Growing up, my grandma and grandpa lived on a small lake in Wisconsin. Whenever my family made the trip up there in the summer, it was always so much fun. We usually met up with my cousins, aunts, and uncles, and we all had a blast boating, tubing, skiing, and swimming. We would end most days by grilling out and relaxing before heading back home. My two aunts always made this delicious pasta salad to go with any of our summertime get-togethers, and I remember loving it.
At the last minute, my husband and I were invited to a fish fry last weekend, and I was in need of a quick and easy recipe to bring to the event. I was able to snag this recipe from my aunt, and it was perfect! This is a great side dish for picnics, barbecues, and potlucks!
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz package tri-colored rotini pasta
- ¾ of a ½ lb package of pepperoni cut into quarters
- ½ lb Colby Jack cheese cubed
- ¼-½ large red onion finely diced
- 1 green pepper finely diced
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes halved
- 8 oz Zesty Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook the rotini pasta according to the package directions. Make sure not to overcook the pasta, it can be al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place the cooked pasta in the refrigerator while preparing the other ingredients.
- Cut all of the ingredients to your desired size. The noted sizes above are the measurements I used when preparing my ingredients.
- Mix all of the ingredients with the cold pasta, adding the Italian dressing just before serving.
Notes
This can be made the night before, but wait to add the cheese and dressing until ready to serve.
Great post!
This is my favorite thing ever and I eat the leftovers straight from the bowl. I recently have done cucumbers in it too, which addds some crunch.
That’s a great idea! Cucumbers would make a great addition!