Easy Italian Pasta Salad (copycat Suddenly Salad)

The best Italian pasta salad – quick & easy to make with a classic, zesty flavor and homemade Italian dressing! Serve as a cold Italian pasta salad with pepperoni, or make as a vegetarian or gluten-free option!

As a kid, my mom would make pasta salad from a box. She’d add a little bit of this and a little bit of that and in just a few minutes, dinner was done.

I really like that concept, especially when it’s hot outside. In fact, not wanting to heat up the house while cooking dinner is how my Cobb pasta salad recipe came about, as well as my Greek quinoa salad.

Although I don’t cook from a box anymore, sometimes I crave that classic pasta salad flavor that I grew up on – a copycat Suddenly Salad of sorts. And that’s exactly what this Italian pasta salad is!

Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

When you want super easy recipes that the family loves, this Italian pasta salad is everything you’re looking for:

• it can be made ahead of time
• it comes together really quick (even if you have nothing prepared)
• it’s PACKED with the classic Italian flavor you love
• can be customized to what you like and what you have in the fridge

It’s the perfect recipe to put at the end of the meal plan when you need to use up leftovers from the week, or for when you come home to an empty fridge after vacation!

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe Ingredients

• medium sized pasta (I used rotini)
• sliced olives
• cherry tomatoes
• cheddar cheese
• cucumbers
• pepperoni
• sun-dried tomatoes
• Parmesan

Italian Pasta Salad Dressing

• garlic powder
• onion powder
• dried oregano
• dried parsley
• salt
• black pepper
• dried thyme
• dried basil
• water
• vinegar (any flavor works well)
• olive oil

(See recipe card for complete ingredient amounts and instructions)

Pasta Italian Salad – Notes on Ingredients

Here are the usual players for my classic Italian pasta salad ingredients:

1. Pasta. Other than long noodles like spaghetti and fettuccine, any type of noodle will work. I recommend using smaller noodles that fit in a spoon. If you’re very short on time, here’s a method for freezing cooked pasta that will cut your prep time down to practically nothing.
2. Sliced Olives. I love black olives, but you can use green olives too.
3. Tomato. Halved cherry tomatoes are the quickest to prepare, but any tomato will work. If you use a big tomato, cut it into pieces about the size of the noodle you’re using.
4. Cheddar Cheese Cubes. This is optional, but it adds a bit of protein. You can substitute with mozzarella cheese, but remember that cheese is almost always cheaper when you buy the bricks instead of the bite-sized cubes.
5. Pepperoni. Choose a nitrate-free version if there’s room in your budget (consuming too many nitrates is not healthy). If you don’t want the processed meat, cubed chicken or turkey will work great too!
6. Sun-dried Tomatoes. Totally optional, but they help get that copycat flavor.
7. Parmesan Cheese. Again, optional but it adds a big flavor punch.

If you have them to use up, or your garden is overflowing, these are also great additions:

• Cucumbers
• Bell peppers
• Summer squash
• Small broccoli florets
• Red onion

How to Make My Italian Salad Pasta Recipe (Step by Step)

Step 1. Prepare the pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse briefly with cool water.

Step 2. Prepare the Italian salad dressing according to the directions in this recipe (see recipe card).

Step 3. Meanwhile, prepare the olives, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, pepperoni, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan for the pasta salad.

Step 4. Combine the cooked pasta with the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve, although this salad will be fine if it’s left outside at a picnic. This salad can be prepared earlier in the day or the day before.

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe Tips

Want a Vegetarian Pasta Salad?

My version includes meat, but you can easily add more vegetables and/or garbanzo beans to make it vegetarian! (Here’s how to make Instant Pot beans so you can still keep the kitchen cool.)

How much pasta salad per person?

This is a popular dish to bring to summer pot lucks and barbecues, and it’s really easy to make for a crowd!

• I allow 2 ounces of pasta per person when it’s a side dish.
• When the pasta is mixed with the vegetables and other add-ins, it comes out to roughly a heaping cup of pasta salad per person.

How much pasta salad for 50 or 100?

If we use the 2 ounces per person rule, you need:

• 100 ounces of pasta if you’re serving 50 people (that’s this recipe 6x),
• 200 ounces of pasta if you’re serving 100 people (that’s this recipe 12x).

Consider how many other dishes will be at the table as well. If there’s just one other side dish, you’ll likely need all this pasta. If this Italian pasta salad is just one of MANY side dishes, you can get away with allotting about 1.5 ounces of pasta per person.

FAQs

More Pasta Salad Recipes

• Greek Pasta Salad
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• Cobb Pasta Salad
• Vegetable Pasta Salad

Watch How to Make Easy Italian Pasta Salad