Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad – the perfect side dish for all your summer barbecues! Pasta tossed with mini pepperoni, black olives, green bell pepper, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and Italian dressing.
Hi guys!
This is our first full week of summer break and after a crazy last month of soccer, 7-on-7, exams, giant projects, and school events that required me to put actual clothes on… I’m so happy it’s summer.
My children have finally listened to my request to make friends with someone with a pool so we’ve been there every day for the last week. We’ve ordered pizza more times than I want to admit. I don’t remember the last time I got in my car.
I love summer.
I also love this pasta salad that I’m sharing today! It’s everything you love about pepperoni pizza in a cold pasta salad and it’s perfect for all your summer barbecues or parties or just making and keeping in the fridge on days when you don’t feel like standing over a stove.
How To Make Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
This Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad is so easy and comes together in about 20 minutes!
You start by cooking the pasta – and you can use whatever small pasta you like. I used bowties but you can use rotini, wagon wheels, shells, anything small. Once the pasta is cooked, you have to rinse it in cold water. This helps to cool it down (because this is a cold pasta salad) and also gets rid of some of the starch that may cause the pasta to stick together.
Once the pasta is rinsed and mostly cool, it gets tossed with mini pepperoni, sliced black olives, halved grape tomatoes, diced green bell peppers, and diced mozzarella cheese. Then it all gets tossed with bottled Italian dressing.
Then just store it in the fridge until you are ready to serve! I like how freshy cracked black pepper looks on top so I do that right before serving. You could totally do crushed red pepper flakes if you like those, too!
Can Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad Be Made Ahead?
Yes! It’s actually best if you can make it a couple hours ahead so that the pasta has time to cool completely! So if you have a lot of party prep to do, this can definitely be made ahead of time. Just store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
How Long Will Pasta Salad Last?
Since this pasta salad doesn’t have a mayo-based dressing, it will be fine in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. But because it does have the fresh tomatoes and green bell pepper in it, I think it tastes best within the first couple of days.
Be sure to store it in an airtight container. And I don’t recommend trying to freeze it!
More Pasta Salad Recipes
Classic Macaroni Salad – the pasta salad everyone loves! Macaroni with diced ham, cheddar cheese, and peas in a creamy and tangy mayo-based dressing. This pasta salad is perfect for any barbecue or potluck all year long!
Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad – who doesn’t love bacon and ranch together?! Pasta with crispy bacon, sliced olives, tomatoes, avocado, and cheddar cheese tossed in ranch dressing. This one is a kid favorite!
Orzo Pasta Salad with Tahini Dressing – a delicious Middle Easter-inspired pasta salad! Orzo with tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, feta cheese, and green onions in an easy homemade tahini and lemon dressing.
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- 8 oz small pasta such as bowties
- 5 oz mini pepperoni slices
- 1/2 cup can sliced black olives
- 1 cup grape tomatos halved
- 1 cup green bell pepper diced
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese diced
- 1/2 cup Italian dressing
- fresh cracked black pepper, for serving
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Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool down.
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Once the pasta is cool, transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Add pepperoni, black olives, tomatoes, green bell pepper, mozzarella cheese, and Italian dressing. Toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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Before serving, give it a good toss to make sure the dressing is coating everything. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper.
