Fresh Pasta Primavera Salad with Zucchini

Last Updated on June 27, 2021 by Chef Mireille

Pasta Primavera is a fresh no mayo pasta salad with fresh vegetables and fresh cheese. A seasonal fresh and vibrant salad made even better with fresh basil.

This delicious salad is perfect for summer picnics and a side dish for barbecue!

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This pasta dish is perfect for summer as it is made with an uncooked sauce. It is cool, refreshing and light. The traditional  Italian version only includes tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil along with the cheese. If you can get smoked mozzarella, it is even better. I didn’t have time to get to the specialty cheese store so I had to use plain old mozzarella.

However, since I had a bunch of veggies in the bin, I added some vegetables to make this dish healthier and more vegetable rich. As I am trying to personally limit my carbohydrate intake, I wanted to make the dish more vegetables with pasta instead of pasta with vegetables.

This pasta salad is light and fresh – perfect for summer instead of the mayo rich pasta salads we are used to.

How to make Pasta Primavera Salad

Serves 8
Ingredients:

• 2 cups pasta
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, diced
• 25 basil leaves, chiffonade
• 1 zucchini, chopped small
• 1 yellow squash, chopped small
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• salt, to taste
• crushed red pepper (optional)

Cook pasta according to package instructions and add all other ingredients except cheese,basil,  olive oil and lemon juice. Stir to combine.

Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Although you can eat immediately, the salad improves after 1-2 hours in the refrigerator, giving time for the flavors to develop.

This pasta salad is perfect for those hot summer days when your body craves fresh ingredients and simple flavors. Although I did not add the red pepper, feel free to do so if you are one of those that must always have some spicy flavors in your food.

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Pasta Primavera Salad

Fresh pasta salad perfect for summer picnics. Healthy no mayo pasta salad with fresh vegetables, cheese and fresh basil.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 8 people

1x2x3x

Calories: 148kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups pasta
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella diced
• 25 basil leaves chiffonade
• 1 zucchini chopped small
• 1 yellow squash chopped small
• 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• salt to taste
• crushed red pepper optional

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package instructions.
• Add all other ingredients except cheese, basil, olive oil and lemon juice.
• Stir to combine.
• Add cheese, basil, olive oil and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
• Leave the salad to rest for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to develop.

Notes

You can add more or less fresh vegetables as you prefer like corn, green beans, asparagus and bell peppers.

Nutrition

Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 503mg | Potassium: 448mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1110IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 1mg

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