Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
This Zesty Italian Pasta Salad is a great make ahead side dish, and loaded with tomatoes, olives, peppers, herbs, and a bright fresh dressing. My family recipe for Italian Dressing is below- but this pasta salad is great with bottled salad dressing too, if you're short on time.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 249kcal
Cost: $2
Ingredients
For the Pasta Salad
- 1 12 ounce box rotini pasta Gluten Free
- 1/2 red onion finely diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes diced
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 14 ounce can black olives drained, and halved
- 1 cup Zesty Italian dressing recipe below
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
For the Zesty Italian Dressing
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup sunflower oil
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning spice blend of thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, garlic
- 2 cloves garlic pressed or finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water, and cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water to stop them cooking. Place drained cooled noodles into a large mixing bowl.
- Dice the bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, and halve the olives. Add the veggies to the bowl with the pasta.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a mason jar, and shake well to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta and veggies, and toss well to coat. Taste, and season with Salt and Pepper if needed! Add shredded cheddar on top.
- For leftovers - I like to take a quart sized mason jar, fill half with pasta salad, and half with fresh spinach and enjoy for a quick and easy lunch!
Nutrition
Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 171mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1110IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 1mg