Italian Summer Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad is a quick, easy & colorful cold summer salad with cucumbers, grape tomatoes, fresh herbs and Italian seasoning vinaigrette all tossed together for a great potluck dish!
Servings: 10 cups
Calories: 164kcal
Ingredients
- 12 oz tri-colored rotini
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Toppings
- 1 large cucumber diced
- 2 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese balls or any Italian cheese cubes
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- ½ cup purple cabbage roughly chopped or 1 small red onion diced
- 1 cup favorite Italian dressing
Instructions
- Boil the pasta with the salt in the water according to the package until al dente.
- While the pasta is happening, wash and dice all of the vegetables.
- After the pasta is finished, rinse it under cold tap water. Drain well.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, and all chopped vegetables. Toss in cheese balls. Drizzle the Italian Herb Vinaigrette on top, then toss to combine.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and fresh cracked black pepper. Bon appetite!!
Using Instant Pot for cooking Pasta
- If using the Instant Pot, cover the pasta with water, season with salt and then cook on Manual HIGH for 3 min and then wait for 3 min keep warm counter and then release the pressure by turning the knob to venting.
Notes
Note about using purple cabbage or red onion.
I personally prefer to use purple cabbage in no cook recipes over red onion. Red onion starts to emit pungent smell after some time. So if you are planning to keep the salad for later use, you may notice unpleasant taste if using red onion. Purple cabbage stays firm and fresh for longer duration without the odor. So for cold salads I think it's a better choice. But it's a personal preference so choose accrodingly.
To make Glutenfree Italian Summer Pasta Salad :
You can use gluten free pasta instead of regular pasta to make this recipe Gluten free .
To make Vegan Italian Summer Pasta Salad :
You can use vegan and dairy free cheese instead of regular cheese to make this recipe Vegan. You can simply skip the cheese as well.
To Make this Italian Summer Pasta Salad WFPB compliant and oil free
Use the whole grain wheat pasta instead of regular pasta . You can skip the oil in Italian Vinaigrette and use water or veggie broth instead.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 391mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g