Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
If you’re looking for a quick and easy pasta salad recipe featuring fresh veggies and lots of flavor, check out this Zesty Italian Pasta Salad perfect for your next potluck! Easily add or omit ingredients to make it your own and fit your taste.
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
yield: 12 SERVINGS
prep time: 10 MINUTES
cook time: 15 MINUTES
total time: 25 MINUTES
Make this Zesty Italian Pasta Salad for your next side dish! It's an excellent summer salad to quickly prep and budget friendly.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing (or to taste)
- 1 – 12oz. package tri-color rotini, cooked al dente
- 2 bell peppers, sliced (or use a handful of mini bell peppers)
- 1/2 cup red onion, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 3/4 cup broccoli, chopped
- 1 – 6oz. can black olives, drained
- 1/4 lb. Italian salami, sliced
- 1 packet Italian dressing seasoning mix
Directions
1
Cook rotini until tender yet firm to bite. Drain and rinse in cool water.
2
Chop veggies and combine all ingredients with Italian salad dressing.
3
Lastly, sprinkle Italian dressing seasoning packet over salad and stir.
4
Chill in fridge before serving. Serves about 12.
Note: Add more salad dressing if desired, but do keep in mind that the salad dressing seasoning packet adds a lot of flavor and prevents the pasta from drowning in dressing.
Every time I make this salad, it’s a big hit! The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets! Yum 🙂
I am so trying this tonight!!! Thanks for the recipe, Colin! 🙂
Oh yummy!! My 10 month old loves anything with noodles.
Lina, do you have any good low carb recipes?
I was thinking of making this with zucchini noodles with a spiralizer in place of rotini! 😀
That sounds delicious!
YES!! GREAT IDEA! Thanks (:
Great idea! Do you “cook” the zuchinni noodles? TIA?
I’ve been wanting to try a cold salad with them and I don’t believe you need to if you let let marinate in the fridge with some dressing for a while. 😀
I don’t know that zesty Italian salad with noodles would be good for a ten month old… Yikes
Why not? 10 month old could eat this no problem.
The problem would probably be the salt content… Those dressing packets have a lot of sodium, and both sugar and salt are not recommended for infants.
My babies have always loved this type of pasta salad! It’s been on the menu at all four of their first birthday parties. 🙂
So glad to find a homemade dry italian seasoning recipe. Is this like mccormicks salad supreme
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it. Thanks for all the great recipes, Lina!
I make this with Wishbone’s Robusto Italian Dressing and McCormick’s Salad Supreme. It has a lot of flavor.
I make this with cucumber and i use Roma tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes to save money. I haven’t put broccoli in before!
I like cheese with mine. Muenster is reaaaaaallly good in it.
Yum, maybe some fresh mozzarella balls.
That’s it. I’m ready for summer now LOL.