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 freshly 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!
What To Serve With Pasta Salad
- Colorado Omelet Burger
- Hawaiian BBQ Ribs
- Grilled Lemon Thyme Pork Chops
- Grilled Ginger Sesame Pork Chops
- Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Sliders
- Cheyenne Burgers
More Pasta Salad Recipes
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Orzo Pasta Salad with Tahini Dressing
- Cole Slaw Pasta Salad
- Ramen Noodle Salad
- Caesar Pasta Salad
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Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool down.
- 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.
- Before serving, give it a good toss to make sure the dressing is coating everything. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 230Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 577mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 9g
