Pasta salad is an easy-to-make side dish that is great to serve at any BBQ or family gathering. Whether you are serving hot dogs and hamburgers or brisket, this easy pasta salad makes a great side.
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Macaroni Salad
I grew up on macaroni salad. It was always on the table at family gatherings along with potato salad and coleslaw. What was served at our family gatherings was made with macaroni, mayo, ham and pickles. This recipe is one that I created because I wanted a different twist on the pasta salad I grew up with, adding vegetables to make it a little healthier.
There are also two ways to make this salad. The basic recipe is the same, it’s the dressing and cheese that changes.
Easy to Make
Don’t let the number of ingredients scare you away. There are 18 ingredients but many are probably already in your cupboard or fridge. The longest part of making this recipe is cooking the pasta. I dice and chop the vegetables and basil while waiting for the water to boil and the pasta to cook. To save time I also buy the cheese already shredded.
Ingredients
The pasta I use is rotini, but fusilli or another similar-shaped pasta can also be used. Sometimes I use coloured pasta and sometimes I use plain pasta. It really depends on what is in my cupboard at the time or what the occasion is. I like to make this pasta salad with colourful pasta when we have a BBQ or family gathering because it adds colour to the table.
All the vegetables I use are fresh. For the peppers, I use red, yellow and orange. Green peppers can also be added if you prefer. I add fresh spinach and fresh basil to add green to the salad.
Rounding out the vegetables are red onion, celery and cherry or grape tomatoes.
Black olives add saltiness to the salad. There are times when I don’t have black olives on hand and use green in its place. I also sometimes used a combination of the two olives in this salad.
The seasoning used in this recipe is dried basil, parsley and Italian seasoning. Even though I add fresh basil, I also like to add dried because we love basil and the flavour goes well with any pasta dish.
When it comes to cheese, there are two different kinds of cheese I use. Depending on the dressing I am using, I either add shredded Parmesan or crumbled Feta.
The Dressing
The dressing for the pasta salad is bottled. Either Italian dressing or Greek dressing. The recipe card below is for the Italian dressing version, but Greek dressing is a great alternative.
When using Italian dressing, I add Parmesan to the salad.
Feta cheese is added with the Greek dressing. I also add a combination of black and green olives when using Greek dressing.
Tips for Making Easy Pasta Salad
While the water is heating up to cook the pasta, this is when I like to chop the vegetables. Then while the pasta is cooling to room temperature, I gather and measure out the remaining ingredients.
To help the pasta cool faster, I use a large plastic container that has a flat bottom. This allows the pasta to spread out and allows the pasta to cool faster. I also stir the pasta gently every 5-10 minutes to bring the bottom layer up so that it is not remaining hot on the bottom.
When it comes to storing leftover pasta salad, we like to store it in smaller containers that are easy to grab on the go. This salad is perfect for lunches so we like having single servings on hand.
This recipe makes an average of 20 servings but can be halved easily for a smaller amount.
Easy Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds dry rotini pasta
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1½ tsp dried basil
- 1½ tsp dried parsley
- 3 sweet peppers, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange, diced
- 5 celery stalks, diced
- 1 medium sized red onion, diced
- 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
- 8 large basil leaves, chopped
- 24 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup sliced olives, black or green
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp garlic paste
- 1 bottle zesty Italian dressing, 475 ml
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Drain pasta and rinse under cold water to remove some of the starch.
- Toss pasta with olive oil, Italian seasoning, dried basil and parsley.
- Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, add vegetables and fresh basil to the pasta and stir.
- In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise and garlic paste.
- Add cheese, olives, mayonnaise, Italian dressing and pepper to pasta and vegetable and toss to coat
- Refrigerate for 30-45.
- Serve cold
Notes
Saving this post. I love a good pasta salad. As a side or for a snack.
Looks so yummy!! Can’t wait to try it. Thank you.