For all of you readers out there who struggle to find a meal that pleases everyone in the family, this pasta salad might be for you! Initially, I was going to make an Italian inspired pasta salad, but instead I decided to just make the base for the pasta salad and chop up toppings that could be mixed in later. S/O to my family for inspiring me to make this meal picky eater friendly. Instead of leaving out the onions for my dad, tomatoes for my sister, and meat for my mom, I decided to leave it all out and let them each customize their own pasta salad.
Ingredients
base pasta salad:
- 16 ounces of pasta (I used Fusilli pasta)
- 12 oz of Italian dressing (I used a bottle of Brandless Italian dressing)
- 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
toppings:
- 1 red pepper diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 yellow pepper diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 large tomato diced (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 red onion diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup Colby jack cheese
- 1 cup salami (I used summer sausage and cut the slices it into quarters)
- 1 cup pepperoni sliced into quarters, could also use the mini pepperonis
How to make it
- cook pasta according to package's instructions
- drain pasta and rinse in cold water
- after rinsing pasta, set pasta aside and cut up toppings
- dice peppers, onion, and tomato into small pieces
- cut cheese into small cubes
- cut pepperoni and salami slices into quarters
- in a large bowl, combine pasta with one 12 oz bottle of Italian dressing
- add 1 tsp. lemon juice to pasta mix
- stir until pasta is evenly coated with dressing and lemon juice
- add 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper to pasta
- stir until seasonings are evenly distributed
- refrigerate pasta salad and toppings until serving
- add desired toppings into pasta salad, or let each person customize their own dish of pasta salad
- enjoy!
Finished product
For next time...
Next time I might try cooking the pasta the night before, and refrigerate it over night before assembling the pasta salad in order to give the pasta proper time to cool and prevent the pasta salad dressing from soaking into the pasta so much.
Variations
I love the way tri color pasta looks in pasta salad, so it could be fun to try out different pasta shapes and colors. Since this is a "build your own" pasta salad, the opportunities for variations is built into the recipe. In addition to the toppings I used, some other topping ideas might be green peppers, black olives, pepperoncinis, pepper jack cheese, and cucumbers.
All in all
This dish is a great option to bring to your summer BBQ's and is sure to be a hit. I think we enjoy being able to customize the meals we eat, and this dish provides the perfect opportunity to do just that! If you end up trying out this recipe, let me know what you think and what topping combos are your favorite. Happy (almost) July!
