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
Additional mayonnaise or Italian dressing may be needed if pasta seems too dry. As pasta cools it will absorb the dressing and mayonnaise making the pasta seem dry.