Zucchini pasta salad is a light, crispy salad that’s loaded with summer flavors and so easy to put together.
This ‘faux pasta’ zucchini salad uses spiralized zucchini noodles, salami, colorful veggies, and cheese tossed in bottled Italian dressing for a refreshing salad, and no one can tell it’s low-carb.
Holly’s Summer Salad Scoop
- Prep Note: Double up on the zucchini ‘pasta’ and use them in keto chili or almond pesto zoodles.
- Recommended Tools: A spiralizer or mandoline makes veggie slicing quick, simple, and safe!
- Time-Saving Tip: Make a day ahead with half the dressing, chill, and add the rest of the dressing before serving.
- Budget Tip: This is a great recipe for using up leftover meats and veggies.
From Garden to Bowl
- Zucchini: This is a great way to use up a garden bounty of fresh zucchini. Choose firm, blemish-free, medium-sized zucchini squash for this recipe. Even yellow squash can be used instead of or in combination with zucchini.
- Meat: Chopped salami, chopped hard-boiled eggs, bacon crumbles, bay shrimp, tuna, or salmon are perfect in this recipe.
- Cheese: Cubes of mozzarella add creamy flavor to zucchini pasta salad. Bocconcini (small balls of fresh mozzarella), crumbled feta, and parmesan are also good choices.
- Vegetables: Colorful tomatoes, peppers, and onions make up the veggie base for zucchini pasta salad. Black olives, kalamata olives, sliced pepperoncini peppers, capers, asparagus, and mushrooms add even more color, texture, and visual appeal to this salad.
- Dressing: A bottle of Italian dressing is an easy go-to for this recipe, be sure it’s keto-friendly. You can also whip up a quick avocado lime dressing for an even more tangy flavor.
- Recipe Twists: For an extra crunchy topping, add toasted sliced almonds, pistachios, or crumble up some homemade keto crackers.
How to Make Zucchini Salad
- Spiralize zucchini and add to a bowl with the remaining ingredients.
- Toss with dressing and refrigerate (full recipe below).
- Garnish with parmesan cheese, lemon zest, or fresh parsley or basil.
Zesty Know-How
To prevent zucchini noodles from becoming watery, sprinkle ribbons with salt and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Pat them with a clean paper towel before adding them to the bowl.
No spiralizer? No problem! A vegetable peeler can be used to make thin ribbons instead. Stack the ribbons and use a sharp knife to cut them into smaller strips.
This salad is best served extra cold when the ingredients are crisp and the flavors are more pronounced.
Second-Day Salad
Store extra zucchini pasta salad in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 3 days. Drain, adjust seasonings, and add extra cheese before serving, if desired.
Other Low Carb Sides
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Zucchini Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds zucchini about 2 medium
- 2 ounces salami chopped
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese cubed
- ½ cup black olives sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- ⅓ cup red onion diced
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ cup bottled Italian vinaigrette dressing
Instructions
- Spiralize zucchini using the larger blade on a spiralizer. (see note if you do not have a spiralizer).
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to combine.
- Refrigerate 1 hour before serving tossing occasionally.
Notes
- Use a vegetable peeler to peel strips of the zucchini lengthwise to make ribbons if you don’t have a spiralizer.
- Salt and pat zucchini noodles dry to remove excess moisture before adding to the salad.
- Add contrasting textures with ingredients like sliced almonds, toasted pine nuts, or diced cucumbers and bell peppers.
- Explore different dressings such as creamy lemony yogurt, avocado-based, tangy balsamic vinaigrette, or zesty Italian dressing.
- Customize your salad with protein options like grilled chicken, shrimp, or chickpeas, and add extra flavor with herbs like mint or cilantro, and ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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