I grew up on this Pasta Salad recipe and it’s my all time favorite! I think you’ll love it too.
Pasta Salad
We had friends over for a barbecue this weekend and it wouldn’t have been the same without my mom’s pasta salad. It’s easy. It’s light. And it always tastes great. It makes for great leftovers too! We normally don’t like leftovers around here, but I’ll eat this for a week straight.
It’s bright, colorful and so darn good. You can add whatever vegetables you have on hand and you can use different types of pasta if you want. But this is the way that my mom made it and that I’ve been making it for about 20 years now!
To make this pasta salad recipe, you’ll need:
This pasta salad recipe is so easy and delicious – a quick stop at the store to pick up all the vegetables and you should be set! It is a healthier one and packs a lot of flavor.
- large mixing bowl
- salad tongs or hands
- rotini noodles
- frozen, chopped broccoli
- diced tomatoes
- olives
- bell peppers
- carrots
- shredded cheddar cheese
- Italian dressing
Other pasta salad recipes:
If you love this easy pasta salad recipe, you’re going to love these other pasta salad recipes. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Pasta Salad Recipe
If you love this Pasta Salad Recipe as much as I do, please write a five star review, and be sure to help me share on Facebook and Pinterest!
Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb rotini noodles cooked according to directions, drained
- 6-12 oz frozen chopped broccoli (fresh can be used), cooked, cut into smaller pieces
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 2.25 oz sliced olives
- ½ bell pepper chopped (bigger chunks)
- 2-3 carrots diced
- 1-2 c shredded cheddar cheese
- 15 oz Italian dressing (use your favorite; I usually use Wishbone)
Instructions
- After noodles have cooled down, throw all ingredients together.
- Chill - the longer the better - the Italian dressing soaks in over time.
- And you want the broccoli to be cooked but cold.
- I always add cheese after everything is cooled down because you don't want it to melt into the pasta.
Nutrition
Nothing says summer to me quite like a delicious pasta salad! This is a winner!
YUM!!! I’d love for you to share this at my Saturday Dishes Link Party! It’s a themed link up & this past weekend’s theme was Memorial Day & Grilling! Feel free to share other old or new posts that fit the theme as well if you have them! (:
http://lifeisfantasmic.blogspot.com/2014/05/saturday-dishes-memorial-day-grilling.html
This is so yummy. I really love to pasta. This is one of my favorite.
That looks amazing. Thank you for the recipe!
This is one of our favorites, too! We make it all the time…my fave dressing though is Newman’s caesar. It goes so well! And I’ve never cooked the broccoli before – just used raw. I’ll have to try that!
Yummy! This looks delicious…will definitely be giving this one a try.
This sounds delicious and will definately be a part of our dinner tomorrow night! Thank you. Also, thank you for a simple way to print your recipes. Many blogs don’t offer that but you do. Hats off to you!
Yum!! Just pinned it… thanks for a simple, delicious recipe! :)
Yummy! I love pasta salad and this one looks really good:)