Easy Italian Pasta Salad
This Italian Pasta Salad is an easy Mother's Day recipe that dad and kids can make. This is healthy, yummy, and easy to clean up, too!
Ingredients
Scale
- one package of pasta shapes like shells, bow tie, or macaroni, 8 - 12 oz.
- bottled Italian salad dressing of choice, to taste (about 1/2 - 3/4 )
- vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces like broccoli, carrots, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. ( about 3-4 cups, or to taste)
- 1-2 cups cheese of choice cut into bite-sized cubes, like cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, etc.
- grated parmesan cheese to taste ( we used about 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, cool, and place in a large bowl.
- Place 1/4 cup water in a microwave safe dish. Add the broccoli and carrots ( if using). cover, and microwave on high for 1-2 minutes. You just want to cook it briefly, but still keep some of the crunch. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Toss the cooked vegetables, raw vegetables ( like tomatoes and peppers), cheese cubes, Italian dressing, and parmesan cheese together in the bowl until well combined. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese, salt, or pepper, if desired.
- Keep it covered in the refrigerator until serving.
Notes
If you are using gluten free pasta, I recommend eating this salad right away, or within about an hour. The rice flour in gluten free pasta hardens when it gets too cold, so storing it in the fridge for a few hours won't work very well.