Grilled Italian Pasta Salad
My Italian pasta salad takes advantage of summer by grilling the vegetables and then tossing them with homemade Italian dressing. Light, fresh, and easy!
Servings 6 servings
Calories 500kcal
Ingredients
- 8 oz cherry sized (ciliegine) mozzarella balls
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
- 12 oz short pasta, such as penne or rotini
- kosher salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium summer squash, sliced
- 1 bunch broccolini
- 1 lb cherry tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1/2 cup halved kalamata olives
Italian Dressing
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix together all the dressing ingredients until well blended.
- In a medium bowl, toss the dressing with the mozzarella balls and sliced basil. Set the mozzarella aside to marinate while you make the rest of the salad.
- Cook the pasta in well salted water according to package directions. Drain the pasta and toss it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Let the pasta cool to room temperature.
- Heat the grill. Put the grilling basket on the grill and heat until very hot. Toss the summer squash and broccolini with a little bit of olive oil and add them to the grill basket. Grill on high until the vegetables are tender and charred, 7-8 minutes. Cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces.
- In a large serving bowl combine the pasta, summer squash, broccolini, cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives. Pour the mozzarella and Italian dressing over the top and toss to combine.
Notes
- When prepping the broccolini, I cut off the ends and grill them whole. If the stems are larger than 1/2 inch in diameter, I slice them in half the long way.
- For the squash, I cut off the ends and slice the squash into long wedges.
- If you can't find cherry sized mozzarella, just buy larger ones and cut them up into smaller pieces.
- Other vegetables are great grilled in this salad, such as red onions, bell peppers, cauliflower, and green beans.
- A grill basket is very important for this recipe to make sure the pieces of vegetable don't fall into the grill.
Nutrition
Calories: 500kcal