Italian Pasta Salad has been a favorite side dish for as long as I can remember! It’s one of those dishes you have at gatherings like BBQs, celebrations and anytime you want a fresh cold Salad. Pasta Salad is popular for my family around spring and summer. This salad is very easy to make and has a few main ingredients. This is because not one ingredient is mandatory. I have seen this dish made alot of different ways. One ingredient that is a must would be the Italian dressing! As long as you have that you are off to a good start. Let’s jump into this easy recipe!
Details
up to 8 servings
10 minutes
25-30 minutes
black pepper, garlic and herb, Italian seasoning
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Ingredients
1- 16oz box of tri color or garden Rotini pasta
1 16oz bottle of traditional or zesty Italian dressing
1 -5oz pack of pepperoni
1 -8oz bag of cheddar cheese cubes
1 chopped red or yellow onion
Cucumbers-optional
Tomatoes -optional
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
Olives (optional)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (optional)
Directions
- First, boil your pasta. Bring a pot of water to boil (add few tsps of cooking oil), then add box of rotini pasta. Let cook for at least 9- 10 minutes or until pasta is tender/done (stir pasta as needed while cooking). Drain and rinse pasta with cold water and let cool for at least 2-3 minutes.
- While the pasta is cooking start getting the vegetables washed and chopped. Place these vegetables to the side for when your ready to add to pasta.
- This is the easy part, in a mixing bowl add the drained and cooled pasta, then add Italian dressing (add sugar and vinegar too). The key is to make the pasta wet with dressing, but it’s totally up to you how much dressing you like and depending on how many boxes of pasta you use. For this recipe I used 1 bottle.
- Last add pepperoni, cheese and all vegetables including seasonings. Stir everything together.
- Place pasta in a serving bowl and cover it. Let the pasta sit in the fridge for at least a half hour or until ready to serve.
