Classic Pasta Salad Recipe
Classic Pasta Salad is a refreshing, easy-to-make dish featuring cooked pasta mixed with juicy tomatoes, briny olives, and a zesty Italian dressing. Perfect for picnics, potlucks, or as a light meal, this salad is chilled to meld flavors and serve cool.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta Ingredients
- 2 cups dry pasta (such as rotini or penne)
Vegetables
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup black olives, sliced
Dressing
- 1/2 cup Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool and prevent sticking.
- Prepare the Vegetables: While the pasta cooks, halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the black olives so they are ready to add.
- Combine Ingredients: In a large bowl, toss the cooled pasta, tomatoes, and olives together with the Italian dressing, ensuring everything is well coated.
- Chill the Salad: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 1 hour before serving to allow flavors to meld and the salad to chill properly.
- Serve: After chilling, give the salad a final toss and serve chilled as a refreshing side or light meal.
Notes
- You can use your favorite type of pasta; corkscrew shapes like rotini work well to hold the dressing.
- For added crunch, consider adding chopped celery or bell peppers.
- Make sure to rinse the pasta with cold water after cooking to stop the cooking process and cool it down.
- This salad can be made a day ahead to enhance the flavors.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Keywords: Classic pasta salad, Italian dressing pasta salad, easy pasta salad, picnic salad
Find it online: https://dylangranv.com/classic-pasta-salad-recipe/
