Easy Summertime Pasta Salad
Cold Pasta Salad Recipe
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I LOVE all summertime BBQ-style food. Any type of salad, macaroni, pasta salad, potato salad, SALAD salad. Anything cold and fresh in the summer is everything to me! My go-to side is definitely pasta salad with Italian dressing. Growing up my mom used to make tri-colored rotini’s, chilled, covered in Italian dressing. As I got older I always went back to that refreshing cold salad in the summer, except now I add my own spin. This recipe is so easy to follow and it’s great for using up all the veggies in your fridge. I bring this in a huge Tupperware on camping trips for an easy side dish or lunch that can stay in the cooler.
First things first I start with the same base that my mom did. Rotini noodles. The tri-colored is my favorite because I love how colorful it makes the dish. I’ve tried other kinds of pasta on hand and nothing beats this key ingredient! Then I use whatever vegetables I have on hand to toss in. My favorite combo: cucumbers (seeds removed), onions, celery, green and red bell peppers – but most veggies work just fine. Use your favorites! I chop everything up pretty small but use your own personal preference.
For the cheese, I add shredded mozzarella or parmesan. Something Italian. Then and a protein of my choice. I have previously used quinoa and chopped shrimp. Per my bf’s request, I’ve used some mini pepperonis/hard salami which gave the whole dish a hearty kick. If combining meaty flavors with vegetable flavors is not your idea of a good time, no problem. That’s why this recipe exists.
For the sake of the recipe, I’m going to show you my favorite combination of veggies, cheese, and protein. Feel free to sub out with whatever you have or want to use! Half the fun is the satisfying feeling of cleaning out the veggie drawer.
The key to this pasta salad recipe is the ratio of veggies to pasta. Plus this is your friendly reminder that cold pasta salad is ten million times better after sitting in the fridge overnight (or at least 5 hours) for the dressing to soak up in the pasta noodles. That is another huge reason why cold pasta salad is a camping favorite. It’s cooler friendly! It will stay happy in a cold cooler all weekend. It’s way better on days 2 and 3 than it is on day 1. Trust me!
PASTA SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 Box Rotini Noodles
1 Large Cucumber, sliced, I cut out the soggy seeds as well
1 White Onion, chopped
1 c Bell Pepper – any color, chopped
1 c Shredded Mozzarella
1/2 c Cooked Quinoa
1/2 bottle of Italian Dressing(can sub Italian Dressing for olive oil, vinegar, some lemon juice, and Italian seasoning)
PASTA SALAD DIRECTIONS:
- Boil a pot of water and cook noodles until al dente. Strain and rinse with cold water. Put in a large bowl and set aside with a tiny bit of olive oil.
- While the water boils and the noodles cook, chop up all of the veggies.
- Combine all other ingredients – veggies, cheese, and any seasonings – to cooled pasta noodles.
- Chill in your refrigerator overnight, or at least 5 hours. Before serving, add a tad bit more dressing, as the noodles will soak it up as it cools. The longer it has to soak up, the better! Serve chilled. Enjoy!
If you decide to try this recipe please tag me on Instagram or Pinterest so that I can see it too! And don’t forget to comment below on how it turned out.