Easy Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing

Name: Easy Pasta Salad (Mom's Recipe)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: ½ 16 ounce box rotini pasta; 1 12 ounce box tri-color rotini pasta; 4 cups broccoli florets; 1 large carrot (diced); 1 12 ounce bag frozen peas; 2 cups cherry tomatoes (cut in half); 1 cup artichoke hearts (quartered in water, sliced and diced); ½ cup black olives (sliced (add more if you like them)); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 16 ounce bottle Ken's Italian Dressing

This Pasta Salad is a bite from my childhood. It is overflowing with vegetables and reminds me of springtime and grilling with my parents. It is light enough for a hot day and is bursting with so much flavor.

I took my mom’s pasta salad that we all love (just ask my Aunt Liz!) and added extra veggies to it. It always has the staples – rotini pasta, tomatoes, peas, black olives, artichokes, and Ken’s Italian dressing (the dressing is key) but over the years, I have added broccoli and carrots to it and we love it!

Our trick to good cold pasta salad that lasts a long time is NOT drowning it in dressing until it is ready to be served. A light coating of olive oil and a little bit of dressing will keep the pasta from getting dry while also keeping it from getting soggy. Pour dressing all over it right before serving or let your guests dress it themselves and choose how much dressing they want!

A scoop of pasta salad on a wooden spoon.

🥘 Ingredients

Rotini Pasta – You can use other kinds of pasta – I just grew up with rotini, and pasta salad just isn’t pasta salad with any other pasta. I love to use a full 12-ounce box of Tri-Color rotini (cheaper at the store) and half of a 16-ounce box of regular rotini (also cheaper in the store.) (You can make this gluten-free by using my favorite gluten-free pasta – Banza Chickpea Pasta.)
Broccoli Florets – Broccoli is optional but it is so good!
Diced Carrots
Black Olives – I don’t love olives, but my husband does, so I add them. If your family doesn’t like them, you can leave them out.
Cherry Tomatoes – I like to slice them in half.
Frozen Peas
Artichoke Hearts (in Water) – I like to just use artichoke hearts in water as the ones that are marinated come with their own dressing and I like to keep it simple. It is even easier if you get them quartered in water – they are very easy to dice up that way.
Olive Oil
Italian Salad Dressing – Ken’s Italian Dressing makes this salad what it is. I have made this pasta salad with homemade Italian dressing and I have also used the Italian Dressing from Aldi – but Ken’s is the winner every time. (I recommend getting it at the grocery store so that you don’t have to buy 9 bottles at one time!)

🍽 Equipment Needed

A large pot (for cooking pasta)
A cutting board and a sharp knife
A colander
A spoon or rubber spatula (for stirring and combining everything)
A large baking sheet (for cooling the pasta)
A HUGE bowl – I use the biggest version of this nesting bowl set from the Pioneer Woman. It is the perfect size and it has a lid.

🥣 How to Make It

Cold pasta salad is so easy to make.
First, cook pasta as directed on the box. (Pictures 1 – 2) When there are two minutes left in the cooking time, add the broccoli florets and diced carrots to blanch them. (Pictures 3 – 5)

A collage of images showing hot to make pasta salad, steps 1 - 5.

When the pasta is cooked (a little al dente) strain the pasta, broccoli, and carrots – then rinse with cold water. (Pictures 6 – 7)

Spread the pasta, broccoli, and carrots out on a baking sheet with edges and drizzle with a little olive oil. (Pictures 8 – 9) Toss to fully coat the pasta and now leave it to cool. (Picture 10) If you are in a time crunch, you can pop it in the refrigerator (10 – 15 minutes) or freezer (5 minutes.)

A collage of images showing hot to make pasta salad, steps 6 - 10.

When the pasta has cooled, add it to a large bowl. (Picture 11) Add the tomatoes, olives, artichokes, and peas and toss to combine. (Picture 12 – 14)

Pour ½ cup of dressing over the salad and toss to coat all the pasta lightly. (Picture 15) Cover and refrigerate until serving.

A collage of images showing hot to make pasta salad, steps 11 - 15.

Top with remaining dressing right before serving or allow your guests to dress their own.

🍱 Recipe Yield

This recipe makes 20 cups of pasta salad. If each person eats 1 cup or less, this recipe will easily serve 10 people. If you are anything like our family, it will probably only serve five people.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled if you need to serve it to a large group!

🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses

Serve this pasta salad with Italian Salad Dressing (we recommend Ken’s Italian) and keep it cold. It will be okay sitting on a table at a picnic for a few hours, but I recommend keeping it refrigerated when possible.

Recipe Variations

Chicken Pasta Salad – Add cooked diced chicken to the pasta salad to make it a meal. I like to make the chicken in my Instant Pot.
Italian Pasta Salad – Add diced pepperoni, salami, assorted cheeses, etc. to make a different spin on the cold pasta salad.

Button linking to the Pinterest page for Southern Bytes.

🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating

Store cold pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge. Preferably only coated with oil and a splash of dressing. For maximum freshness (and minimum fogginess), add dressing only right before serving.

✏️ Helpful Tips

Mistakes to Avoid When Making Pasta Salad

Dressing the pasta salad too early. If the dressing sits on the pasta salad for too long, it will get absorbed and will make the pasta really soggy. Ew.
Not using the right type of pasta. When it comes to picking a pasta for your pasta salad, there are a lot of choices. The size and shape of the pasta actually does matter when making this summery side dish. I would avoid fresh pasta – it doesn’t hold up as well and will get mushy and gross. Also, while linguine and spaghetti are delicious, pasta salad isn’t really the dish to use them in. I prefer pastas like rotini, farfalle, and radiatore – lots of nooks and crannies for the dressing to seep into.
Overcooking or undercooking the pasta. Cold pasta salad is going to sit for a bit and also has to be so easily “stabbable” with a fork – forkable? I like to cook the pasta until it is al dente – if it is overcooked, it will fall apart and get mushy.

🙋‍♀️ Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of pasta is best for pasta salad?

You want to use a pasta that has a lot of nooks and crannies and little ridges for dressing to hide. (Don’t use spaghetti, linguine, etc.) I love rotini best, but have also used bowties and that worked great!

What goes with cold pasta salad?

Pasta salad is mostly just a starch with a few vegetables mixed in it, so you’ll want to serve it with some kind of protein. Hamburgers, Sandwiches, Fried Chicken, Grilled Chicken, or Hotdogs would all be great options.

Should you rinse pasta for cold pasta salad?

Making cold pasta salad is the only time you should ever rinse your pasta. Rinsing the pasta with cold water helps to stop the cooking process and will help it to cool down faster.

What is the best store-bought dressing for pasta salad?

The best dressing for pasta salad is Ken’s Italian Dressing. Hands down. Other Italian dressings come close, but Ken’s is by far the best.

Is it better to make pasta salad the day before?

Cold pasta salad can be made the day before, but I wouldn’t go much beyond one day ahead of time. I will eat it for at least a week – but the pasta will get a little hard and dry over time, so ideally, you want to eat it right away.

How do you keep pasta from sticking together in pasta salad?

Drain the pasta, spread it out on a cooking sheet, drizzle a single layer of extra-virgin olive oil over it and allow it to cool. Spreading it out on the cooking sheet allows it to cool quickly and prevents it from overcooking and the olive oil will keep the pasta from sticking.

How much cooked pasta does 1/2 cup dry pasta make?

When using rotini, 1/2 cup of dry pasta will make about 1 cup of cooked pasta.