The Best Pasta Salad
On July 31, 2023 (Updated April 02, 2025)
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On the hunt for that perfect side for every single occasion? Look no further than this quick and easy pasta salad recipe. Made with a homemade Italian dressing, it’s light and refreshing, but hearty enough to feed a crowd.
The BEST Pasta Salad
Looking for the best pasta salad around? This one is packed with perfectly cooked rotini noodles, veggies, cheese, pepperoni, and a killer dressing. This pasta salad is my absolute favorite side to bring to a big potluck. It feeds a crowd and goes with just about anything else being served. You can also adjust the serving size depending on how many folks you are intending to feed.
The secret to this pasta salad standing out in the crowd is having the perfect ratio of noodles to the other elements and a stellar homemade pasta salad dressing. You’ve likely already got the ingredients for the dressing on hand, and it stands worlds above anything from a bottle.
Pasta Salad Dressing
This pasta salad dressing recipe is a simple oil and vinegar-based dressing that is nice and light with plenty of flavor. It works well with all the veggies, noodles, and pepperoni so you don’t feel overwhelmed by a strong flavor. Here’s what you need to make this dressing.
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
To make the dressing, simply combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine. You can also add everything to a mason jar and shake or stir to mix the dressing. Add an airtight lid to store the dressing in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the salad.
How to Make Pasta Salad
Here’s how to make this delicious pasta salad from scratch. Don’t be intimidated by this recipe. It’s easy and straightforward and tastes much more complicated than it actually is.
- Make the dressing. Follow the instructions in the previous section to make the pasta salad dressing and refrigerate until you are ready to make the salad.
- Assemble. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package and drain. Allow the pasta to cool completely before adding it to a large mixing bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients (cheese, pepperoni, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, pepper, and onions) to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat everything evenly.
- Chill and serve. Once the salad is thoroughly mixed, place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30-60 minutes before serving to your guests. This salad is best when served on the cool side, so I like to pull it out of the refrigerator straight to the table.
Tips for Making Easy Pasta Salad
Here are some tips for making this easy pasta salad. It’s great as a side dish to BBQ or for just about any occasion.
- Salt the water when cooking your noodles. Nothing sucks the flavor out of a pasta salad faster than bland noodles. You want your pasta water to taste as salty as the ocean before you add your uncooked noodles.
- Let it sit. Once you’ve mixed your salad, give it a good 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge to let everything marinate together before serving it to your guests.
- Be creative in your additions. You can add in or swap out most of the vegetables and cheeses in this recipe. Feel free to leave out the onions or olives if they’re not your favorite. Some fun swaps are chopped broccoli, diced cheddar cheese, or crumbled bacon.
More Side Salad Recipes
Need some delicious sides to round out your meal? Here are some tasty suggestions to try out today from Hey Grill Hey. They’ve been tried and true over the years and come highly reviewed by friends and family.
Pasta Salad Recipe
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The BEST Pasta Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound rotini pasta cooked al dente according to package instructions and cooled
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 4 ounces mini pepperoni
- ½ cup English cucumber cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- ½ cup grape or cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- ½ cup olives sliced
- ½ cup red bell pepper cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup green onions whites and greens sliced
Pasta Salad Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 ½ Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make the dressing. Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and stir well to combine. Refrigerate in a sealed jar until ready to use.
- Assemble. Add the cooked noodles to a large serving bowl. Next, add in the cubed cheese, pepperoni, olives, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper slices, red onion slices, and green onions. Mix gently to combine.
- Add the dressing. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to evenly coat.
- Refrigerate. Cover the pasta salad and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to an hour before serving. This gives the dressing a chance to marinate all of the ingredients.
- Enjoy. Serve the salad chilled from the fridge. Dig in!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
