This pasta salad with Italian dressing is just one of those things that makes you go Mmmm! Your eyes inadvertently roll back while your tastes buds perk up to see what all the fuss is about and everything around you melts away as you savor the intense flavor.
I get it, pasta recipes are a dime a dozen, but this is one of those pasta salad recipes that doesn’t fade into the background. It’s the one recipe you’ll want to serve over and over again! Perfect for family gatherings, potluck, picnics! This is the salad everyone will request you make.
Easy Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing Recipe
I absolutely love all the colors and textures in this pasta salad. It basically hosts a party on your plate and it’s the star of the show! The best part is that you can make it the day before so the flavors just mingle and develop until serving time.
Do you love pasta salads as much as I do? Try my taco pasta salad, tuna pasta salad, and chicken pasta salad next!
Let’s make this!
Ingredients
- Tricolor Rotini Pasta – I like tricolor rotini pasta for this recipe because I think it makes a prettier salad. Of course, if natural rotini is what you have on hand it will do the trick!
- Italian Dressing
- Genoa Salami
- Mozzarella Ball
- Parmesan Cheese
- Italian Style Salad Dressing Mix
- Red Onion
- Red Pepper
- Green Pepper
- Grape Tomatoes
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Pepperoncinis
- Black Olives
- Basil
- Parsley
- Salt and Pepper
TipsÂ
- Cook The Pasta: It’s always best to cook your pasta al dente, which is still a little firm in the middle. This typically takes around 7-9 minutes, but you’ll have to follow the instructions on the package.
- Chill The Pasta: Once your pasta salad recipe has come together, it can be really tempting to eat it right away. However, letting it sit for several hours in the fridge brings all those yummy flavors to the forefront and introduces them to each other for a perfectly balanced flavor profile. This way every single bite is like little flavor bombs going off inside your mouth.
- Overnight is best but if you don’t have that much time at least give it a few hours. The longer the better.
- Chop The Veggies: All those crisp summer veggies in this salad mean you’re gonna’ have to do some chopping. It’s inevitable. Try to chop everything roughly the same size, you’ll get a tantalizing myriad of flavors and textures in every single bite.
- Chop The Herbs: You’ll also want to wait to incorporate the fresh herbs until serving time. The basil and parsley really add to the refreshing aromatic qualities of this pasta salad, but fresh herbs can be precarious. They don’t stand up well long-term so it’s best to enjoy them freshly chopped.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This tangy full-bodied salad will stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days if stored properly but good luck trying to keep it that long. People just love this pasta salad because it’s tasty and satisfying enough to be eaten alone but it also makes a fantastic side dish!
- For best results keep it at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and observe the FDA recommended 2-hour serving rule.
- Can You Freeze This? Nu-hu. Unfortunately, you can’t freeze this tangy pasta salad. All those crisp summer veggies are lost to the freezing temperatures and turn into a mushy mess upon thawing.
- Make-Ahead Tips: All the crisp veggies and cheeses for your pasta salad recipe can be chopped ahead of time for convenience but they should be stored separately in airtight containers or sealed baggies.
- Since the zesty flavors develop and intensify over the first 24 hours, I like to whip this up the day before I know I’m going to need it. Whether I’m taking it to a get-together or serving it at home, this is one of those pasta salad recipes that is just so much better after it sits in the fridge for a day!
- Don’t forget to adjust the seasonings and add the fresh herbs just before serving…
How to Make Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing
- Toss the Italian dressing and cooked pasta.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients except the herbs. Refrigerate.
- Fold in fresh basil and parsley.
- Adjust seasoning and add olive oil if needed. Serve and enjoy.
***See full instructions below.
Serving Recommendations
Perfect for family gathers, potluck, picnics! This is a great side to serve with, my favorite shish kabob recipe, grilled chicken marinade recipe, grilled flank steak,or buttermilk roasted chicken.
More Pasta Salad Recipes
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- Caesar Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Chicken Pasta Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Spaghetti Salad
Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing
This pasta salad with Italian dressing recipe uses vibrant colors with nutritious meats and veggies to produce bold tangy flavors that are irresistible.
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 (12-ounce) package tri-color rotini pasta
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- 8Â ounces Genoa salami sliced into 1/4 inch strips
- 2 (8-ounce) Mozzarella ball in water drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 (7-ounce) Pack dry Italian style salad dressing mix
- 1/2 cup red onion chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1 (10.5-ounce) container grape tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes sliced
- 1 cup sliced Pepperoncinis, rinse and drained
- 1 (3.8-ounce) can sliced black olives rinse and drained
- 1 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1 cup fresh parsley chopped
- Taste for salt and pepper, Italian Seasoning, and sugar after mixed and cooled and in fridge 24 hours.
Instructions
- Cook pasta (12-ounce) according to package directions, just until al dente, and drain well.
- While pasta is still warm, toss it in a mixing bowl with Italian dressing (1 cup) and Italian style dressing salad mix (1 pack). Allow pasta to cool.
- In a large serving bowl, mix the cooled pasta, salami (8Â ounces), mozzarella cheese (16 ounces), parmesan cheese (1Â cup), onion (1/2Â cup), red bell pepper (1), green bell pepper (1), sundried tomatoes (1Â cup), grape tomatoes (10.5-ounce), pepperoncini (1Â cup), and olives (1 can).
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, fold in fresh basil (1Â cup) and parsley (1Â cup). Adjust seasoning, Â and add olive oil, if needed. Serve and enjoy!
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Cook The Pasta: It’s always best to cook your pasta al dente, which is still a little firm in the middle. This typically takes around 7-9 minutes, but you’ll have to follow the instructions on the package.
- Rinse The Pasta: It’s also important to rinse pasta to stop cooking but keep slightly warm to toss the pasta in the Italian dressing immediately after cooking because behind every great pasta dish is a tasty sauce. The warm starchy pasta will soak up some of the Italian dressing and take on life.
- Chill The Pasta: Once your pasta salad recipe has come together, it can be really tempting to eat it right away. However, letting it sit for several hours in the fridge brings all those yummy flavors to the forefront and introduces them to each other for a perfectly balanced flavor profile. This way every single bite is like little flavor bombs going off inside your mouth.
- Overnight is best but if you don’t have that much time at least give it a few hours. The longer the better.
- Chop The Veggies: All those crisp summer veggies in this salad mean you’re gonna’ have to do some chopping. It’s inevitable. The thing is that if you can manage to chop everything roughly the same size, you’ll get a tantalizing myriad of flavors and textures in every single bite.
- Chop The Herbs: You’ll also want to wait to incorporate the fresh herbs until serving time. The basil and parsley really add to the refreshing aromatic qualities of this pasta salad, but fresh herbs can be precarious. They don’t stand up well long-term so it’s best to enjoy them freshly chopped.
© Gonna Want Seconds. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media/website/blog is strictly prohibited.
On your phone? Check the web story here.
I love this pasta salad, the dressing is soooo good! Thank you for this recipe
Thank you, Jana! Enjoy 🙂