This roasted vegetable pasta salad with shrimp is perfect to make for an easy weeknight dinner, packed lunch, or to bring to your next BBQ. It’s easy, healthy, and delicious!
Cold pasta salads are such a great option during the summer months. You can pack them with you to work, have them ready to go for a quick weeknight dinner, or bring them to your next BBQ.
Pasta salads can pack in tons of veggies, delicious pasta (obvs), plus plenty of protein and healthy fats to make a balanced meal. This Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad With Shrimp checks all those boxes!
For this recipe, bowtie pasta is mixed with roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and corn, then finished with pan-fried shrimp, arugula, and a simple basil-white wine vinegar dressing.
Roasting the vegetables brings out SO much flavour and natural sweetness, adding a unique flavour to this pasta salad.
This recipe is also dairy-free and can be made gluten-free by using certified gluten-free pasta if needed.
How To Make Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is incredibly easy to make, and totally customizable! The way I approach any pasta salad is similar to how I approach most meals – I try to add a source of carbs, protein, healthy fat, fibre, and lots of veggies to make it balanced, filling, and nutritious.
The pasta will be the source of carbs in a pasta salad. I find using smaller pasta shapes works best – like farfalle/bowtie, penne, fusilli, cavatappi, or macaroni – as opposed to long pastas.
For protein, I’ve used shrimp in this recipe, but you can try adding cheeses (like boconccini, crumbled goat, or feta), fried or baked tofu, canned seafood, or other cooked meats.
Healthy fats often come from an olive oil based dressing, but adding chunks of avocado would also be delicious.
For veggies, both chopped raw veggies, cooked veggies, and leafy greens work great.
A good goal is to have all the ingredients be a similar size and to make sure you’ve got more “add-ins” than actual pasta. This ensures more flavour and also makes the dish easier to eat. As you can see – you can totally get creative with pasta salad recipes!
Pasta Salad Dressing
I find homemade vinaigrettes work best for pasta salads – something acidic and flavourful, but not too overpowering.
For this roasted vegetable pasta salad, I’ve made a simple dressing using:
Finishing your pasta salad with some freshly chopped herbs is another way to add in tons of flavour!
How Long Does Pasta Salad Last?
While pasta salads will likely taste best the day of or the day after making it, they can keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3-5 days.
That said, if you have cooked meat or seafood in your pasta salad (like this one), it’s recommended to eat it within 3 days!
Pasta salads can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature. Because of this, they’re also an awesome idea to pack for lunch!
Recipe Nutrition + Health Benefits
Curious about some of the nutrition and health benefits of this particular recipe? The whole food ingredients are packed with nutrients, such as:
Red Bell Peppers:
- One of the BEST sources of vitamin C, with one bell pepper providing 180% of your daily vitamin C needs!
- Vitamin C helps with collagen formation throughout your body, skin health, and reduction of cellular damage (it’s an antioxidant)
- A great source of other antioxidants, like carotenoids, as well
Cherry Tomatoes:
- An excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K
- High in antioxidants, like lycopene and beta-carotene
Corn:
- Rich in micronutrients like folate, B6, niacin, and potassium, as well as antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin.
- A great source of complex carbs and fibre, helping with energy, digestion, and heart health!
Arugula.
- This leafy green is rich in fibre, antioxidants, and tons of micronutrients like calcium, potassium, folate, vitamin C, K, and A
Shrimp:
- One of my favourite quick protein sources! A standard 3-ounce or 85-gram serving of shrimp provides:
- 18 grams of complete protein
- micronutrients like selenium, B12, iron, phosphorus, niacin, zinc, magnesium, and iodine.
- Shrimp is also a source of anti-inflammatory omega-3s.
- While shrimp may be high in cholesterol, we now know that dietary cholesterol does not raise blood cholesterol levels in most individuals. In fact, many of the nutrients in shrimp are incredibly heart healthy!
More Healthy Pasta Salad Recipes
- Easy Caprese Pasta Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad With Pesto
- Canned Mackerel Pasta Salad
- Winter Pasta Salad With Roasted Vegetables
- Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad
Did you give this Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad a try? Let me know by leaving a comment and recipe rating below!
If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad With Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 ear sweet corn
- 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 large red bell pepper (or 2 small)
- 1.5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for roasting vegetables)
- Approx. 115 grams bowtie pasta (farfalle), dry (about 1.5 cups dry)
- Approx. 16 large shrimp (peeled, deveined, tail-off)
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil (to cook shrimp)
- 2 large handfuls baby arugula
- 1 large handful basil, freshly chopped
- Salt + pepper
Pasta Salad Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp liquid honey
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- De-seed and chop bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. In a large bowl, toss chopped bell pepper and cherry tomatoes in 1 Tbsp olive oil and some salt. Spread onto a lined baking sheet.
- Remove hull from ear of corn. Drizzle and rub corn with remaining 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Add to the lined baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven for about 25 minutes, turning corn halfway through. All veggies should be slightly browned.
- While veggies roast, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, make pasta salad dressing by adding all dressing ingredients to a small jar with a lid. Shake ingredients together well, adjusting seasonings to taste.
- Prepare and dry shrimp with a paper towel. In a large pan, add avocado oil and heat over high. Cook shrimp for 1-2 minutes on each side, until opaque. Remove from heat.
- Remove veggies from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Drain pasta once done and add to a large mixing bowl along with shrimp and arugula.
- Remove kernels from corn by slicing them off with a chef's knife onto a cutting board or the baking sheet. Add kernels of corn, bell peppers, and tomatoes to mixing bowl.
- Give dressing one more shake, then pour over ingredients along with freshly chopped basil. Toss everything together until all ingredients are well-coated with dressing. Add additional salt + pepper to taste. Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for later!
Notes
Pin it for later:
This recipe is insanely delicious. My family loved it! i added a few toasted pine nuts and left out the shrimp for a vegan family member. will 100% make this again.
Thank you so much Liane!! Happy to hear it was a hit, and so great you were able to adapt it to your family’s needs 🙂