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This cold pasta salad recipe is the perfect summer side dish and beyond simple to make. Perfect for barbecues and potlucks with our secret ingredient that makes the flavors pop!
The perfect pasta salad for your summer cookouts, just the way my mama always makes it but with a flavor bomb twist!
The Pasta Salad For Flavor Lovers
I first shared this recipe for my mama’s cold pasta salad recipe back in 2011 and when I initially shared the recipe I told a story from my childhood about drinking salad dressing. I won’t get into that story again, because 1) how embarrassing and 2) embarrassing.
But I mention that to tell you that, even as a child, I was big on flavor. I always want flavors to just explode in my mouth and we have recently discovered a secret ingredient for making this pasta salad do just that.
This is my mama’s classic pasta salad recipe but updated with a little twist – Salad Supreme.
Between the cold tri-color pasta, the black and green olives, the pepperoni, and the zesty Italian dressing, this salad already is summer barbecue perfection. But toss in the cubes of creamy cheddar and the heavy dose of Salad Supreme and this salad is hard to quit.
Go forth and pasta salad to your heart’s content. You deserve it.
More Easy Pasta SAlad Recipes:
We have some of the best pasta salad recipes! Check out more below…
Ingredient Notes:
Pasta – We like the tri-color pasta here, but it tastes just the same as any other pasta. Use any small shape you have, such as penne, rotini, or macaroni.
Onion – We like to use diced red onion in this salad. Don’t love the strong flavor? Soak your diced onion in ice water for 10 minutes and then drain.
Olives – Green olives and black olives, or whichever kind you prefer!
Cheddar Cheese – Cubed cheddar cheese is a great addition to this pasta salad! It adds flavor and texture.
Pepperoni – We cut pepperoni slices into quarters but you could also use the tiny pepperoni slices instead, or even use something else like cubed salami, as seen in our Italian pasta salad.
Italian Dressing – Use your favorite brand or make your own homemade Italian dressing! Be sure to use one that is tangy and big on flavor.
Seasoning – We like to add some Salad Supreme Seasoning to this pasta salad, which is a blend of spices and seasonings that goes great with a cold Italian pasta salad recipe. This is a great way to add big favor to your salad and it’s good on roasted veggies and green salads too!
What We Love About This Recipe!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We love simple, easy recipes! But we also want them to taste amazing, and this recipe manages to do both.
Variations:
There all kinds of ways you can modify this easy pasta salad recipe to make it your own! Here are some good ways to change things up:
- Pasta: You can use any variety of shaped pasta when making this salad.
- Cheese: As with the pasta you can pretty much use any cheese. We like cubed cheese but shredded also works.
- Veggies: This is where you can really customize this recipe. Pretty much any veggie you like is okay to use. Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, celery, broccoli, peas, and more are all possible options.
- Protein: We like the flavor of the pepperoni with the Italian dressing but other proteins can work here too. Ham, bacon, hard boiled eggs, chicken, and more are okay to use in this salad.
How to Make Pasta Salad:
Pasta: Boil your pasta according to package directions and then run it under cold water to cool it down.
Mix: Add everything to large mixing bowl and give it a big stir. Refrigerate for at least an hour so the flavors can meld and the pasta salad is good and cold. Taste and add additional seasoning before serving.
Storage Instructions:
You’ll want to keep this pasta salad stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should last for about 3 to 4 days and can be served cold right from the fridge.
More Pasta Recipes to Try:
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Baked Ziti with Meat
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Beef and Noodles
- Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces tri-color rotini
- 5 ounces sliced green olives drained
- 2.25 ounces sliced black olives drained
- 1 small red onion diced
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese cubed
- 3.5 ounces pepperoni slices quartered
- 3/4 cup zesty Italian salad dressing more as needed
- 2 tablespoons Salad Supreme seasoning more to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
- Drain pasta and run under cold water until the pasta is cool to the touch.
- Add everything to a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
- Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- When ready to serve, stir the salad and taste. Add additional salad dressing and season with additional Salad Supreme or salt to reach your desired taste.
Cookbook Queen says
Okay so…….you’re weird. Your parents are probably going to ground you now.
But I used to smuggle bags of dry cereal to school and then throw away the lunch my mom made me and eat the dry cereal instead.
I don’t know why.
Debi says
LOL! Again, funny stuff. We used to hide some other things out in the backyard behind the pool…not necessarily the salad dressing baggies…but my parents could still spot our smoke! Ha ha. I’m soooo craving pasta salad now! Yum! I had pasta pizza last night…cheese pizza topped with penne alfredo and more cheese (and a little broccoli to say we had a veggie) and baked until bubbly and gooey! Yeah, if I eat that again I will die of heart failure. Salad dressing it is today! Thanks!
Barbara says
You are so funny! We sure craved some odd things when we were young. I was never able to eat mac and cheese without prunes. I know, really weird.
Love your pasta salad and frankly, Italian dressing is perfect on it..I use it on mine too.
Rivki Locker says
Just came across your blog and am so glad I did! That’s a really funny story. Kids do all sorts of wild and crazy things!
Debkb says
I love the SS Italian dressing also but I don’t think I could just drink it!
You might want to recheck the stores as it’s still available here in WNY at the local grocery store chain and Super Walmart”s. I just bought some a couple weeks ago.
Joanne says
Yeah…that is kind of weird. I used to sneak pieces of Kraft’s singles when I was a kid…and that stuff basically tastes like plastic. So I’d say we’re even.
Love the sound of this pasta salad! So many amounts of delicious in one bowl!
David King says
I remember eating bath salts with you hahahaha
Katescakesandbakes says
Brilliant tale! I used to crawl out, as a baby after the bread my Mum would throw out to the birds. True story. It wasn’t like my parents starved me, its just I ws a right fussy child and only ate bread and cheese and ham. So it made perfect sense.
tammy says
that is too funny! isn’t it funny as kids we thought we were so sneaky! I have several pasta salad recipes on my blog that use italian dressing..come check them out!
shelly (cookies and cups) says
u can’t just eat chapstick or glue like the rest of us? u have to go and take it to the next level…contraband salad dressing.
that is seriously the most hilarious thing ever.
Leanna @ Raptortoe says
aahaha that salad dressing baggy story is hilarious. We all did weird things like that! I cooked from very young, and I had this thing for mixing random hot sauces into canned beans and adding pasta. It was “fancy”.
Yammie @ Yammie's Noshery says
My friend and I used to sneak some raw macaroni noodles out of the pantry and eat them like cereal with water. Disgusting, I know. One time we left our bowls of noodles in water in her play refrigerator and next time I came to her house we found that they were still there, but they were completely covered in fuzzy, black mold. It was quite an adventure to get them upstairs to the garbage without her mom seeing. We ending up eating an entire box of cheez-its, dumping the evidence in the box and then nonchalantly taking it upstairs to throw it away. Ah, good times.
Natalie says
That was hilarious. I love that you remember the exact name of the dressing. When my brother and I were little, we used to take Mrs. Powell’s rolls (amazing rolls from a little bakery in our town), and fill them with homemade-from-the-little-green packet Ranch dressing and lots of bacon bits.(not even the real ones. The fake ones.) Heaven, I tell you.
Kate@Diethood says
That is hilarious!!! Especially since I used to do that with ketchup and mustard. :/ I know…strange.
The pasta salad looks gorgeous! Love that you added olives in there… I have to have olives in pasta salads. 🙂
Erin says
When I used to hate salad and pretty much all vegetables, I used to each croutons covered in salad dressing