Name: Easy Pasta Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 200 grams Fusilli pasta; 4 tbsp Black olives (- Sliced); 8 Cherry tomatoes; 2 Bell peppers (- Sliced, multi-colours. ); 100 grams Mozzarella Cheese

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Summer is here, which means it’s time to embrace the vibrant vegetables in a fabulous pasta salad. If you’re looking for an easy dish to take to barbecues or a fun dinner at home, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

This Easy Pasta Salad takes less than twenty minutes to make at home. It is bursting with colours and interesting textures, a feast for the eyes. The best part about this salad is its versatility; you can use your favourite vegetables and dressing. For this recipe, we are using a homemade Italian salad dressing.

Brief History on Pasta Salads

Cold Pasta Salads emerged in Italy long before the American version, which uses Italian salad dressing or creamy salad dressings. ”Pasta Fredda”, as it is known in Italy, is popular in the coastal and southern regions. This dish is also enjoyed in other parts of the world, such as the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia.

Ingredients to Make Easy Pasta Salad

Fusilli Pasta, Baby tomatoes, Olives, Jalapeno Chilies, Bell Peppers, Basil leaves, Pomegranate seeds, Mozzarella cheese, and Italian Salad Dressing.

Fusilli pasta is ideal for this dish, as it has a corkscrew-spiral texture. This means that the pasta will maintain its shape when paired with the Italian salad dressing. You can use an array of different vegetables for this dish. In this recipe, we chose sweet baby tomatoes, briny black olives, and jalapeno chilies for heat. Yellow and red pepper add colour and crunch, whilst basil leaves add a herby taste. Pomegranate seeds have a tart-sweet flavour that complements the salad’s flavours.

Italian salad dressings are perfect for this dish; however, you can use whatever you have in your pantry. If you are making the salad dressing from scratch, it takes minimal time and a few basic ingredients that most people have at home. See our recipe for an easy five-minute, made-at-home, low-sugar, no-salt Italian Salad Dressing.

You can use Mozzarella cheese or Feta cheese. Mozzarella has a sturdy texture with a creamy and chewy taste, whereas feta cheese is crumbly and salty. If you are using feta cheese, increase the amount of honey in the homemade Italian salad dressing.

Instructions

Cut the bell peppers into neatly shaped cubes. The key to a beautiful pasta salad is symmetry. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. If you are using pre-sliced olives, leave them as is; the same would apply to whole olives. Chop the jalapeno chilies, and slice the mozzarella cheese.

Add water to a pot, add salt, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the fusilli pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Check whether it has reached al dente consistency. In a bowl, add all of the ingredients for the Italian Salad dressing and mix well.

Add the ingredients to a bowl and drizzle the Italian salad dressing, the dish is now ready to serve and enjoy.

What can you Serve with the Easy Pasta Salad?

This Easy Pasta salad recipe can pair with many delicious main dishes. Consider a juicy Rib-Eye steak that is full of flavour, this combination is perfect for a hot summer day. Feeling for something light, pair this pasta salad with some Grilled Fish, or Grilled Chicken.

How to Store the Easy Pasta Salad?

Suppose you are making a large batch of pasta salad and want to eat it throughout the week. You can store the washed veggies separately from the cooked pasta and the salad dressing. This will ensure that the items remain fresh and do not become soggy.

Easy Pasta Salad

Print Pin Rate

Course: Salads

Cuisine: Italian, Western

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

Servings: servings

Calories: 293kcal

Author: thetastejournal.com

Ingredients

Pasta

▢ 200 grams Fusilli pasta

Vegetables

▢ 4 tbsp Black olives – Sliced
▢ 8 Cherry tomatoes
▢ 2 Bell peppers – Sliced, multi-colours.

Cheeses

▢ 100 grams Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions

Chop the bell peppers into cubes for symmetry in the pasta salad. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half, and leave pre-sliced or whole olives as they are. Chop the jalapeño chilies and slice the mozzarella cheese.
In a pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add the fusilli pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until al dente. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Italian salad dressing.