A simple side dish for a cookout
A few months ago, I was making dinner for our church youth group and trying to come up with an easy side that didn’t need to be served hot. I decided to put together an easy pasta salad recipe, and it was a hit.
In fact, my daughter reported that numerous youth group attendees asked her for the recipe. She and I giggled because this pasta salad recipe is so incredibly easy.
Sometimes we make it just to eat on throughout the week, but it also works well as a side for carry-ins, feeding a crowd or on holidays.
A huge bonus is that it’s easy to make ahead of time, and the flavors blend together better when you do so as well.
The pasta for the pasta salad
I use garden rotini pasta for making the pasta salad because it’s colorful and looks pretty. It’s the traditional pasta salad pasta.
However, you can use whatever type of pasta you want or have in your pantry. Boil it on the stove according to the box directions.
Strain it in a colander and run cold water over it to cool it down.
The veggies for the easy pasta salad
Set aside the pasta to continue cooling (I usually just leave mine in the sink), and prepare your veggies.
This is where you can get creative and/or use what you have on hand. Here is what I usually use per box of pasta:
- 2-3 diced Roma tomatoes (any tomato works)
- 1/2 cup diced onion (yellow or red)
- 1 medium diced red bell pepper (orange or yellow also work)
- 1 medium chopped zucchini
For the zucchini, I cut it in quarters and then chop from there.
The final touches
I toss the veggies into a large bowl and then add in 3/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese. You can also use grated Parmesan cheese.
Add the pasta and then pour 1 cup of Italian dressing over the top. Mix it together well.
Let the pasta salad chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. If needed (or desired), add 1/2 cup of additional Italian dressing and stir in before serving.
You can easily double this recipe to serve a larger crowd. As is, the pasta salad as a side serves about 15 people.
Easy pasta salad
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. box garden rotini pasta
- 2-3 Roma tomatoes
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 1 medium zucchini chopped
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1-1/2 cups zesty Italian dressing regular, light or fat free
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box. Strain the noodles and immediately rinse with cold water.
- Set aside the pasta and prep the veggies as needed. Put the veggies in a large bowl.
- Add the Parmesan cheese to the bowl.
- Put the pasta in the bowl and add 1 cup of Italian dressing. Mix together well.
- Let the pasta salad chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator. If needed, or desired, add 1/2 cup of Italian dressing and mix in before serving.
Find more crowd-pleasing recipes:
“Grilled” hot dogs in the oven
Fire-roasted corn and red peppers
