When there’s minimal cooking, one-pot, and healthy ingredients involved, I’m all in! This easy pasta salad recipe consists of fresh veggies and a quick throw together Italian dressing, making it the perfect family-friendly vegan meal!
I’m not a huge raw food person, but sometimes the less cooking involved, the better! Anyone with me?
Whether it’s a hot day outside, you’re feeling lazy, or don’t have the energy for all those dishes afterward. I love meals where you can just throw everything in one pot, mix it up, and serve!
This 20-minute easy Italian Pasta Salad recipe is just that. Fresh uncooked veggies, paired with a delicious home-made easy whisk-able Italian dressing, and tossed with your favorite cooked pasta.
Easy Pasta Salad Recipe
When I think of a pasta salad, the following words come to mind…
Easy
Fresh
Flavorful
Light
Refreshing
Colorful
…did I mention EASY? This seems to be the theme of any pasta salad recipe I love. If that’s also what you think of, then we’re on the same page, and this easy pasta salad recipe is the PERFECT addition to your meal rotations!
Whereas my last vegan Pasta Salad recipe with Grilled Italian Sausage, Peppers, Mushrooms, & Cherry Tomatoes involved easy cooking and simple seasoning added by roasting all the veggies in the oven, this one involves fresh uncooked veggies paired with a quick flavorful Italian dressing!
This easy pasta salad recipe has been one of my families favorite meals for years now. Not only is it the perfect potluck dish or family meal, but my kids have been devouring it ever since they were toddlers. It’s great on the go or perfect for school lunches since it’s meant to be eaten cold or at room temperature.
How To Make The Perfect Italian Pasta Salad Recipe – Step by Step
This step by step tutorial depicts how easy and simple this recipe really is…anyone can do it!
Boil your favorite pasta al dente, rinse in cold water, and set aside (the only amount of cooking involved in this recipe).
While the pasta is cooking, whisk together your Italian dressing and set aside.
Open and rinse the canned artichokes & sliced olives, chop the bell peppers, and halve the cherry tomatoes.
Toss everything together and chill in the fridge!
That’s it! Don’t you love these easy-minimal-cooking-toss-everything-together type of meals? I typically make this dish ahead of time and allow every thing to marinate together for more flavor.
So grab some ingredients and get going! Only 20 minutes and you can have the perfect weeknight meal, potluck dish, school lunch, or beach go-to. After all, it’s still beach weather here in sunny San Diego, and we need a hearty easy meal to devour after hitting up those waves!
If you like this recipe or post, be sure to leave a comment and use the rating field! You can also tag me on Instagram with any re-makes, @vegetariangastronomy so I don’t miss it, as I love sharing them on Re-Make Fridays! Or you can help me spread the word about my recipes on Pinterest and Facebook!
Quick & Easy Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
INGREDIENTS
For the Pasta Salad:
- 1 lb. Tri-color Rotini Pasta , see notes
- 15 oz. olives , sliced
- 15 oz. artichoke hearts , drained completely & copped (see notes)
- 1/2 red bell pepper , diced into small cubes
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper , diced into small cubes
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
For the Dressing:
- 3.5 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 4 teasp oregano
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 2-3 teasp sugar , see notes
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large pot with boiling salted water cook the pasta al dente. Rinse with cool water and drain. If you pre-cooked the pasta, add a drizzle of olive oil and toss to keep pasta from sticking together. While the pasta is cooking, continue to prep the veggies & dressing.
- In a small bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking the dressing ingredients together.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked cooled and drained pasta, olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, tomatoes, and dressing. Toss gently to mix together.
- If possible, chill in the refrigerator before serving. Flavors will develop as you let it sit.
NOTES
- If you cook the pasta ahead of time, be sure to cook completely with cold water and pre-toss with a tiny amount of olive oil to avoid sticky cooked pasta.
NUTRITION
Reema
Hey, how much vinegar?
Reema
Gastronomers - Amman & Anjali
opps sorry…i updated the post. it’s 4 T vinegar. Did you make this dish?
Reema
I did…was yummy! But too much vinegar for me…I would probably do less next time. I assumed it was T…
I also made the baked pasta, turned out good! I have tofu on my list next 🙂
Gastronomers - Amman & Anjali
Next time if you want, you can mix some balsamic vinegar with white sugar and add it to the pasta to balance out the vinegar taste. I tried that the last time I made the dish and I thought it turned out better!
Anonymous
This dish is really good, very filling but not super heavy. i had it without a whole lot of dressing and it tasted great. yummo
Melinda
This was really good the artichoke hearts tastes yummy on it thanks !
anjali
Hi Melinda! So glad you enjoyed this pasta salad! It’s one of my favorites…full of bright colors and fresh veggies! Thank you!
Lisa
It says to see notes about sugar, but I don’t see anything mentioned.
anjali
Sorry about that! I’ll update it to include the notes about sugar…I totally forgot that section. So for the sugar, you can use any type of sugar, or maple syrup if you want a refined sugar free recipe. And feel free to add more or less depending on preference! Hope you love the recipe!
Amy
Can you freeze this???
anjali
Even though I’ve never tried freezing this recipe before, I don’t see why it should be a problem. The only thing is that this is meant to be a room temperature pasta salad, so when things are defrosted, it’s nice to heat it back up to get the right texture on the pasta, but in this case, not sure if you’ll be doing that. So I’d say give it a try! If anything, you can heat it up…should still taste good!
Tara
This one is easy, healthy and good! And the pasta you used or tri color are my fave
anjali
Thanks so much for the review and so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Just curious why you gave it 4 stars instead of 5? It makes it easier for me to know what people liked or didn’t like about the recipe 🙂 Thank you!