A homemade Italian pasta salad dressing takes this simple pasta salad loaded with veggies, cheese, pepperoni, and olives to a whole new level! Serve it right away or make it ahead for packed lunches, picnics, or summer barbecues.
Pasta Salad with Homemade Dressing Recipe
A homemade Italian pasta salad dressing takes this simple pasta salad loaded with veggies, cheese, pepperoni, and olives to a whole new level! Serve it right away or make it ahead for packed lunches, picnics, or summer barbecues.
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 8 ounces package uncooked tri-color rotini pasta
- 6 ounces pepperoni sausage diced
- 6 ounces provolone cheese cubed
- 1 medium red onion very thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small cucumber thinly sliced
- ¾ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ¾ cup chopped red bell pepper
- 6 ounce can pitted black olives, drained
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Dressing:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard seed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rotini and cook until tender yet firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
- Transfer drained, cooked pasta to a large bowl. Add pepperoni, provolone cheese, red onion, cucumber, bell peppers, olives, parsley, and Parmesan cheese.
- Mix olive oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, ground mustard, salt, and pepper for dressing in a jar with a lid. Seal the jar, and shake until well combined.
- Pour dressing over the pasta salad; toss until well coated. Serve immediately, or cover and chill in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours before serving.
