This pasta salad with Italian dressing is the perfect make-ahead side dish for any meal or gathering you may have. Bring it to BBQs, potlucks, or picnics for a tasty side everyone will rave about. It is easy to customize with your favorite mix-ins so that you know your entire family will love it!
This pasta salad is a perfect salad for potlucks or picnics. You can bring it as a side dish for backyard BBQs, cookouts, pool parties, and more!
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Zesty Mediterranean-Style Pasta Salad
I love to make this classic pasta salad featuring tri-color rotini.
You can use any of your favorite short pasta varieties, but the added color and vibrance are part of what I remember of this salad as a kid.
Combine tender pasta with tasty chopped veggies, pepperoni, and cheese, then top with your favorite Italian dressing for an instant side dish.
Try my homemade Italian dressing or this creamy Italian dressing for the best flavor yet!
🥘 Ingredients
This easy-to-make, quick pasta salad recipe only requires a few ingredients, most of which are very common. You may need to grab some fresh red bell pepper or pick one of my optional add-ins already on hand.
- Pasta - 4 cups of cooked, drained, and rinsed tri-color rotini (or use fusilli, farfalle, or penne pasta).
- Olives - ½ cup of diced black olives.
- Cheese - ½ cup cubed Colby Jack cheese (or cheddar or mozzarella cheese).
- Pepperoni - ½ cup of pepperoni (use mini pepperoni or chop pepperoni slices).
- Dressing - ¾ cup Italian dressing (see my homemade dressing recipe or use your favorite store-bought brand).
- Optional Ingredients - ¼ cup chopped salami and/or ¼ cup diced red bell pepper (or green bell pepper).
- Parmesan Cheese - ¼ cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish (or Romano or Asiago cheese).
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is such an easy dish that you will want to add it to your weekly lunch menu. Boil the pasta and mix everything - that's it.
You will need a pot for cooking the pasta, a colander, and a large mixing bowl. My 7-ingredient pasta salad will yield approximately 8 side salad servings.
- Pasta. Cook the 4 cups (240 grams) of rotini pasta as directed on the packaging. Then, drain it and rinse it with cold water.
- Combine. In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked pasta, ½ cup (67.5 grams) of black olives, ½ cup (66 grams) of Colby Jack cheese, ½ cup (56.5 grams) of mini pepperonis, and ¼ cup (28.25 grams) of the optional salami and ¼ cup red bell pepper if using. Drizzle half of the ¾ cup (177.44 milliliters) of Italian dressing over the top and toss until everything is well-coated.
- Chill. Cover the bowl and place the pasta salad into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours so the flavors can meld together.
- Prepare. When ready to serve, add the remaining Italian dressing, toss to combine, and then portion into separate bowls.
- Serve. Top with ¼ cup (25 grams) of freshly grated Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheese and serve immediately.
This delicious salad is hearty and filling exactly as it is. However, I'm sure everyone would love it alongside some oven garlic bread. Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- You can easily customize this pasta salad with your favorite mix-ins! Try cubed ham, diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, or anything else you might like!
- I strongly recommend trying out my homemade Italian dressing (it is ridiculously delicious), but store-bought dressing will work, too!
- You can make this pasta salad in advance, the evening before you need it. This gives the flavors plenty of time to meld together in the fridge! Just stir it well after adding the additional dressing, as the dressing may have pooled on the bottom of the bowl.
🥡 Storing
Keep your pasta salad in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Give it a quick toss before enjoying, redistributing anything that may have settled on the bottom of the bowl!
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❓ Recipe FAQs
This is one of those recipes where I actually recommend preparing it in advance! Go ahead and whip it up the evening before you need it, and store it in the fridge overnight. This gives it plenty of time to soak up all of those amazing flavors!
Pasta salad is served chilled, straight from the fridge! It may be different than your typical pasta dishes, but it is oh-so-tasty!
You may have heard before that rinsing pasta is a huge no-no. This is true when preparing any hot pasta dish. However, you should rinse the pasta when making a cold pasta recipe! So, you should rinse your pasta after boiling it for pasta salad.
🥗 More Easy Salads To Make
- Chicken Salad with Grapes - This easy and delicious chicken salad is perfect for picnics!
- Potato Salad - A classic side dish that is widely enjoyed at potlucks, barbecues, and cookouts!
- Greek Pasta Salad - Another variation of pasta salad that emphasizes some tasty Greek flavors!
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad - Chilled macaroni is tossed with mayonnaise, vinegar, and pineapple juice!
- Tuna Salad With Pasta - Delicious tuna salad is mixed up with bow tie pasta!
- Rotisserie Chicken Salad - Using rotisserie chicken makes this salad super quick and easy to prepare!
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📖 Recipe Card
Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 cups rotini pasta (cooked, or fusilli, farfalle, or penne)
- ½ cup black olives (diced)
- ½ cup Colby Jack cheese (cubed)
- ½ cup mini pepperoni
- ¾ cup Italian dressing (see recipe or use store-bought)
- ¼ cup salami (optional, chopped)
- ¼ cup red bell pepper (optional, diced, or green bell pepper)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated for garnish, or Romano, or Asiago)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Cook the 4 cups rotini pasta as directed on the packaging. Then, drain it and rinse with cold water.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked pasta, ½ cup black olives, ½ cup Colby Jack cheese, ½ cup mini pepperoni, and the optional ¼ cup salami and ¼ cup red bell pepper if using. Drizzle half of the ¾ cup Italian dressing over the top and toss until everything is well-coated.
- Cover the bowl and place the pasta salad into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours so that the flavors can meld together.
- When ready to serve, add any remaining Italian dressing, toss to combine, and then portion into separate bowls.
- Top with freshly grated ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, Romano, or Asiago cheese and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can easily customize this pasta salad with your favorite mix-ins! Try cubed ham, diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, or anything else you might like!
- I strongly recommend trying out my homemade Italian dressing (it is ridiculously delicious), but store-bought dressing will work, too!
- You can easily prepare this pasta salad the evening before you need it. This gives the flavors plenty of time to meld together in the fridge! Just make sure to give it a good stir after adding the additional dressing, as some of the dressing may have gathered on the bottom of the bowl.
- To store: Keep your pasta salad stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.
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