Easy Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing
This Easy Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing is a perfect side dish any time of year! Loaded with noodles, vegetables and a tangy homemade Italian dressing. Make ahead for easy entertaining.
Pasta salads are perfect side dishes. They pair well with BBQ or roasted meats, they’re great to serve alongside hot dogs and hamburgers in the summer, and if you add protein to them, they are a meal in themselves. And the best part, they’re super easy to assemble.
Perfect for potlucks, picnics and barbecues!
I don’t know about you, but when we’re at a potluck or a summer BBQ, if I see a pasta salad on the table, I make a beeline right for it. They are THE best. Full of flavour and delicious ingredients…they’re just so good. Most people (and kids) love them, so they’re a perfect dish to take to potlucks, picnics and barbecues.
An easy pasta salad recipe!
This easy pasta salad is made with a homemade Italian dressing that is simple and quick to assemble. After that, the rest of the salad ingredients are really up to you.
Tailor to your tastebuds
Pick your favourite noodle, then add all of your favourite chopped vegetables. To this salad we added chopped cucumbers, red bell pepper, green onion, chickpeas, sliced black olives, chopped cauliflower and cherry tomatoes. But you could also use chopped broccoli, carrots, snap peas, chunks of cheddar cheese, and even cooked chunks of chicken to make it a full meal. The flavour possibilities are endless.
This is a great make-ahead recipe!
Then toss everything together, let it rest for about an hour then serve it up to your hungry crowd! This recipe is also a great make-ahead recipe. Just put your salad together the day before you want to serve it, then keep it in the fridge until serving time. Make sure to give it a good stir right to the bottom of the bowl to redistribute any dressing.
What to serve with your Easy Pasta Salad
Serve alongside hamburgers, roasted chicken, kabobs or BBQ pork chops or steak. And eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. So good.
Easy Pasta Salad Recipe Tips:
- INGREDIENTS: Feel free to use any veggies that you like. You can also use chopped broccoli, carrots, snap peas, red onion, chunks of mozzarella, cheddar cheese or feta cheese, and even cooked chunks of chicken to make it a full meal. The flavour possibilities are endless.
- NOODLES: You can use any type of noodles: macaroni, penne, rotini pasta, fusilli, farfalle…
- MAKES A BIG BATCH: This recipe serves a crowd, 10 – 12 people, so feel free to cut it in half if you wish, or it makes great leftovers for lunches the next day.
Easy Pasta Salad
This Easy Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing is a perfect side dish any time of year! This recipe serves a crowd, 10 – 12 people, so feel free to cut it in half if you wish, or it makes great leftovers for lunches the next day.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Resting Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 – 12 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
Ingredients
Homemade Italian Dressing
- 1 cup vegetable oil (you can use olive oil, but the flavour will be a bit stronger)
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp sugar or honey
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- fresh ground black pepper
- salt to taste (I didn’t add any because the parmesan cheese is salty, but you can add salt if you want)
Salad Ingredients (see notes):
- 1 (900 g) package of noodles
- 1 (14 oz) can chickpeas (drained)
- 1 (14 oz) can sliced olives (drained)
- 3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
- 1/2 red pepper (chopped)
- 1 medium cucumber (chopped)
- 1 cup chopped cauliflower
- 3 – 4 green onions (sliced)
Instructions
- Blend all of the salad dressing ingredients together until smooth. I like to use a hand blender to do this.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl toss the pasta and chopped vegetables with the salad dressing and let it rest for at least 1 hour. This salad is even better when served the next day, after it has had time to rest.
- Stir before serving.
Notes
Feel free to use any vegetables that you like…I only just listed what was used for this salad. You can also use chopped broccoli, carrots, snap peas, chunks of cheddar cheese, and even cooked chunks of chicken to make it a full meal. The flavour possibilities are endless.
Keywords: easy pasta salad, pasta salad recipe
More Pasta Salad Recipes
SO many delicious recipes to try! Italian, Greek Pasta Salad, Macaroni Salad, Bruschetta and more.
Don’t forget to pin this for later!
Have a delicious day!
