Easy Pasta Salad With Homemade Italian Dressing
Looking for an easy side dish this summer? Our Easy Pasta Salad With Homemade Italian Dressing is loaded with fresh summer flavor and your favorite veggies like green bell peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes plus black olives. We also added sliced pepperoni and shredded parmesan cheese for a little extra zing and saltiness. And don’t forget our Homemade Italian Dressing made with clean ingredients that pulls this whole side dish together. This recipe can be made 24 hours ahead for stress free summer entertaining!
Easy Pasta Salad With Homemade Italian Dressing
A great make ahead summer side dish, this Easy Pasta Salad features simple ingredients and a Homemade Italian Dressing.
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 16 oz. Shell Noodles, Cooked Al Dente
- 1 Cup Pepperoni Slices, Quartered
- 1. Cup Red Onion, Finely Diced
- 1 Cup Green Pepper, Finely Diced
- 1 Cup Black Olives, Cut in Half
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, Cut in Half
- 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, Finely Shredded
Homemade Italian Dressing
- 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp. Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 2 Tbsp. Oregano(Fresh or Dried)
- 3 Tbsp. Pure Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp. Brown Mustard
Instructions
Make the Dressing- This dressing recipe works best using an Immersion Blender. Place all of the dressing ingredients in a wide mouth quart jar or the tall beaker that came with your Immersion Blender. Whatever you choose to use, be sure the blender head will be able to be completely submerged.Place the blender head into the dressing ingredients completely before pushing the power button to blend your dressing.
Blend the Dressing- Gently push the button to pulse the dressing while keeping the blender head submerged. Blend the dressing until it is frothy and creamy.
Prepare the Pasta - Cook the noodles to al dente, according to the instructions on the box. Once done, pour into a strainer and rinse with cold water, then place into a large mixing bowl and set aside. It's important that the pasta has completely cooled before mixing in the other ingredients so that the vegetables stay fresh and crisp.
Prepare the Pasta Salad Ingredients- Finely dice the onion and the green pepper. Next, quarter the sliced pepperoni, slice the olives in half and slice the tomatoes in half and place into the bowl with the noodles and toss lightly. Finely shred the Parmesan Cheese and then set aside.
Add the Dressing and Cheese - Pour the Homemade Italian Dressing over the pasta salad along with 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours. This pasta salad can also be made ahead, chilled, and then served the following day.
Serve and Enjoy- Remove the pasta salad from the refrigerator, toss lightly then top with remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese before serving.
A family favorite Pasta Salad With Homemade Dressing recipe…
Easy side dishes are great to have around in the from scratch kitchen. Why? A beautiful reason called leftovers! It’s nice to have side dishes prepped ahead that can last for several days. A simple side that is ready to serve makes mealtime quick and complete. All you have to do is cook (or grill!) the protein and you have a meal in minutes! For this reason, we love recipes like this Easy Pasta Salad, Extra Creamy Coleslaw, Creamy Macaroni & Cheese, or Fresh Milled Sourdough Dinner Rolls.
We turned this recipe into an authentic Italian – style pasta salad by adding high quality olive oil, olives, cured Italian meat (pepperoni) and finely grated fresh Parmesan Cheese and filled with loads of real food flavors.
Key features in this Easy Pasta Salad WIth Homemade Italian Dressing recipe:
- Simple ingredients! Even simple ingredients can pack in the flavor. This recipe includes ingredients you most likely always have on hand during the summer season. Little effort is required to whip up this pasta salad for all of your summer gatherings or to simply enjoy with your family
- Clean ingredient Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe- No need to use bottled dressing in this recipe! Our homemade Italian Dressing uses olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, brown mustard, and a few seasonings. The key to this dressing is using the immersion blender to mix it all together. The immersion blender changes the structure of the olive oil and gives this dressing it’s subtle creaminess.
- A perfect make-ahead summer side dish recipe! Planning on sharing this recipe with friends? Prep it the day before.
- Versatile! Change up the ingredients by adding in more of your favorite veggies, cheeses, salamis, or herbs.
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Ingredients needed for Italian Pasta Salad:
- Shell Noodles, Rotini or Penne, something that holds the dressing well.
- Pepperoni or Salami, both work well in this recipe.
- Onion – Finely diced red onion or a Sweet Vidalia would work as well.
- Green Pepper, finely diced
- Black Olives, halved
- Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- Parmesan Cheese – I chose a nice hard parmesan and grated it myself
Ingredients needed for Homemade Italian Dressing:
- Olive Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Oregano
- Pure Maple Syrup
- Brown Mustard
Step-by-Step Instructions For How To Make Easy Pasta Salad With Homemade Italian Dressing
Make the Dressing– This dressing recipe works best using an Immersion Blender. Place all of the dressing ingredients into a tall vessel like a wide mouth quart jar then blend the dressing until it is frothy and creamy.
Prepare the Pasta – Cook the noodles al dente, according to the instructions on the box. Once done, pour into a strainer and rinse with cold water, then place into a large mixing bowl.
Prepare the pasta salad ingredients- Finely dice the onion and the green pepper. Next, quarter the sliced pepperoni, slice the olives in half and slice the tomatoes in half and place into the bowl with the noodles and toss lightly. Finely shred the Parmesan Cheese and set aside.
Add the dressing and cheese – Pour the Homemade Italian Dressing over the pasta salad along with 3/4 cup of the shredded cheese and toss lightly. Refrigerate salad at least 2 hours before serving so that it has time for it to chill and for the flavors to combine.
Serve and Enjoy- Remove the pasta salad from the refrigerator, toss lightly, then top with remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese.
