Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing

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This easy pasta salad with Italian dressing recipe is quick to make.  It is a great side dish for any meal and tastes amazing!

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Can Pasta Salad Be Made Ahead Of Time

What makes this recipe so great is that the pasta salad is served cold.  If you’re taking it as a side dish to a party or want to make it ahead of time for dinner, you don’t need to worry about heating it back up to serve.

The key to making it ahead of time is to drizzle the noodles with olive oil after boiling so they don’t dry out.  You’ll want to get everything chopped up & added to the noodles, but don’t add the Italian dressing until you’re ready to serve the dish. 

You can add the Italian dressing ahead of time if you need to, but you might want to add an extra drizzle when it comes time to serve since it’ll be soaked into the noodles at that point.

Pasta Salad Recipe and Ingredients

12oz Rotini Noodles

⅔ cup red onions diced

1 cup cucumber diced

8 slices salami (cut into small pieces)

⅔ cup grape tomatoes (quartered)

1 cup Italian dressing

2-3oz feta cheese

1 Tbsp garlic powder

Black pepper to taste

1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil

½ cup black olives (optional)

How To Make Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing

1. Boil rotini pasta noodles.  Drain and coat lightly with olive oil & put in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
2. Chop red onions, cucumber, grape tomatoes, & salami.
3. Combine vegetables, salami, feta cheese in a bowl with the cooled pasta.
4. Cover with Italian dressing, garlic, & pepper.  Mix together & serve cold.

Notes

• You can keep this pasta salad in the fridge and eat it for several days. You might want to drizzle a little more dressing or olive oil on it since it’ll soak up the dressing over time.
• Use any pasta noodles you have on hand if you don’t have rotini.
• Use up any vegetables you have on hand and toss them in.  This pasta salad works  great with bell peppers, broccoli florets, peas, etc.
• If you want to make ahead of time, drizzle the noodles with olive oil & add everything except the Italian dressing.  When you’re ready to serve, add the Italian dressing & mix well.

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