The Best Pasta Salad - Easy Best Summer Meals

One of my favorite summer meals is this easy pasta salad! It only takes about 30 minutes to make, and packs a ton of flavor, textures, and color.

I don't like heavy meals when it gets hot outside, and this light dinner salad is just perfect for hot weather! Refrigerate leftovers (if there are any) because this salad is even better the next day after flavors meld together!

I love the flavor combination in this salad of red onions with sharp cheddar cheese and Italian dressing. Maybe it's because my Italian Dad always made this salad growing up, and the flavors are so memorable. Then again, maybe it's just GOOD... You be the judge!

A Pasta Salad Meal

One of the things I like best about this favorite summer meal, is that it has all the nutrition needed in one yummy bowl. Grilled chicken protein, lots of veggies for fiber & vitamins, pasta, and cheese for dairy or calcium. It's a complete meal by itself, but pair it with BBQ, or take it to a potluck and it's a sure hit!

Really you can throw in any fresh veggies you have from the garden, or in your fridge. This salad is very adaptable to the season, and what is available!

Although it's good enough to be a meal in and of itself... This pasta salad is also a favorite side dish. See below for my favorite foods to serve it with!

Tips For Making Easy Pasta Salad

1. Make sure your noodles are totally cooled before adding the cheese or the dressings! If you add cheese to warm noodles it melts or gets too soft and warm. If you add dressing to warm noodles, they absorb the liquid and you have a dry pasta salad (not so good).
2. It's best the day after you make it... If you are making this for a potluck or get together, make it the day before so the flavors can meld together overnight in the fridge!
3. Chop ingredients small enough to get a bit of almost everything on your fork! This way you can enjoy the flavor combinations, instead of one thing at a time!

Ingredients

16 ounces of veggie rotini pasta, cooked and drained.

⅓ a red onion, finely chopped

1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

2 chicken breasts, grilled and diced small.

1 C small chopped broccoli tops

1 cup chopped olives

½ C. small diced cheddar cheese (I like sharp cheddar in this salad)

One Half cup small bacon pieces (Optional but good!)

½ of a cup chopped Pepperoncini!

1 cup Dressing. - I love Olive Garden Italian dressing or zesty italian salad dressing (don't add dressing till pasta is cool!) My kids love this pasta salad with Ranch dressing too.

Garnish with chopped parsley.

Instructions

First cook your pasta by boiling it for 10 minutes. Then drain and set it aside to cool.

Grill or cook your chicken breast, and dice into small pieces, and add to cooked pasta. You want the pieces of this salad small enough that you can get a bit of almost everything on one bite, hence small diced chicken.

Chop your veggies into small pieces, and add to pasta bowl with chicken:

• Red Onion
• Broccoli
• Cherry Tomatoes (or other tomatoes if you don't have cherry)
• Olives
• Pepperoncini

Add bacon pieces.

Chop sharp cheddar cheese - BUT DO NOT ADD TO BOWL TILL PASTA IS TOTALLY COOL or it will melt.

Add Dressing and toss. If you add dressing before pasta is cool, the pasta will absorb all the dressing, and your salad will be dry (or you'll have to add a lot more.)

Toss pasta salad, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate till ready to serve!

Garnish with Chopped Parsley

Enjoy!

Serving Tools

This pasta salad is beautiful. I love to display and serve it in a big wide serving bowl to maximize the visual attraction, with a couple of big spoons. That way more than one person can be dishing it out at the same time, and it looks beautiful!

I prefer porcelain serving bowls, as opposed to plastic, and wooden spoons, like these:

Serve Pasta Salad With

My favorite dishes to serve this Easy Pasta Salad with include:

• BBQ Chicken
• Grilled Chicken (You can omit it from the recipe if serving with grilled chicken.)
• Jello Salad
• Hamburgers
• Hot Dogs
• A Bowl of Sliced Melon
• Corn On The Cob!

Recipe Card

Easy Pasta Salad Variations

This pasta salad is very versatile! Try adding chopped mushrooms, fresh monsterella cheese, pepperoni slices, summer squash slices, bell peppers, red peppers, sweet peppers, green olives, chopped baby spinach, or your favorite veggies!

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