This zoodle "pasta" salad is the perfect veggie-packed dish for cookouts in the summer! All the flavors of your favorite pasta salad but guilt-free at only 140 calories per serving!
Spring has sprung!! 🙂 I'm so ready to move out of warm, comfort foods like crockpot chili and on to lighter, brighter meals full of fresh fruits and veggies. This zoodle "pasta" salad is the perfect dish for this season, and it would be great for cookouts in the summer!
I've never been a huge fan of salads...I'm more of a pasta salad type of girl. The creamier and cheesier the better! But that brings along massive amounts of calories that I don't want. So I decided to take some of my favorite pasta salad toppings and add them to a zoodle (zucchini noodle) base, to create a healthier "pasta" salad hybrid. This recipe has quickly become one of my not-so-guilty pleasures. I'm addicted to it!
If you've never made zoodles you should try them. Similar to spaghetti squash, they're an excellent alternative to pasta and they work perfectly for a "pasta" salad.
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ZOODLE "PASTA" SALAD
140 calories per serving
Before we dig into prepping this salad, let's learn a bit about zucchini so we can make quality zoodles for this recipe!
What am I looking for when I choose a zucchini?
- Choose zucchini that is about 6-8 inches in length and relatively thin.
- Choose zucchini that is heavy for its size and has a shiny, dark green, smooth skin. The color should be uniform and bright and the ends should be firm and green.
- Avoid zucchini that has blemishes, bruises, soft spots or looks shriveled.
How do I store zucchini until I'm ready to use it?
- Store unwashed and whole in a breathable plastic or paper bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Leave one end of the bag open to allow for air circulation to prevent aging.
Tip: You can find more tips on seasonal produce selection and storage, plus tons of recipes from fellow food bloggers in my Monthly Seasonal Produce Guides! (You can find tips on choosing the tomatoes, cucumber and peppers used in this recipe, too!)
Okay, now how do I make the salad?
If you don't have a spiralizer yet, I highly recommend the Westmark Spiromat
You'll need to spiralize 2 zucchini for this recipe. In order to spiralize the zucchini, you need to cut off each end to create a flat surface. Then you just wedge it between the vegetable holder and spiralizing plate and turn the handle until you have a big bowl of zoodles!
I prefer to cut the zoodles into small, bite-size pieces to make it more similar to pasta salad, but you can leave it as long strands if you prefer.
Next, all you have to do is prep all the other salad ingredients! Cut 12 pieces of pepperoni into fourths as well as ½ of a cucumber worth of slices into fourths. Dice ½ of a red pepper. Add all of these to a large bowl with the zoodles and mix well.
If you're going to be serving this dish immediately, add in 4 oz EACH of extra sharp cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese cut into ½ inch cubes. Top with ½ C of Fat Free Zesty Italian salad dressing and dig in!
If you're going to be storing the salad for a while, don't add in the cheese and dressing until right before you serve it. Since zoodles aren't like pasta, the dressing won't be soaked up as much so the salad and cheese will become soggy if you let it sit too long. But if you enjoy this as much as I do then having it sit around won't be an issue! 🙂
If you're looking for some more cook out ideas, check out these BBQ ribs or this smoked corn on the cob! Another popular dish is this dump and done ramen salad if you'd like another veggie packed side! 🙂
Recipe Card
Zoodle "Pasta" Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side
- Method: Spiralized, Mixed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
This zoodle "pasta" salad is the perfect veggie-packed dish for cookouts in the summer! All the flavors of your favorite pasta salad but guilt-free at only 140 calories per serving!
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini, spiralized
- 12 pieces of pepperoni, cut into fourths
- ½ cucumber, sliced then cut into fourths
- ½ red pepper, diced
- 5 oz cherry tomatoes
- 4 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 4 oz pepper jack cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup Fat Free Zesty Italian salad dressing
Instructions
- Prep veggies by spiralizing 2 zucchini and then cutting them into small, bite size strands. (Zoodles!) Cut 12 pieces of pepperoni into fourths as well as ½ of a cucumber worth of slices into fourths. Dice ½ of a red pepper.
- In a large bowl, mix together zoodles, pepperoni, cucumbers, red pepper and 5 oz of cherry tomatoes.
- If serving immediately, add in 4 oz EACH of extra sharp cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese cubes and ½ C Zesty Italian salad dressing. If serving at a later time, add in cheese and dressing immediately prior to eating.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
If you're going to be storing the salad for a while, don't add in the cheese and dressing until right before you serve it. Since zoodles aren't like pasta, the dressing won't be soaked up as much so the salad and cheese will become soggy if you let it sit too long.
What do you think? Did this recipe make the cut for you or did it crumble? What would you do differently? Leave a comment below! 🙂
PS: Since I want my blog to be about learning and improving, I wanted to include one of my original images, next to an updated image. Thank you to the Pinch of Yum Food Photography Ebook for these lessons!
sheenam @ thetwincookingproject says
Oh this looks so delicious!!!!!
cutsandcrumbles says
Thank you, Sheenam!! 🙂