Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

A Taste Of Summer In A Bowl

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad is a medley of grilled vegetables, caramelized to perfection on the grill. Crisp bell peppers, zucchini, onions and peppers are carefully charred. This infuses each bite with smoky goodness and a burst of natural sweetness. Tossed into al dente corkscrew pasta. This all creates a harmonious marriage of textures and tastes.

The Dressing

A toasted garlic and lime vinaigrette takes this dish to the next level. Grill the garlic until it is fragrant and golden brown. This releases its aromatic oils and infusing the vinaigrette with a rich, nutty flavor. Fresh lime juice adds a zesty brightness, balancing out the richness of the garlic and adding a refreshing citrusy kick. A splash of balsamic vinegar lends a subtle sweetness and depth of flavor, elevating the dish with its complex notes.

With each forkful, you experience a symphony of flavors and textures. The smokiness of the grilled vegetables, the chewiness of the pasta, and the tanginess of the vinaigrette. This all comes together in perfect harmony to create a culinary masterpiece that delights the senses and satisfies the soul.

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There is a full, printable recipe card at the end of this post. You can also hit the print button for the recipe to come up on one screen. From there you can screen shot this to save it to your phone.

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Cutting The Vegetables

Because we are grilling these vegetables, we wait to cut them into bite sized pieces until after we pull them from the grill. This helps make it easy to grill them. The vegetables do not fall through the cracks of the grill. The vegetables will not get too wekll done this way. There is no perfect way these have to be cut. ADDITIONALLY, make sure there is surface area and then get them grilled and they will soften slightly. You will cut them into bite sized pieces after you take them off the grill and they have cooled.

Any Veggies Will Do

The veggies in the recipe are a suggestion. ANY vegetables will be delicious in this salad. You can change them out based on seasonality. Use eggplant, tomatoes, other types of onion, a variety of pepper and even cauliflower or asparagus.

Corkscrew Pasta For The Win

I like this corkscrew shaped pasta. You can use ANY pasta you like. The shape and twists of this pasta makes it easy to eat with the vegetables. I also like how this is more dense pasta so the acidic dressing doesn’t make the pasta gummy as it sits.

Rinsing

It never fails that a busy body comes to the comments of my pasta salad recipes to tell me that you are not supposed to rinse pasta. This is true for HOT pasta dishes. When it comes to cold pasta salad, rinsing is key. This stops the pasta from continuing to cook so that it remains al dente. This also gets the starch off of the pasta so that with a cold salad dressing it is not gummy. So please make sure to rinse this pasta for this salad. You will also see this step in my BLT Pasta Salad and my party Potluck Pasta Salad.

Add The Lime and Garlic At Your Discretion

I love the charred lime and garlic in this dressing for this salad. It adds so much flavor. Keep in mind these are both string flavors so add a little at a time until it is the flavor you prefer. You can use these on other recipes too if you like. So you can save them in the fridge for another day. This is great to add to any Mexican inspired recipes including salsa!

Yield: 10 to 12 Side Dish Servings

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

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Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad is a medley of grilled vegetables, caramelized to perfection on the grill. Crisp bell peppers, zucchini, onions and peppers are carefully charred, infusing each bite with smoky goodness and a burst of natural sweetness. Tossed into al dente corkscrew pasta, their flavors intertwining with the pasta's twists and turns, creating a harmonious marriage of textures and tastes.A toasted garlic and lime vinaigrette takes this dish to the next level. Fragrant garlic is gently toasted until golden brown, releasing its aromatic oils and infusing the vinaigrette with a rich, nutty flavor. Fresh lime juice adds a zesty brightness, balancing out the richness of the garlic and adding a refreshing citrusy kick. And to tie it all together, a splash of balsamic vinegar lends a subtle sweetness and depth of flavor, elevating the dish with its complex notes. With each forkful, you experience a symphony of flavors and textures: the smokiness of the grilled vegetables, the chewiness of the pasta, and the tanginess of the vinaigrette, all coming together in perfect harmony to create a culinary masterpiece that delights the senses and satisfies the soul.

Ingredients

• For The Salad
• 1 Large red pepper
• 6 to 8 Green onions
• 1 Large purple onion
• 2 Limes
• 1 Head of garlic
• 1 Zucchini
• Small bag mini tri-color peppers
• For The Dressing
• 1 Bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/3 C of Salad Oil of your choice + a little for basting the veggies
• 1/3 C of Balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic and onion powders
• Pinch of chili powder
• Pinch of celery salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of dill
• 1 16 ounce box of corkscrew shaped pasta
• *pictures, links and extra explanations are in the post before the recipe card

Instructions

1. Wash your produce very well. Pat it dry.
2. Because these vegetables are grilled, we do not want to cut them into small pieces, we grill them as whole as we can and will chop them after grilling. *see post for a picture.
3. Cut and clean the red pepper. I keep it in four large chunks for grilling.
4. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise for grilling.
5. Halve the onion and peel it. Depending on the size I cut it into 3 to 4 large chunks.
6. Cut the "lid" off the top of the garlic head.
7. Halve the limes.
8. Place the peppers, green onions, purple onion, zucchini, mini peppers, garlic head, limes on a baking sheet and brush all of them with the oil of your choice. Then season all the veggies with a sprinkle of celery salt and some black pepper.
9. Heat up your grill, it should be hot but we don't want to burn the veggies. If you are able to use indirect heat on your grill this is best.
10. Add your veggies, cut side down onto the grill. Turn them occasionally. The paper skin on the garlic will burn, this is ok. Keep an eye on these veggies, turning them occasionally , they can get slightly charred on some spots, just make sure they do not burn. The limes will get very dark, this is ok. Some of the veggies may be done before others. Remove them as they are done. And set them back on the baking sheet and cover them loosely with foil. The veggies should still have some crunch to them.
11. Boil the pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water.
12. Make your dressing by mixing the oil, balsamic, the onion and garlic powders, the dill, the chili powder. Whisk well. Then you will squeeze the grilled limes into the dressing. I also easily squeeze the roasted garlic into the dressing and whisk. You can use as much or as little lime and garlic as you like. Add a little at time and taste. Adjust the dressing with the celery salt and pepper. Mince the parsley and add to the dressing. I use the rest in the pasta salad for garnish.
13. When the veggies have cooled and they will soften under the foil off the grill, cut them into more bite sized pieces.
14. When ready to serve toss the veggies with the pasta and the dressing. You can serve right away or let it hang out in the fridge for a couple hours. Add parsley and black pepper before serving.