Tri-Colored Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is nice and colorful, easy to make, and great for summer picnics or parties. The recipe was given to me by a dear friend many years ago, and I've been making it ever since!
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Refrigeration Time (for best flavor)8 hours hrs
Total Time8 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Servings: 6
Author: Adapted from "Cyndie" - allrecipes.com
- 1 pound tri-colored spiral pasta
- 1 (16 oz) bottle Italian-style salad dressing Or make your own.
- 6 Tbsp salad seasoning mix (We use McCormick Salad Supreme, but cut down the amount to 2 Tbsp)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes diced
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- ½ yellow bell pepper chopped
- 1 (2.25 oz) can black olives chopped (optional - we don't like olives)
Additional Vegetables (optional, choose whatever you have, and like)
- 1 small onion chopped
- broccoli chopped and blanched
- celery diced
- shredded carrots
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 10 to 12 minutes; rinse under cold water and drain.
Whisk Italian dressing and salad spice mix together until smooth.
In a salad bowl, combine pasta, vegetables, and olives (if using). Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.
For the best flavor, refrigerate the pasta salad for 8 hours to overnight.
Enjoy!