I made this to take to a 4th of July cookout last weekend. It was a HIT! I altered the recipe by using part Good Seasons Italian and part Zesty Italian dressings; used 1/2 a chopped onion instead of green onions; used 3 tomatoes instead of 6; added 1/2 green pepper; 4 ounces of shredded paramesan cheese instead of grated; and added a small can of black olives. Even people who weren't found of pasta salad said it was delicious! Thanks for a great base recipe - the possibilities are endless as to what you could do with this!
Very simple and light, yet a tasty salad. Perfect for those summer days!
I added a little black pepper to mine just for the extra punch since it had a very mild taste. I also add onion powder sometimes.
You can add more or less salad dressing depending on your taste and you could experiment with other salad dressing flavors as well. I have to say my favorite is with Balsamic Vinagrette Salad Dressing(light). Just simple and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Great pasta salad - perfect for any BBQ! Pasta salads are so easy and no matter what you add to them as long as the veggies are fresh, you use a good quality dressing, and it's chilled - it'll be delicious. So add what you like. This recipe is a great base. I used tri-colored pasta, a whole bunch of cherry tomatoes that I cut in half and added some black olives along with the rest of the ingredients. For the dressing I used Good Seasons Italian dressing mix (so it was kinda homemade, and kinda not). I also added some parmesan and romano cheeses. This is a definite keeper!
Well I think I made it even better! We made my roasted vegetables today (recipe submitted today) and added them instead of the tomatoes and cucumbers. Wow! Note that if you can find Club House's One Step Parmesean & Herb Seasoning you can substitute a bottle of that for the parm and italian seasoning. Here's the roasted veggie recipe (it's easy): 8 cups chopped veggies (your choice such as zucchini asparagus cherry tomatoes sweet peppers mushrooms etc) marinated in a bottle of your favourite dressing suggestions are parmesean basil greek or sundried tomato. Marinate for two hours tossing frequently. Grill on medium BBQ or in oven at 350 for 30 mins or until tender-crisp. Add to pasta salad. Yum!
I've used a similar recipe for years. I usually mix the Italian dressing in with the cooked pasta the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight before adding the vegetables. I also add a 1/2 bottle of McCormick Salad Seasoning. My husband loves this after a hot day at work (he works in a non-airconditioned plant).
This will be the pasta salad I use from now on. I used a salad dressing that had Romano & Parmesan in it and still used the extra Parmesan cheese. I used 3 chopped tomatoes instead of 6 6 seemed to be a lot for me I am not big on tomatoes. Very good idea to have ingredients on hand during the summer months! Thank you!!!
A simple, yummy pasta salad. I have made this for a bunch of different events and always have people asking for the recipe. I like to use halved cherry tomatoes, for their sweetness, as well as a really good shaved parmesan (and lots of it!). You can experiment with different Italian dressings to find a flavor that suits you; I usually just go with whatever is on sale (!), but I'm not picky, and I don't think you could go wrong. Presuming you make this ahead of time, I would suggest reserving some dressing to mix in just before serving -- or even adding extra, as I have -- as the pasta will soak up a lot of it. I also add more parmesan when I give it a final toss, for added texture. This recipe is kind o a no-brainer, as it's just so easy and good. It's a staple in my repertoire!
Because so much of this recipe relies on bottled dressing, choose that bottle wisely.
The Italian dressing from Trader Joes was something just awful. It was impossible for me to doctor it to a palatable state. I will give it another chance with another brand.
This is a good basic starter recipe for pasta salad. I added green and black olives (I love olives) salami mozzeralla cubes and instead of the italian dressing I used caesar. I got a lot of compliments!
