Classic Italian Pasta Salad

White bowl with salad inside of it on top of a white cloth and white background.

Classic Italian Pasta Salad with rotini pasta, pepperoni, black olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and mozzarella cheese. Simple to make with bottled Italian salad dressing. Perfect pasta side dish for any dinner, gathering, or picnic. You'll love the explosion of flavors in this pasta salad.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword classic italian pasta salad, Italian pasta salad

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 8

Optional Chill Time 2

Total Time 2 23

Servings

Calories 363kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

1 box (12 oz) rotini pasta
1 bottle (16 oz) Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
3/4 cup chopped pepperoni
3/4 cup chopped English cucumber
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped black olives
1/3 cup sliced red onion (sliced into rings)
8 ounces mozzarella pearls
1/3 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta according to the directions on the back of the box. Remember to add about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt into the boiling water along with the dry pasta.
* I prefer a softer pasta so I cook it for 1-2 minutes past the al dente time.
Drain the pasta in a colander and run cold water over it. This will stop the cooking process and cool the pasta down for the salad. Set aside for later.
Prepare & chop all the add-ins. Cut the tomatoes in half, chop the pepperoni, cucumber, bell peppers, and black olives. Slice the red onion into small rings or half moon shapes.
Shred the asiago cheese.
* I like to do all this prep while the pasta is cooking
Add the drained and cooled pasta into a large mixing bowl, or other serving bowl, and pour the salad dressing over it along with the Italian seasoning. Stir together until all the rotini pasta is coated in sauce.
Add the tomatoes, pepperoni, cucumber, bell peppers, black olives, and red onion. Stir together to combine.
Add the mozzarella pearls and shredded Asiago cheese on top. Toss gently to mix.
This can be served right away OR if you prefer a chilled pasta salad cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for a maximum of 1-2 hours before serving.

Notes

Salad Dressing : This is not a sponsored post for Olive Garden dressing. It just happens to be my favorite, and I think the best tasting store bought dressing, at the grocery store. You can use any brand of Italian dressing that you prefer. But I recommend using the Olive Garden. So good!

Cucumbers : A regular cucumber or mini cucumber can be substituted. I like to slice the cucumber but you can also chop it up or cut the slices in half to make the smaller.

Chopped Vegetables : This is supposed to be more of a 'chunkier' pasta salad, so I like to keep the add-ins in larger chopped pieces. You can chop them all as small or bite-sized as you prefer. I do recommend trying to keep everything about the same size.

Rotini Pasta : This is recommend for this salad because it absorbs the dressing and holds it all in thanks to the ridges. 12 pounces of pasta is 3 cups of dry pasta, if you are measuring from a larger sized box. I can't always find a 12 ounce box, so I buy the 16 oz box and measure out 3 cups of it.

Asiago Cheese/Mozzarella Pearls : You will find these items in the deli section by the speciality cheeses. I love the asiago cheese, but you can substitute with Parmesan cheese if wanted. It's best to shred the cheese yourself from a wedge.

Nutrition