Perfect Pasta Salad
A zesty and crowd-pleasing side dish for any occasion!
Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 8 cups rotini pasta (spiral) You may substitute any pasta you like
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 large cucumbers, diced
- 1 large red onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup black olived, sliced
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 cups Italian dressing, or see below for dressing recipe
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta under cold water to stop the cooking process. Allow it to cool completely.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumbers, finely chop the red onion, slice the black olives, and crumble the feta cheese. Chop the fresh parsley.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, black olives, feta cheese, and fresh parsley.
- Pour the prepared dressing over the pasta and vegetables. Gently toss everything together until well coated with the dressing.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 1 hour, allowing the flavors to meld and the salad to chill.
- Before serving, give the pasta salad a final toss. Garnish with additional parsley or feta if desired. Serve chilled and enjoy this classic Italian pasta salad with family and friends.
Notes
Feel free to customize this recipe by adding grilled chicken, shrimp, or other favorite ingredients to make it a complete and hearty meal.
If refrigerating overnight before serving, some of the dressing tends to be absorbed by the vegetables and pasta. You might want to do a taste-check and add additional dressing when serving, if necessary.