Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

5 from 2 votes

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

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cold italian pasta salad, pasta salad, zesty italian pasta salad

Servings: serving

Calories: 281kcal

Author: Mindee

Cost: 15

Ingredients

16 oz Garden Rotini 16 oz. Box
7.6 oz Sliced Olives 2 x 3.8 oz Cans
2 ½ oz Mini Pepperoni Half of 5 oz. Bag
3 Quality Mozzarella String cheese Sticks sliced into thin discs
¾ -1 Cup Chopped Green Bell Pepper
½-3/4 Cup Chopped Red Onion
8-16 oz Roasted Red Peppers Half to whole 16 oz Jar, chopped up
16 oz Olive Garden Italian Dressing 16 oz. Bottle

Instructions

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

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