There are pasta salads that are rich and heavy, and then there are the ones you want straight from the refrigerator on a hot summer day.

This is the latter.

Our Summer Pasta Salad starts with cellentani pasta and piles on the fresh vegetables: sweet corn, colorful grape tomatoes, crisp cucumber, bell pepper, red onion and fresh spinach. Finely shredded Colby Jack adds just enough richness, and the whole thing gets tossed in our homemade Spinach Ranch Dressing.

It’s cold, colorful, crunchy and refreshing—and it’s one of those recipes you can make exactly as written or use as a starting point for whatever looks good at the farmers market.

Why Cellentani?

We love cellentani for a pasta salad because of all those twists, curves and ridges. The shape gives the vegetables plenty of places to settle in while catching that creamy spinach ranch in every bite.

Cook your pasta just until al dente, then rinse it under cold water and drain it well. The cold rinse stops the cooking process and brings the temperature down so you can start building your salad without cooking or wilting all those fresh vegetables.

Once drained, we give the pasta a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and garlic salt before adding everything else.

The Showstopper: Fresh Sweet Corn

There are plenty of good things happening in this bowl, but the fresh corn on the cob steals the show.

We cook our corn right in the husk in the microwave until tender. It’s quick, easy and keeps the corn beautifully sweet and juicy. Learn how: How to Microwave Your Corn on the Cob 

But here’s the part that makes a difference: don’t separate every kernel.

When cutting the corn from the cob, we intentionally leave some of the kernels connected in larger slats. Those big pieces of sweet corn hold together as you toss the salad and give you these incredible bites of fresh corn throughout.

Paired with the cool pasta, crunchy vegetables and creamy ranch? Summer in a bowl.