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California Pasta Salad is a delicious pasta salad filled with fresh vegetables and topped with Italian dressing. All of these flavors and colors make for a beautiful and flavorful side dish that will undoubtedly be the hit of your next party!
I love delicious cool salads for spring and summer, such as Creamy Pea, Cauliflower Broccoli, and Cucumber Tomato Salad. Serve this salad at your next BBQ!
Easy California Pasta Salad
As the weather starts to warm up this time of year, I find myself looking for recipes that feel fresher and lighter. I especially love a quick and easy cold pasta salad! This California Spaghetti Salad is ready in just 15 minutes and is a hit with my guests. It’s vegan-friendly, so it’s great to take along for a potluck.
This recipe is great to make ahead because it tastes better when it sits. It’s coated with an Italian sauce (made from scratch) and all the ingredients soak up that flavor. It’s packed with amazing veggies that add so much texture, flavor and color to pasta. It’s the perfect finishing touch to pasta salads.
The Best California Pasta Salad Ingredients
The ingredients are simple and easy, and you probably already have most of them. This recipe is great to make ahead so the flavors can meld together. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all the exact measurements.
- Fettuccine: Use thin linguine noodles and cut them into 1-inch pieces for easier serving.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Cut them in half to make them easier to bite into.
- cucumber: The cucumbers give this salad a fresh flavor that I love.
- Bell Pepper: I used red, but you can substitute any color peppercorns you like. Make this recipe your own!
- shallots: If you don’t like biting raw onions, marinate them in a vinaigrette first to reduce their tangy flavor.
- olives: Olives are salty and delicious!
salad dressing ingredients
- Italian Salad Dressing: Use whatever Italian seasoning you like, since you’re going to amplify it with all the other seasonings to create your own version of this staple dressing. I like to use this homemade version.
- Parmesan cheese: Grated and mixed with the dressing, it coats every part of the salad with its wonderful nutty flavor.
- Sesame seeds: Adds a rich, nutty flavor to sauces.
- chili: Adds fabulous color to this dressing and is the perfect addition to this California Pasta Salad.
- Celery seeds: These little seeds pack all the tangy flavors of celery—earthy, grassy, slightly bitter—and balance out this dressing.
- Garlic powder: Extra garlic powder helps keep the flavor strong even when refrigerated.
Let’s make pasta salad!
This California Pasta Salad is ready in less than 15 minutes, then all you have to do is let it sit and absorb all the flavors. Once your noodles are cooked and ready, you have to throw everything in and mix it up!
- To cook the pasta: Make according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Combine all ingredients: Add the cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, green and red bell peppers, red onion, and olives to the pasta in a large bowl.
- Make the dressing: Stir together the Italian dressing, Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, paprika, celery seed, and garlic powder.
- Toss the salad in the dressing: Pour dressing over salad and toss until coated. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
Tips and Variations
Here are a few different ways you can vary this California Pasta Salad to make it unique every time!
- vegetable: Get creative and swap out veggies with this versatile dish. For example, try favorites like broccoli or yellow and orange bell peppers.
- spaghetti: Use other pasta shapes. Some of my favorites, like Rotini or Farfalle, will work great!
- To cool the pasta: This pasta salad is best right out of the fridge. So, keep it chilled before serving.
- in advance: This is a great make-ahead recipe! It’s even better the next day, so I usually make it the day before and put it in the fridge overnight. This really gives all the flavors time to mix and soak into the pasta!
- Paste type: After draining the salad, soak the pasta in an ice bath (add equal parts water and ice to a large bowl) to shake them. Then, your noodles won’t absorb as much seasoning and become sticky.
store leftovers
This California Pasta Salad tastes just as good (if not better!) the next day! As long as you store it properly, this will be the perfect lunch all week long.
- in the refrigerator: store the salad in sealed container In your refrigerator, it will keep for up to 5 days. Since the noodles soak up all the dressing, I like to keep extra dressing on hand and add it to the salad just before serving. This makes it taste like you just made it!
To make the dressing:
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brush Italian Salad Dressing, Parmesan Cheese, Sesame Seeds, Paprika, Celery Seed, and Garlic Powder. Pour over salad and toss until coated. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
Originally published on May 29, 2015
supply: 12
Serve1cupcalories260kcal (13%)carbohydrate35G (12%)protein7G (14%)fat11G (17%)Saturated fat2G (10%)polyunsaturated fat3Gmonounsaturated fat5GTrans fat0.01Gcholesterol1mgsodium735mg (31%)Potassium272mg (8%)fiber3G (12%)sugar5G (6%)Vitamin A754unit (15%)Vitamin Ctwenty threemg (28%)calcium70mg (7%)iron1mg (6%)
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brand you use, your measurements, and the serving sizes for each family.