Hello there!
It’s officially SUMMER today! Summer’s here in Virginia mean trips to Busch Gardens, the beach, and of course the farmer’s market for the freshest produce.
Have I mentioned before my love for the Farmer’s Market? It’s possibly one of my favorite places to go. The rows and rows of bright colored fruit and veggies; the people and neighbors we run into there; and I absolutely love trying out new foods from other local vendors like The Tart Cart!
She makes the BEST homemade granola bars and an awesome warm chickpea salad!
Summer also means an abundance of summer squash. We always plant two zucchini plants every year. Why two? Because that’s all we need for just the two of us. We are usually pulling off a new large zucchini every day!
One time we had one that was as big as Fifi!
Zucchini is such a versatile vegetable with a mild flavor. This squash is great to use in so many different recipes because of its mild flavor. It tends to take on the flavors of whatever you are cooking.
I sauté zucchini with a medley of veggies to go with a grilled steak, I stuff and roast them, or sometimes I eat them raw!
Let’s dive into this salad! Zucchini is spiralized into “noodles” and turned into your new favorite picnic staple in a matter of minutes!
This is another older recipe that needed a tune up from when I last spoke of it! I also changed up the recipe!
Instead of using cheese I am using homemade mayo! AND BACON. YAS please.
Anything and everything is always better with bacon or in this case crispy pancetta.
This salad will bring back nostalgic memories of eating the other pasta salad from the box with the glove on it. However, since we are using zucchini noodles this is much healthier. Healthier is always better in my opinion!
And so is big ass salads with a farmer’s market flare. That’s right. I turned this salad up a notch with a few favorites I found at our farmer’s market; cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper strips, basil, grilled corn, and crispy pancetta.
This Zoodle Pasta Salad is the absolute perfect addition to your picnic, BBQ, or church dinner. Summer is for gardening and gardening means tons of fresh produce.
I mean, how can you not love huge salads like this? I am all about them greens baby.
Ingredients:
PASTA
2-3 large zucchini, spiralized*
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
5 basil leaves
2 ears of corn
½ cup of peas
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 oz of pancetta
SAUCE
4 tbs of your favorite mayonnaise
2 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 ½ tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs fresh dill, chopped fine
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tbs fresh oregano, finely chopped
Instructions
In a medium skillet, preheat on medium high
Add pancetta and cook until crispy (about 5 minutes)
Place pancetta on a paper towel lined plate to drain fat
Preheat grill to medium heat
Grill the ears of corn directly on the grate for about 5-7 minutes until the kernels are browned and are beginning to char
Spiralize the zucchini, chop all veggies
In a large serving bowl, add all vegetables
In another medium sized bowl whisk together all ingredients for the sauce
Toss the sauce with the vegetables and serve immediately**
*If you do not have a spiralizer, simply cut the zucchini into very thin strips lengthwise
**If you are making this dish ahead of time, do not combine the sauce with the vegetables. This will prevent sogginess.
If you make this recipe please tag your photo with #thekitcheneer
- PASTA
- 2-3 large zucchini, spiralized*
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 5 basil leaves
- 2 ears of corn
- ½ cup of peas
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 oz of pancetta
- SAUCE
- 4 tbs of your favorite mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 ½ tbs red wine vinegar
- 2 tbs fresh dill, chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tbs fresh oregano, finely chopped
- In a medium skillet, preheat on medium high
- Add pancetta and cook until crispy (about 5 minutes)
- Place pancetta on a paper towel lined plate to drain fat
- Preheat grill to medium heat
- Grill the ears of corn directly on the grate for about 5-7 minutes until the kernels are browned and are beginning to char
- Spiralize the zucchini, chop all veggies
- In a large serving bowl, add all vegetables
- In another medium sized bowl whisk together all ingredients for the sauce
- Toss the sauce with the vegetables and serve immediately**
- *If you do not have a spiralizer, simply cut the zucchini into very thin strips lengthwise
- **If you are making this dish ahead of time, do not combine the sauce with the vegetables. This will prevent sogginess.
heather (delicious not gorgeous) says
all these fresh veggies look so good! it's making me dream of summer produce 😍
Amanda says
Yes!Best summer picnic salad! Thanks Heather!
Hannah | Eat, Drink, and Save Money says
Yum! This looks great.
Thank you for linking up with Share the Wealth Sunday.
Amanda says
Thank you Hannah!! ?
Kelly @ Nosh and Nourish says
I love everything in this salad!!! So darn pretty. Can't wait to peruse my farmer's market asap.
Amanda says
Thank you Kelly! Can't wait to hear how you like it!
Heather | All Roads Lead to the Kitchen says
That salad looks ridiculously good!
Amanda says
Thank you so much Heather!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
Oh gosh, I haven't been to Busch Gardens in FOREVER! Now I really want to plan a trip! Might have to do that as soon as I add this pasta salad to our menu!
Amanda says
We love Busch Gardens, season passes are a must!! Thank you Angie!
Kimberly says
This looks wonderful, so fresh and vibrant!
Amanda says
Thank you Kim!
Brenda @Sugar-Free Mom says
I just recently made a zucchini pasta salad myself but used olive oil in my dressing, but the mayo and mustard sounds awesome!! Looks so creamy!
Amanda says
Thank you Brenda!! ?
Isabelle @ Crumb says
Whoa! That is a humongous zuke! 🙂
I'm loving all the gorgeous summery flavours you've tossed together in this salad. I'm normally a bit skeptical of zoodles, but I like how this recipe plays up the zucchini flavour instead of trying to mask it under a heavy pasta sauce. (Because zucchini is delicious and all, but it's not pasta. Yeah, I said it. Sorrynotsorry.) I might even give in and buy a spiralizer just so I can make this! 🙂
Amanda says
Lol we kind of forgot about that zuke and left it on the vine longer than it should have been! I can't wait to hear how you like it Isabelle! ?
Stephanie says
Oh this looks so fresh and delicious!
Amanda says
Thank you Stephanie!!
christine says
This is like the mother of all "pasta" salads. You are not alone by the way, we are obsessed w/ our local farmer's market. Even my kids love it. We hang out for hours, eating fresh fruit and veggies - can't beat it.
Amanda says
Thank you! We usually just find ourselves there. Just looking at all the fresh vegetables and the fun of it all is just so exciting!
LaurenKellyNutrition says
SO gorgeous!! I love hoe fresh it looks. Perfect summer salad!
Amanda says
Thank you Lauren!
The Food Hunter says
I love how fresh and healthy this is!!
Amanda says
Thank you Theresa!
Amanda says
Aww thank you so much Renee! ☺️