Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing

This classic Italian pasta salad recipe is super easy to put together! It’s filled with plenty of veggies, mozzarella cheese, and our homemade Italian dressing. Light and fresh, it’s the perfect addition to a picnic or potluck.

Can I make this pasta salad ahead?

If you’re a fan of meal prepping, or simply want to get ahead of schedule before a big picnic or barbecue, you can make your classic pasta salad ahead of time. Cook the pasta and let it cool completely before placing it in the fridge. As a note, cooked pasta will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also prepare the dressing in advance and also store it in the fridge. We recommend chopping the rest of the ingredients just before you plan on serving for the best results.

Can I save pasta salad left overs?

You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, where they will keep for 3-4 days. We highly recommend that you don’t try to freeze this Italian pasta salad. Freezing can give the pasta a funky texture when you defrost it, and the other ingredients generally don’t defrost well either.

Make it

Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing

Servings: 8 Servings

Ingredients:

Pasta

12 oz rotini pasta

2 cups cherry tomatoes halved

2 cups of Feta Cheese

1 cup mini Pepperoncinis peppers

1/2 cup pepperoncini roughly chopped

1 red onion diced

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 cucumber

1/2 cup green olives

1/2 cup black olives

Italian Dressing

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is cooled.

In a large mixing bowl, make your dressing by whisking together olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, sugar, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes.

Add cooked pasta in with the Italian dressing. Toss with tomatoes, feta, olives, mini pepperonis, pepperoncini, onion, peppers, and cucumber.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy, buen provecho!