Description

Super easy Classic Italian Pasta Salad – with pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella, cucumbers, spicy pepperoni or salami, pepperoncini, olives, and easy Italian dressing.

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 pound Pasta

1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 cup cucumbers, chopped

4–6 ounces of mozzarella cheese, cubed

1/2 pound salami chopped or pepperonis, cut in fourths

1/3 cup olives, sliced

1/3 cup pepperocinis, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, sliced or chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped (optional but adds great flavor)

Easy Italian Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon coarse salt

2 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried basil

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Optional: 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, if you want a little kick to your salad

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Instructions

In salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions for al dente pasta. Drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is room temperature. Place pasta in a large bowl.
Make the dressing either in a blender or shake together in a jar.
Add all the ingredients to a bowl with about half the dressing. I like to start with half and then add more as needed, according to your preference. Any salad that is leftover will more than likely need a little more dressing added before serving the next day.

Notes

Save the extra dressing to add to your leftover salad. Pasta can get dry as it sits.
To make this higher in protein, use chickpea pasta or big protein pasta
To make this lower fat, use turkey pepperoni and low fat cheese
If you don’t want to make the homemade dressing, simply use your favorite Italian vinaigrette for the store.