The BEST Pasta Salad
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.
Servings: 12 people
Ingredients
- 1 pound rotini pasta cooked al dente according to package instructions and cooled
- 8 ounces soft mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 4 ounces mini pepperoni
- ½ cup 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!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 554mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 408IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 122mg | Iron: 1mg