Italian Pasta Salad!
Pasta salad filled with fresh vegetables & herbs, pepperoni, cheese, and tossed with homemade Italian dressing!
Who wants to use their oven to cook dinner when it’s super hot outside?
Anyone?
NO? Okay, Good. We are on the same page!
Summertime is grillin’ time at our house for sure! And there is no better salad in my book to pair with burgers, chicken, steak, or all by itself than this light, fresh and super versatile Italian Pasta Salad!
Some folks around here jokingly refer to this salad as the kitchen sink salad. IE, because you can basically add anything but the kitchen sink.
Like, say, big chunks of pepperoni or spicy sausage. Maybe some olives or red peppers.
And if you’re not into meat, skip it and just add your favorite veggies!
But the best thing about this salad is how darn quick and easy it is to make.
All you need is a big bowl of cooked pasta noodles! I use this Rotini Pasta but you can use whatever you like.
Then just add whatever your heart desires! I usually like to add in broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cucumbers, olives, grape tomatoes, pepperoni, and chunks of whatever cheese I have on hand! Then it’s all about the dressing. If I’m short on time I’ll just grab a bottle of store-bought Italian dressing. But if I have the time I whip up a batch of my homemade Italian dressing!
It’s so darn fresh and yummy that you’ll never buy store-bought again!
Oh and then there is always the cheese! My favorites are Parmesan, Mozzarella, and even Pepper Jack!
I hope you enjoy this quick and delicious summer salad.
Here’s the recipe!
Italian Pasta Salad
A light, fresh pasta salad that pairs well with any grilled meat.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 8 oz Garden Rotini pasta cooked and drained
- 3 cups assorted veggies- broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, peppers, onion, tomato
- 3/4 cup Italian dressing **more if not moist enough
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tbsp fresh basil
- 1/2 cup black olives sliced thinly
- 10-12 thinly sliced pepperonis optional
Instructions
-
Cook pasta according to box directions. (I like mine a bit al dente.) Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Cut up veggies. Place veggies in a large bowl. Add pasta. (You can add pepperoni's, olives, at this time) Pour dressing over salad. Mix well. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. Chill until ready to serve.
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Yum this looks great to bring to a summer party!
It definitely is, Valerie-and so easy to make too! Thank you so much for stopping by!!!
Yum!!! I always forget to add broccoli to my pasta salad. Noted for next time 😉
I've done that too, LZ! Thank you so much for visiting!