Pizza Pasta Salad has all the flavors of a delicious pizza in a pasta salad. Mini pepperoni, olives, green bell pepper, cubes of cheese, tomato – all tossed in a vinaigrette in this easy pasta salad. Warm up the leftovers of this Pizza Pasta Salad with marinara sauce for another meal. I love Italian pasta salad recipes and this one is great!
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PIZZA PASTA SALAD
What’s not to love in this pasta salad. It has the flavors of pizza with a zesty vinaigrette.
Here’s the line up of ingredients for this amazing Pizza Pasta Salad.
I love these mini pepperonis. They’re so cute and perfectly sized. You can definitely use regular pepperonis quartered but they’re not nearly as fun.
I have a love/hate relationship with pasta salads. Every time I eat one I think about how much better it would be if it was warm.
I’m weird. I like almost everything hot. This Pizza Pasta Salad however, I liked cold.
I’m not gonna lie though. My littles aren’t fans of pasta salad. So I heated up the leftovers with some marinara and they were thrilled. Two meals in one!
I made a homemade vinaigrette but you can totally use bottled Italian dressing if you are in a pinch. You can use red onion instead of green onions if you like. Add a little red pepper for some heat!
HOW TO MAKE PASTA SALAD
- Cook pasta al dente in a large pot in heavily salted water according to package directions. Drain and cool.
- Toss all of the salad ingredients except for the Parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
- Prepare dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the dressing to the pasta and toss to coat. Chill for 1-2 hours in the fridge. Stir well and top with grated Parmesan cheese right before serving.
OTHER PASTA SALAD RECIPES:
- 8 ounces rotini pasta, cooked and drained
- 1 (5 ounce) package Hormel pepperoni minis, (or whole pepperonis quartered)
- 4 ounces provolone cheese, (or cheddar) cut into 1/4 cubes
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Dressing: (you can use 3/4 cup store bought Italian dressing as a shortcut)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, (or fresh minced garlic)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
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Cook pasta in heavily salted water according to package directions. Drain and cool. Toss all of the salad ingredients except for the Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Prepare dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the dressing to the pasta and toss to coat. Chill for 1-2 hours in the fridge. Stir well and top with grated Parmesan cheese right before serving.
Recipe adapted from the back of the Hormel pepperoni package.
Note: My little kids won’t eat pasta salad so I warmed up the leftovers with marinara and everyone loved it.
