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Home » Salad Recipes

Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

Published: Apr 11, 2022 by Mindee · This post contains affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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This zesty cold pasta salad is a refreshing side that complements many meals! It quick and easy recipe to prepare and can be made a full day before you need it making it the perfect pasta salad when you're in a hurry!

Plate of Italian Pasta Salad
The best zesty Italian pasta salad recipe that's full of all sorts of good stuff!
Jump to:
  • Why Choose This Recipe
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Couple Things You'll Need
  • Step by Step Instructions
  • Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
  • Related Salad Recipes
  • Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

Why Choose This Recipe

  • Easy recipe made from simple ingredients for a flavorful italian pasta salad!
  • Perfect side dish for a summer bbq, potlucks, and family gatherings!
  • Can be made a day ahead for a quick side for the next day!

Ingredient Notes

  • Italian Dressing - Olive Garden brand dressing is preferable but other brands may be used. You can buy it or Make Your Own. I've used Kraft's zesty italian dressing too!
  • Rotini - Tri color, regular or even spinach rotini works great!
  • Pepperoni - If you can't find the minis just cut up regular sized pepperoni into bite sized pieces.
  • Mozzarella - Cubed fresh mozzarella cheese off the block works too!
  • Black Olives - You can used a can or two of pre-sliced olives.
  • Green Bell Pepper - I've substituted other colors of bell peppers or even done a mix of different kinds.
Ingredients for Italian pasta Salad
Ingredients you'll need for this easy italian pasta salad recipe!

Couple Things You'll Need

Step by Step Instructions

  • Cook garden rotini al dente according to package directions.
  • Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
  • Dump the cooled pasta in a large bowl.
  • Slice, dice and measure the other ingredients.
  • Add mozzarella slices to the mixing bowl.
  • Add chopped green peppers.
  • Add chopped red onion.
Cooked rotini pasta with half the ingredients added.
Cook the pasta according to package instructions!
  • Add sliced olives.
  • Add mini Pepperoni.
  • Add chopped roasted red pepper.
  • Mix well.
  • Pour ⅔rds the Italian dressing over the pasta salad.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container.
  • Put in the fridge to allow all the delicious flavors blend and pour other half of dressing over the salad right before serving.
  • You can garnish you're cold salad with fresh parsley or a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Remaining ingredients added and Italian dressing stirred in.
Mix all the salad ingredients together in a big bowl!

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

Do you rinse pasta for a cold pasta salad?

Yes, yes, yes.  Rinsing the hot pasta in cold water until it's cooled stops the cooking process.  No one wants mushy overcooked pasta salad.

Can I make this pasta salad ahead of time?

Yes, you can!  I usually make this one a full day ahead of serving so the ingredients have plenty of time to blend their flavors!

What goes well with pasta salad?

Grilled meats liked my favorite Marinated Chicken!  Or perhaps some Venison Kebabs or some Barbecue Chicken Kebabs!

Related Salad Recipes

  • Barbecue Ranch Pasta Salad
  • Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
  • Tuna Pasta Salad
  • Broccoli Ranch Cashew Salad
  • Tangy Broccoli Salad

Have you tried this recipe? If so, leave me a rating and a comment below! And don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to get my latest recipes sent right to your email! You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram!

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Forkful of italian pasta salad.

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Mindee
  • Prep Time: 5 min (not including chill time)
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8-10 Servings 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Mixing
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This zesty cold pasta salad is a refreshing side that complements many meals!  It quick and easy recipe to prepare and can be made a full day before you need it!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 (16 oz.) Box Garden Rotini
  • 2 (3.8 oz) Cans Sliced Olives
  • ½ a (5 oz.) Bag of Mini Pepperoni
  • 3 Quality Mozzarella String cheese Sticks, sliced into thin discs
  • ¾ -1 cup Chopped Green Bell Pepper
  • ½-¾ cup Chopped Red Onion
  • ½ to a whole (16 oz) Jar of Roasted Red Peppers, chopped up
  • 1 (16 oz.) Bottle of Olive Garden Italian Dressing

Instructions

  1. Chop, slice and dice the ingredients while you bring a pot of water to a boil to cook your pasta.
  2. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.  Drain and rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process.
  3. Put the cooked rotini, sliced olives, ½ the bag of pepperoni, mozzarella discs, and chopped green pepper, red onions and roasted red peppers in a large mixing bowl.  Toss to mix.
  4. Pour about ⅔s of the Italian Dressing over the pasta salad.  Toss to coat. 
  5. Cover and refrigerate a few hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend.
  6. Before serving pour the remaining italian dressing over the pasta salad and mix well.

Notes

  • I like to make this salad a full day before we are going to eat it to allow plenty of time for the flavors to blend.  I also, flip the bowl upside down, leave it for a couple hours and then flip it back right side up.  I do this a few times occasionally whenever it's convenient.  I do this because the dressing will make its way to the bottom of the pasta salad and flipping the bowl over and back a few times evenly distributes the dressing.

Keywords: zesty italian pasta salad, pasta salad, cold italian pasta salad

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me on Instagram @mindeescooking and hashtag it #mindeescookingobsession

Thanks for stopping by! Before you go, be sure to check out a few of my most popular recipes!

  • Easy Lemon Bundt Cake
  • Raspberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls
  • The Best Angel Food Cake
  • Instant Pot Broccoli Chicken Pasta
  • Poppy Seed Dressing

ANY NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS ON THIS SITE IS BASED ON AN ESTIMATE, CALCULATED BY NURTIFOX PLUGIN (OR OTHER THIRD-PARTY SOURCE) FROM THE INDIVIDUAL INGREDIENTS IN EACH RECIPE. VARIATIONS MAY OCCUR FOR VARIOUS REASONS, INCLUDING PRODUCT AVAILABILITY AND FOOD PREPARATION. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF THE ACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION.

More Salad Recipes

  • Southern BBQ Chicken Salad with Barbecue Ranch Dressing
  • Easy Watermelon Sticks (With How to Video)
  • Pistachio Salad Recipe (aka Watergate Salad)
  • Tangy Broccoli Salad Recipe

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nikki

    July 03, 2021 at 11:03 pm

    I made this tonight with slight variations of things..i used pepper jack and Colby jack chunks of cheese instead of the mozzarella and added real pieces of bacon and instead of roasted red peppers I used banana pepper rings instead, green olives instead of black olives and then added salt and pepper for flavor and it came out AMAZING!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Mindee

      July 05, 2021 at 5:55 am

      Sounds amazing!!!

      Reply
  2. KiMee Nicole Price

    November 30, 2020 at 11:33 am

    Loving the different textures and pop of flavor

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Kelly | Foodtasia

    February 12, 2019 at 2:37 am

    This pasta salad looks so delicious and so flavorful with all the yummy additions! The dressing looks amazing. I wish there was a big bowl of this waiting for me in the fridge!

    Reply

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