Pizza Pasta Salad (with the BEST dressing)
What makes this easy pizza pasta salad stand out from the rest is a dressing that makes it taste even better the next day!
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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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 salad | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 1550mg | Potassium: 484mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1110IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 2mg
