Italian Pasta Salad

This Tri-Color Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing is made with rotini, Italian dressing, pepperoni, black olives, and diced ham. It’s kid friendly and the variations are endless, plus it’s so easy to make! 

Pasta salad makes the perfect summer side dish for BBQs, potlucks or picnics. It is super easy to make with just 4 ingredients and kids love it.

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This pasta salad is super easy to make, and kids love it. You can even customize this recipe to your liking by adding cucumbers, tomatoes, or olives. My kids love it just the way it is.

What is pasta Salad?

Pasta salad is a salad dish prepared with one or more types of pasta, almost always chilled, and most often tossed in a vinegar, oil, or mayonnaise-based dressing. It is typically served as an appetizer, side dish or a main course. Pasta salad is often regarded as a spring or summertime meal, but it can be served any time of year.

The ingredients used vary widely by region, restaurant, seasonal availability, and/or preference of the preparer. The salad can be as simple as cold macaroni mixed with mayonnaise (a macaroni salad), or as elaborate as several pastas tossed together with a vinaigrette and a variety of fresh, preserved or cooked ingredients.

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Quality Pasta Pot with Strainer Lid

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Spatula Set

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Ingredients:

• Tri-color rotini
• Pepperoni
• diced ham
• Italian dressing
• Large mixing bowl with cover

Pasta Salad variations

Pasta Salad has many variations. If you search the internet for Pasta Salad you are going to find hundreds of different recipes, because pasta salad has so many variations. This is my kid’s favorite pasta salad version, but there are so many out there it is hard to choose the perfect one.

What else can be added to Pasta salad:

• cherry tomatoes
• cucumbers
• black olives
• cheese, such mozzarella cheese or pepper jack
• bell pepper
• onions
• mushrooms

Tips for cooking Pasta:

• Use a large pot.
• Fill pot with lots of water.
• Add salt to the water.
• Once the water begins to boil add the pasta.
• Cook the pasta stirring occasionally.
• Taste the pasta every few minutes.
• Do not overcook pasta.

How to make pasta salad:

1. Cook pasta as directed, making sure not to overcook.
2. Drain pasta. Run pasta under cold water to cool.
3. Add pasta, pepperoni, diced ham, and Italian dressing to large mixing bowl. Toss all ingredients together.
4. Cover and refrigerate.

You may also like:

Creamy Cheesy Macaroni salad

potato salad

Pasta Salad (Kid friendly)

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This pasta salad is super easy to make with just 4 ingredients and kid friendly. Great to make on a busy weeknight. It can also be made ahead of time and refrigerated.

• Prep Time: 17 minutes
• Total Time: 17 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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• 1 box Tri-color rotini
• 1 package pepperoni (slices in halves)
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 15oz Italian dressing

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Instructions

1. Cook pasta as directed, making sure not to overcook.
2. Drain pasta. Run pasta under cold water to cool.
3. Add pasta, pepperoni, diced ham, and Italian dressing to large mixing bowl. Toss all ingredients together.
4. Cover and refrigerate.

Equipment

Quality Pasta Pot with Strainer Lid

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Spatula Set

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Spaghetti Strainer & Server Spoon

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