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Home » Recipe Index » Salads » Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad

June 26, 2009 by Kara Cook 16 Comments

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This is one of my family’s very favorite summer salads. We have it as a main dish with fruit salad and bread or muffins, but it is also great served as a side dish. I usually make my own Italian dressing so I can add less oil, but you can just use the kind in the bottle. This stuff is really awesome later on in the season when we have garden fresh tomatoes. Yummy!

Italian Pasta Salad

1 12oz pkg. rotini or bowtie pasta
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 green onions, sliced
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
1# broccoli, chopped
1 can olives, sliced
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Italian dressing
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook pasta in salted water. Rinse with cold water to cool. Stir in vegetables, olives, and parmesan cheese. Add Italian dressing and salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:
-You can add whatever veggies your family likes. If we have red or yellow peppers, I like to add those.
-I have also seen this salad served with ham, salami, pepperoni, or cheese cubes. It really is quite versatile, so give it a try!

Are you gearing up for the 4th of July? Our tiny town does a celebration the week before the actual holiday, so we will be doing that this weekend. Tonight is the parade, tomorrow is the fireman’s breakfast and the carnival. It is a fun tradition that my boys look forward to every year.

I will be posting lots of fun Independence Day recipes next week, so make sure you check back often. I love cooking for holidays, it is so much fun!!

Filed Under: Recipe Index, Salads Tagged With: italian dressing, pasta, vegetables

Previous Post: « Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (Magic Middle Cookies)
Next Post: 4th of July Breakfast-Berry Pancakes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jana

    February 24, 2016 at 8:01 am

    How many servings is this recipe?

    Reply
    • Kara

      February 28, 2016 at 10:20 pm

      It usually serves 8-10, unless some of the eaters are teenage boys. Then it serves 6. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Mary

    September 15, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    How much Italian dressing is added to salad

    Reply
    • Kara

      September 16, 2015 at 7:36 am

      You add it to taste. I don’t like an overly saucy salad, so I usually use between 1/3- 1/2 a cup.

      Reply
  3. esperanza

    September 8, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    La ensalada de pasta se ve muy rica voy a prepararla.Gracias

    Reply
  4. Alda

    April 18, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    Can you make this dish and leave it overnight inthe fridge or is it best tossed and served right away as I was thinking of making this for a potluck lunch at work.

    Reply
    • Kara

      April 19, 2015 at 1:05 am

      You can mix everything the night before except for the dressing. Add that just before serving and it will work just great!

      Reply
  5. Vickie McCarty

    August 27, 2014 at 2:35 pm

    Can’t wait to try this pasta salad. Looks yummy! Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Wendy

    August 9, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    I love your salad! I make one similar to it, but since I don’t like olives and my family thinks they HAVE to have meat in every meal, I use turkey pepperoni (they don’t know the difference if you hide the package 😉

    Reply
    • Kara

      August 11, 2014 at 1:12 pm

      I bet my family would love pepperoni in it as well! (and love the sneaky idea of hiding the package.) LOL!

      Reply
  7. Clo

    July 12, 2014 at 2:44 pm

    Replace black olive by blueberry, it’s really good too.

    Reply
    • Kara

      July 22, 2014 at 7:03 pm

      Not sure if my olive loving kids would go for it, but it sure sounds good to me!

      Reply
  8. Lauren

    June 16, 2014 at 2:29 pm

    I’d rather know your recipe for your own Italian than use the bottled stuff! Can you share?! Thanks and can’t wait to try!

    Reply
  9. Denise

    October 10, 2013 at 6:55 pm

    How much Italian Dressing is added?

    Reply

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Hi. I’m Kara, and I love to create! I share recipes, DIY tutorials, craft projects, and thrifty home decor. I hope that I can inspire you to create something! Read More…

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