Red, White and Blue Pasta Salad

Red, White and Blue Pasta Salad is a fun and festive dish that is perfect for any patriotic occasion, especially the 4th of July! Made with colored pasta, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes, and your favorite Italian dressing, this zesty Italian pasta salad is sure to be a hit with both kids and adults alike.

Prep Time30

chilling time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Red, White and Blue Pasta Salad

Servings: servings

Calories: 311kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

16 oz Rotini pasta cooked and rinsed
3-4 drops each red & blue liquid food coloring
2 TBSP water divided
1 TBSP olive or vegetable oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half (about 10 ounces)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed small (or mozzarella pearls)
¾ cup pepperoni, quartered
½ cup black olives, chopped equal to 3 ounce can
16 oz bottle Italian dressing

Instructions

Pasta: Prepare the noodles according to the package directions. After the noodles have been cooked and rinsed, separate the pasta into 3 ziplocked bags with equal-sized portions of pasta (this is about 3 cups of noodles in each bowl).
Add 3-4 drops of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon of water to one of the bags and seal is shut tightly. Do the same with the other bag but use blue food coloring instead. Use 3-4 drops of blue food coloring and 1 tablespoon of water.
Gently knead both bags to mix and coat the pasta well until they look uniform in color. If needed, add in 1 more drop of coloring and 1 tablespoon of water to either bag until the desired hue is achieved. Be careful to not add too much coloring or else the pasta will take on too much of the food coloring taste.
Let the pasta sit in each color for about 5 minutes, letting the color really sink in. Then rinse and drain pasta. Drizzle the olive oil over the plain white pasta. (This helps prevent the color from leeching to the white pasta.)
Assemble: Pour the red and blue pasta into the large bowl with the plain pasta, stir to combine.
Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes in half, pour those into the large bowl of pasta.
Depending on the mozzarella cheese you are using, dice into small cubes or drain the pearls, add the cheese to the pasta bowl.
Slice the pepperoni into quarter pieces until you have ¾ cup and then add it to the pasta mixture.
Drain the can of olives and pour into the pasta bowl.
Pour in the entire 16-ounce bottle of Italian salad dressing and mix well until all ingredients are fully combined. Cover salad & chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

Red, White and Blue Pasta Salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. However, it is best to consume it within 24 hours of making it for optimal freshness.

Nutrition