Italian Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad is an easy pasta salad recipe made with bowtie pasta, pepperoni, cucumber, tomatoes, onions, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and Italian dressing. This is perfect for a summer picnic or BBQ side dish!
I've been on a roll with making different types of pasta salads this summer. They've come in handy on our soccer Wednesdays when I pack a picnic dinner for the whole family, as we're at the soccer fields for a couple of hours over dinnertime. My typical equation is sandwich/wrap + fruit + pasta salad and some sort of treat for our picnic dinners. This Italian Pasta Salad is my latest creation and I absolutely love how it turned out!
This zesty Italian pasta salad recipe is not only full of flavor from all of the ingredients, but it's also super easy to make! This recipe uses bottled Italian dressing, so be sure to pick a good one!
Ingredients in Italian Pasta Salad
- Bowtie Pasta - or any short noodle pasta works. I think rotini, penne, or even orzo would be great.
- Pepperoni - pepperoni is diced up and tossed in with the pasta salad. Salami would also work.
- Red Onion
- Cucumber
- Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
- Fresh Mozzarella - I used a log of fresh mozzarella and cut it into bite-sized pieces. You can also use the small mozzarella balls.
- Italian Dressing - since this is the dressing for the pasta salad(along with some extra oregano), use a quality brand of Italian dressing. I use Newman's Own or Tessemae's.
- Dried Oregano
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
This pasta salad recipe is filled with delicious and flavorful ingredients and is also super easy to make. It's a side dish that everyone is going to want you to make over and over again!
Cook the pasta. To start, bring a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta.
Prep the ingredients. While the pasta is cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients. Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion, and cut the pepperoni and mozzarella into bite-sized pieces.
Combine. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and run it under cool water. In a bowl, combine the pasta with the chopped pepperoni, cheeses, and veggies, and then top with the oregano and Italian dressing. Either serve immediately or refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Enjoy!
This Italian Pasta Salad lasts for a few days in the refrigerator in an airtight container and almost gets better every day! The flavor is so good and is delicious on its own, or with grilled chicken. The kids love pepperoni and cucumbers, and they really enjoyed this pasta salad. This is definitely going to become a summer staple for us.
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Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bowtie pasta
- 1 cup pepperoni chopped
- ¼ red onion finely diced
- 1 English cucumber peeled and diced
- 8 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Once its cooked, strain it and run it under cold water.
- While the pasta is cooking, prep the veggies, cheese, and pepperoni.
- Combine cooked pasta, pepperoni, onion, cucumber, tomatoes, mozzarella, Parmesan in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Add the oregano and Italian dressing and stir well to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.
- Enjoy!
