This pasta salad has everything you’d want to load up on a pizza: pepperoni, tomatoes, mozzarella, and black olives tossed in an incredible Italian dressing is the best I’ve ever eaten.
Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
When my fridge is mostly full of leftovers, I make this pizza pasta salad. Most pasta salads will stay good for up to 3 days, so I prep ahead for a simple weeknight dinner or lunch. It's easy to customize with any of your family’s favorite pizza toppings and the dressing is divine.
Ingredients
Use any pasta shape and your favorite pizza toppings. This time, I added cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, pepperoni, olives, bell pepper, and red onion. Coat with a homemade or store-bought dressing, and you have a salad you’ll crave every week!
How to Make Pizza Pasta Salad
- Make the dressing.
Combine all the ingredients in a lidded jar or dressing bottle and shake well. - Cook the pasta al dente.
It usually takes about 2 minutes less than the total time. When done, rinse the pasta with cold water in the colander to remove the starch. - Combine.
Combine the pasta with the veggies, mozzarella, pepperoni, and olives in a bowl. Pour the salad dressing and toss to coat the salad. - Refrigerate.
This salad is best enjoyed chilled, so store it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Laura’s Tips for this Recipe
If you’re cooking pasta for pasta salads, I recommend rinsing it with cold water in the colander to remove the starch. This will keep the pasta from sticking, yielding a more appealing texture.
You can use any dressing, but the one in the recipe card has the perfect balance between oil, vinegar, and honey, plus the tasty Italian seasoning, the slight spiciness of the red pepper flakes, and the unexpected cheesy note. Another favorite? This mouth-watering Whine Vine Vinaigrette recipe.
Pizza pasta salad leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or pasta bowl in the fridge for up to 3 days to enjoy as a side, a light dinner, or a healthy lunch.
Recipe Variations
Just like a pizza, you can add or subtract toppings to make this pasta salad all your own. Here are some ideas:
- Make it gluten-free or grain-free
Use gluten-free pasta or spiraled zucchini noodles for a grain-free option. Just make sure to sauté or steam the noodles before tossing them with the rest of the ingredients. - Swap the pepperoni
No pepperoni around? Add chopped deli meat or prosciutto. - Swap the cheese
This salad is also deliciously cheesy with Provolone, Gouda, Cheddar, or Parmesan. - Add more veggies
Just like pizza, you can add what you have around: spinach, corn, broccoli (cooked and chopped), or mushrooms.
Pizza Pasta Salad (with the BEST dressing)
Ingredients
Pasta salad:
- 16 ounces fusilli pasta
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 8 ounces mozzarella pearls, or a fresh ball cubed
- 8 ounces pepperoni
- 10 ounce can black olives, drained
- 1 red or green bell pepper, or both, chopped
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces Italian dressing, store-bought or this one
Italian Vinaigrette Dressing:
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine or red wine vinegar*
- 1 garlic clove, grated*
- 2 teaspoons honey, or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese*
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- In a lidded jar or dressing bottle combine all the dressing ingredients. Seal with the top and shake well to combine. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Cook the pasta:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. This is usually about 2 minutes less than the total time. When the pasta is ready, drain the water out, and rinse it with cold water in the colander. Rinsing removes the starch from pasta and is a good step for cold pasta salads.
- Transfer the pasta into a large mixing bowl or the bowl you'll be serving this pasta salad.
Make the pasta salad:
- To the pasta bowl, add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, pepperoni slices, black olives, bell pepper, and red onion.
- Pour 1 cup of the salad dressing over the pasta and toss to coat the pasta with the dressing.
Refrigerate:
- Refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 1 hour until chilled or overnight.
Notes
- This Italian vinaigrette is excellent with either white wine or red wine vinegar, use your favorite.
- Swap a raw garlic clove for ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
- Use Italian seasoning or ¾ teaspoon dried oregano, ¾ teaspoon dried parsley, and ¾ teaspoon dried basil.
- If using store-bought Italian dressing, you might want to add ¼ cup parmesan cheese to the pasta salad.
Jamie says
Loved this!
Katie Olson says
Hi! Excited to try this! Can you tell me what kind of container those are?
Laura Fuentes says
You don’t want to buy that container, Katie. It’s one I got years ago as a sample and it leaks.
Blade says
For a 27 year old grown man, I’m pretty damn picky. But this is probably one of the best pasta salads I’ve ever had.
Laura Fuentes says
Glad you liked it Blade.
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
This looks great!! I love pasta salads like this. I was a bit of a picky eater growing up, too, but my mom would put vegetables in stews and stuff like that and I ate it all up. It’s probably because it was drenched in gravy or cream sauce (she made this chicken broccoli them with cream of chicken soup that I STILL have dreams about) but it worked!
Laura Fuentes says
funny the things we remember… lol