This creamy lemony vegetable pasta salad recipe is a cinch to make- the veggies boil directly in the pasta water for less effort and clean up! Tossed in a light lemon garlic mayo and olive oil dressing, this is the perfect vegetarian make-ahead side or light meal.
Cook the pasta as directed on the box in heavily salted boiling water.
Meanwhile, whisk together the mayonnaise (3/4 cup), lemon zest and juice, garlic, and olive oil (1/4 cup) in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking to al dente, add the broccoli florets to the water.
1 minute before the pasta is finished cooking to al dente, add the arugula and/or spinach, peas, and corn to the water.
Drain the pasta and vegetables in a large colander and rinse with cold water until completely cooled (if it's still hot, it will absorb much of the dressing and the pasta salad will become dry). Shake off as much of the excess water as possible while it's in the colander.
Add the drained and cooled pasta and vegetables to the bowl with the lemon mayonnaise dressing. Mix together with the chopped red onions and almonds. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to four days (see notes).
Notes
This pasta salad holds up extremely well in the refrigerator. Use it for meal planning your lunch all week, adding chickpeas or white beans, cooked chicken, shrimp, or other kinds of protein to make it more hearty.
Make ahead instructions: If you make this in advance, I recommend reserving half the dressing to mix in just before serving, since the pasta will absorb some of the dressing as it sits in the fridge.
Make it vegan: use a vegan mayo.
Make it gluten-free: use a GF or alternative pasta, such as Banza.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.