that no one is going to miss the carbs!
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 5 links Italian sausage (see notes)
- 12 oz. roasted red peppers
- 6 oz. (drained) black olives
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
- 2 medium zucchini (see notes)
- 1/4 cup basil pesto (see notes)
- 1/2 cup Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (see notes)
- fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized frying pan and cook the sausages over medium heat until they’re nicely browned on all sides, turning often. (Don’t rush this step.) Put browned sausage on a cutting board to cool.
- While the sausage cooks, blend or whisk together the basil pesto, vinaigrette dressing, and fresh-ground black pepper to make the dressing.
- Drain the red peppers in a colander placed in the sink, then pat dry and cut into bite sized pieces.
- Drain the olives into the same colander. Thinly slice enough green onions to make 1/4 cup.
- When it's cool enough to handle, slice the sausage into thin slices, about 3/8 inch or just over 1 cm.
- You can buy zucchini noodles at the store if you prefer; many markets sell them in the produce department!
- If you're making zucchini noodles, wash zucchini if needed and cut off both ends. Make a small slit lengthwise in the zucchini so you’ll get individual noodles.
- Use one of the How to Make Zucchini Noodles ; I used the Spiralizer with the large noodle blade.
- Put the noodles into a bowl big enough to hold all the ingredients. Stir in desired amount of dressing to moisten all the noodles.
- Then gently stir in the sliced sausage, red pepper pieces, olives, and sliced green onions.
- Serve Zucchini Pasta Salad right away or chill for a few hours before serving.
- This was still quite good after it has been in the fridge overnight, although it was best freshly made.
Notes
Use turkey or pork Italian sausage, whichever you prefer.
I used zucchini that was about 10 inches long; you can also buy pre-made zucchini noodles in the produce department.
I used my Basil Pesto with Lemon for this recipe, but purchased pesto will also be good in this.
I used Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) which is one of the lowest-sugar dressings you can find. Use any low-sugar vinaigrette you prefer
This salad was created by Kalyn after she got infatuated with her Spiralizer!
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 329Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 38mgSodium 549mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 2gSugar 5gProtein 15g
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.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This zucchini pasta salad recipe is great for low-carb or Keto diets, as well as for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. It’s important to use a dressing that’s low in sugar to keep it low in carbs, and the Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing I used only has 1 gram of sugar in two tablespoons. Use lower-fat turkey Italian Sausage if you’re making this for the South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Spiralizer Recipes to find more ideas for zucchini noodles. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The pasta salad made with zucchini noodles was first posted in 2014. The recipe was updated with a video in 2022 and was last updated with more information in 2025.
19 Comments on “Zucchini Pasta Salad”
I bought the Newman’s Own Classic Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing as you suggested and WE LOVE IT! (You might want to add it to your Kalyn’s picks)
One thing i don’t like about it, however, is that the bottle doesnt not have a squirt top, so the dressing dribbles on the outside and the jar gets greasy. By the time I get it shook up and unscrew the cap, the spices have settled back to the bottom! I recently wrote Newmans Cust. Svc about this issue. Perhaps you might have more influence if you wrote them!
I can’t begin to express how much i enjoy your web page and email notifications for new recipes. We went on a low carb diet 7 weeks ago. Since then, I have made several of your recipes which we enjoyed very much. Following you has made this diet much less boring than we expected!
So happy you are enjoying the recipes. That’s a great idea for a Kalyn’s Kitchen Pick. I am doing a terrible job of keeping up on those lately!
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Who needs a special occasion? I could eat this any time!
Thanks Lydia; it *is* really good!
The recipe is so unique!
Thanks, glad you like it!
Hi Kaylyn, one question. Does this get "watery" because of the zoodles? I know they have some water in them. Just curious. ( I just got a spiralizer. Can't wait to try it out).
Hi Kirsten, I didn't find it to be too watery, although the zucchini noodles don't absorb the dressing like a regular pasta salad does. You can saute the noodles over very high heat for a minute or two to evaporate some water if you prefer. I actually like them either way.
Great recipe, dear Kalyn 🙂 I was always about to buy such a spiralizer, now i definatley have to! Great dish for hot weather and not a typicall salad- i love it! Maybe i can try to make it with carrots too! Greetings from Südtirol, Italy 🙂
Maria, so glad you like it! And I highly recommend the Spiralizer. How fun hearing from someone in Italy; what a beautiful country you have!
Kalyn, this sounds delicious! I bought a spiralizer after seeing the "Zoodle" recipes on your blog. I have tried a couple of them so far and they were delicious! I found a Pad Thai Zoodle recipe on another blog that reminded me a lot of your recipes — flavorful, delicious AND low carb! Thanks for all you do to share your wonderful recipes with all of us!! Low carb seems to be the way to go for me and you have made it so much easier!!!
Pam, so glad you're enjoying the spiralizer and the blog!
I don't eat beets, so I haven't tried making beet noodles, but if you follow the link to Inspiralized she tells all the veggies she has tried. I'm not sure about round zucchini but I think it will. I bought this brand because I knew other people who had it.
Will your spiralizer make beet noodles? How did you choose the Paderno spiralizer over the other models, like the Japanese? Will it spiralize round zucchini?
Eileen, this was so good, hope you try it. Love the sound of those appetizers too.
This sounds like such a delicious combination1 For some reason, even though I love raw zucchini. I've never thought to use it quite like this. (I always seem to use long strips to make appetizer bites with cashew cheese. Also good!) Must try!
Thanks Jeanette; I am loving the zucchini noodles!
Been loving all the spiralized noodles I've seen around this summer. This one looks hearty too!