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Forkful of italian pasta salad.

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

  • 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

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
  • 1/2 a (5 oz.) Bag of Mini Pepperoni
  • 3 Quality Mozzarella String cheese Sticks, sliced into thin discs
  • 3/4 -1 cup Chopped Green Bell Pepper
  • 1/2-3/4 cup Chopped Red Onion
  • 1/2 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, 1/2 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 2/3s 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