Pizza Pasta Salad is easy to make and full of pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, olives and all of your other favorite pizza toppings! This pasta salad is perfect for parties and potlucks!
How to make Pizza Pasta Salad
Pizza Pasta Salad is so easy to make. Just start with cooked rotini and then add all of your favorite pizza toppings! Mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, peppers are all wonderful in this salad. Add a bottle of Italian dressing and the salad is complete! If you prep all of the other ingredients while the noodles are cooking, the whole salad can be made in less than 15 minutes!
Can pasta salad be made in advance?
Pizza Pasta Salad can e served immediately after making, but I actually prefer to make it a day in advance of serving so that the flavors have time to meld together. The salad becomes more flavorful if you make it in advance!
Pasta salad will stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I love making a batch at the beginning of the week and keeping it in the fridge for everyone to eat for lunch throughout the week. This is one dish that makes great leftovers – you don’t even have to heat them up!
Ingredients in Pizza Pasta Salad
- 16 oz. rotini pasta
- 1 cup pepperoni, diced (I used a 5 oz bag of the mini pepperonis to save time)
- 1 (6.5 oz) can olives, sliced
- 1 cup mozzarella, cut into small pieces (I usually use about 6-8 string cheeses-they work so great for this!)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (you can use fresh Parmesan or the shredded kind that comes in the green canister!)
- 1 cup tomatoes, diced (I usually leave these out since my family is not a huge fan of tomatoes or you can use cherry tomatoes – it makes it easy for picky eaters to pick them out)
- 1 (14.5 oz) bottle of Bernstein’s Restaurant Recipe Italian dressing (I have tried several different kinds of Italian dressing and this one really is the best in this recipe-it makes it so yummy! It’s not very expensive and I’ve been able to find it at most grocery stores.)
- any other toppings you like (pineapple chunks, canadian bacon, peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc.)
Step by step instructions for making Pizza Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is boiling, you can get everything else ready to assemble. Cut up the cheese, olives and pepperoni if needed.
- When pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water.
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve. You can serve it immediately if necessary, but is ideal to let it chill for at least a few hours before serving. I like to prepare this the night before so everything has a bit of a chance to marinate. Just make sure to re-stir everything up again right before serving to make sure the dressing is well mixed!
What goes with pasta salad?
Pasta salad is a wonderful side dish for any type of meat. Because you serve it cold, it is a perfect side dish for summer barbecues. It goes well with grilled chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, even steak!
Sometimes I add shredded chicken to the salad and it becomes a main dish! Protein, carbs and veggies – all in one bowl! An easy, no-bake meal that comes together in just a few minutes. Perfect for days you don’t want to turn on the oven!
Is pasta salad healthy?
There are several things you can do to make pasta salad healthier.
-Use whole wheat pasta. Or gluten-free pasta if you have a gluten sensitivity.
-Use a healthier Italian dressing. Using a vinaigrette is a healthier option, but will obviously change up the flavor a bit!
-Add more protein and veggies. Add shredded chicken to add a lean protein source and balance out the carbs a little better. Add twice as many veggies and this side dish becomes a pretty healthy option for a meal!
PIZZA PASTA SALAD
Ingredients
- 16 oz. rotini pasta
- 1 cup pepperoni diced
- 1 can olives sliced
- 1 cup mozzarella cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup tomatoes diced
- 1 bottle of Bernstein’s Restaurant Recipe Italian dressing
- any other toppings you like (green peppers, mushrooms, pineapple, canadian bacon, etc)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is boiling, you can get everything else ready to assemble.
- Cut up the cheese, olives and pepperoni if needed.
- When pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water.
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- You can serve it immediately if necessary, but is ideal to let it chill for at least a few hours before serving.
- I like to prepare this the night before so everything has a bit of a chance to marinate.
- Just make sure to re-stir everything up again right before serving to make sure the dressing is well mixed!
How to cook pasta perfectly every time
Pasta is pretty simple to cook, but there are a few little tricks to making sure it turns out perfect every time!
-Make sure you use a large enough pot to boil your noodles in. If it is too small, you may find that your noodles stick together and you may run out of water before the noodles are completely cooked. To cook one pound of pasta, you should be using at least 4-6 quarts of water. Make sure your pot is big enough to hold the water and the pasta and be able to boil without boiling over. Remember, pasta expands as it cooks!
-Add some salt to the water. Adding salt increases the boiling point of the water, meaning that the water will boil faster and also helps the pasta cook a little bit faster too! I usually add about a tablespoon of salt.
-Test the pasta. Even though there are recommended cooking times for each type of pasta, the only fool-proof method I have found to make sure pasta is done perfectly is to taste test it! About a minute before the recommended cooing time, I use a slotted spoon to get a noodle out of the pot. Rinse with cold water to avoid burning your tongue! If it is still a little crunchy, let it boil another minute or two before testing again.
-Drain the pasta well and rinse with cold water immediately. The cold water will prevent the pasta from continuing to cook and will also prevent the noodles from sticking together.
Check out our other popular salad recipes:
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- Creamy Orange Fruit Salad
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- Pizza Pasta Salad
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Aimee says
Mmmm this pasta salad looks delicious! My pasta salad is similar but I add carrots and broccoli for crunch, though they don't go very good with the whole "pizza" deal which I'm sure helps kids to love this stuff!
Joanne DiPalo says
This recipe is a great pot luck, and for me I would make this all summer as a side for our grilled burgers and chicken. Thanks so much for sharing this with Foodie Friends Friday. Hope to see you next week for Cinco de Mayo.<br /><br /><a href="http://wineladycooks.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Joanne/Winelady Cooks</a>
Jeni IGOTTHISMARTHA says
I am a huge fan of pasta salad, and this sounds really good!
Amber Brady says
This is one of our family favorite recipes! Love it! Thanks for sharing at Sweet & Savory Saturdays #10!<br /><br />~Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later!<br />http://dessertnowdinnerlater.blogspot.com
Lisa @ Flour Me With Love says
I love finding new pasta salad recipes and I look forward to making this soon! Thanks for sharing at Mix it up Monday 🙂
Ruthie Knudsen says
Looks delightful… Thanks so much for coming to share at Super Saturday Show & Tell last week… I hope you'll come back to party with me again tomorrow! http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com Have a great night! xoxo~ Ruthie
Kevin Anne-Marie says
I've made this for years but I also add cut up green, red, and orange peppers. I cube ham, salami, pepperoni and extra old cheese. I am now using wheat pasta instead of white.
RAP says
Just mixed up a double batch and put it in the fridge to take to 2 cookouts tomorrow for the 4th. Yummy!
Marie Alcazar says
Cucumbers and some Mccormick Salad Supreme seasoning make this the BOMB!!
Wendy Hermann says
How many servings does this make? I want to make this for a block party.
Jessica Williams says
It's a large salad- I served about 15 as a side dish (there was a ton of other stuff) and everyone raved about it- but I still had leftovers. I'd say 18-20.
Luvtocook says
I made this pasta salad for a picnic last weekend and everyone liked it. My daughter took some of the leftovers home, heated it up, and LOVED it! I was skeptical so I warmed some up, and liked it better than the cold salad.
Jessica Williams says
Really? Warm! I'll have to try that!
Latasha Swindle says
Is there another dressing close to this that I can use. I can't find it anywhere where I live thanks
Jessica Williams says
Latasha- have you seen the Olive Garden Italian Dressing in your stores? That would be a wonderful alternative! I've seen it at Walmart as well as Kroger stores where I live. If you can't find that one, just opt for a good quality Italian Dressing. Pour in about 8-10 ounces, then stir and let sit an hour or so, then pour in more as needed. 🙂 ENJOY! Honestly, this pasta salad is amazing!
Justine says
This was delicious! Making it for the next potluck I attend. Also….cutting up the string cheese – brilliant idea.
Noelle says
I love this recipe ! great pizza flavors with a pasta dish!