Pasta Salad Recipe
This easy pasta salad recipe takes minutes to make. It's a classic side dish, perfect for BBQs, picnics, or any night of the week!
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (4 cups) colored rotini pasta (fusilli, farfalle, and penne work too) cooked
- ½ cup diced black olives
- ½ cup cubed Colby Jack cheese
- ½ cup mini pepperoni slices
- ¾-1 cup Italian dressing
Optional Mix-Ins
- chopped cucumbers, halved grape tomatoes, chopped peppers, ham cubes, pepperoncini, artichoke hearts
Instructions
- Cook pasta as directed on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- In a large bowl, combine cool pasta, olives, cheese, and pepperoni.
- Pour at least half of the Italian dressing into the pasta salad and mix well.
- Add any desired mix-ins to the pasta salad and mix well.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Stir in additional dressing to taste before serving.
Video
Notes
Make it ahead of time. Pasta salad is best when eaten right after adding the dressing. To make it ahead of time, store the dressing in a separate container, and toss it with the pasta salad before you serve/eat it.
STORE. Keep this pasta salad in an airtight container. Leftovers will last in the fridge for 5 to 7 days. You can have pasta salad for lunches and dinners all week!
FREEZE. We do not recommend freezing pasta salad.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 344kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 515mg | Potassium: 178mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 1mg