An easy pasta salad with Italian dressing, simple yet very yummy. Almost any type of pasta may be used. Best if left to sit overnight.

Simple Pasta Salad

rotini pasta

(16 ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing

cucumbers, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

green onions, chopped

Parmesan cheese

Italian seasoning

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 12 minutes, until al dente, and drain.


Toss cooked pasta with Italian dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, and green onions in a large bowl. Mix Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning in a small bowl, and gently mix into the salad.


Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.


I made this to take to a 4th of July cookout last weekend.  It was a HIT!  I altered the recipe by using part Good Seasons Italian and part Zesty Italian dressings; used 1/2 a chopped onion instead of green onions; used 3 tomatoes instead of 6; added 1/2 green pepper; 4 ounces of shredded paramesan cheese instead of grated; and added a small can of black olives.  Even people who weren't found of pasta salad said it was delicious! Thanks for a great base recipe - the possibilities are endless as to what you could do with this!

Very simple and light, yet a tasty salad. Perfect for those summer days!
I added a little black pepper to mine just for the extra punch since it had a very mild taste. I also add onion powder sometimes. 
You can add more or less salad dressing depending on your taste and you could experiment with other salad dressing flavors as well.  I have to say my favorite is with Balsamic Vinagrette Salad Dressing(light).  Just simple and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

Great pasta salad - perfect for any BBQ!  Pasta salads are so easy and no matter what you add to them as long as the veggies are fresh, you use a good quality dressing, and it's chilled - it'll be delicious.  So add what you like. This recipe is a great base. I used tri-colored pasta, a whole bunch of cherry tomatoes that I cut in half and  added some black olives along with the rest of the ingredients. For the dressing I used Good Seasons Italian dressing mix (so it was kinda homemade, and kinda not). I also added some parmesan and romano cheeses.  This is a definite keeper!

Well, I think I made it even better!  We made my roasted vegetables today (recipe submitted today), and added them instead of the tomatoes and cucumbers.  Wow!  Note that if you can find Club House's One Step Parmesean &amp; Herb Seasoning, you can substitute a bottle of that for the parm and italian seasoning.  Here's the roasted veggie recipe (it's easy):
8 cups chopped veggies (your choice, such as zucchini, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, mushrooms, etc), marinated in a bottle of your favourite dressing, suggestions are parmesean basil, greek, or sundried tomato.  Marinate for two hours, tossing frequently.  Grill on medium BBQ or in oven at 350 for 30 mins or until tender-crisp.  Add to pasta salad.  Yum!

I've used a similar recipe for years.  I usually mix the Italian dressing in with the cooked pasta the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight before adding the vegetables.  I also add a 1/2 bottle of McCormick Salad Seasoning.  My husband loves this after a hot day at work (he works in a non-airconditioned plant).

This will be the pasta salad I use from now on.  I used a salad dressing that had Romano &amp; Parmesan in it, and still used the extra Parmesan cheese.  I used 3 chopped tomatoes instead of 6, 6 seemed to be a lot for me, I am not big on tomatoes. Very good idea to have ingredients on hand during the summer months!  Thank you!!!

Because so much of this recipe relies on bottled dressing, choose that bottle wisely. 

The Italian dressing from Trader Joes was something just awful. It was impossible for me to doctor it to a palatable state. I will give it another chance with another brand.

This is a good, basic starter recipe for pasta salad.  I added green and black olives (I love olives), salami, mozzeralla cubes and instead of the italian dressing, 
I used caesar.  I got a lot of compliments!

This is one of the best recipes I have taken off allrecipes.com. I substituted green pepper in place of one of the cucumbers. Everyone at our camp out raved about this salad and almost all when back for seconds.

A simple, yummy pasta salad. I have made this for a bunch of different events and always have people asking for the recipe. I like to use halved cherry tomatoes, for their sweetness, as well as a really good shaved parmesan (and lots of it!). You can experiment with different Italian dressings to find a flavor that suits you; I usually just go with whatever is on sale (!), but I'm not picky, and I don't think you could go wrong. Presuming you make this ahead of time, I would suggest reserving some dressing to mix in  just before serving -- or even adding extra, as I have -- as the pasta will soak up a lot of it. I also add more parmesan when I give it a final toss, for added texture.   This recipe is kind o a no-brainer, as it's just so easy and good. It's a staple in my repertoire!

Fantastic recipe! Made it exactly as written, used Wishbone Robusto Italian dressing and added black olives. So good and so easy!

This is a wonderful light dish.  The only thing I added was some spices.

A delicious, light side dish for these hot summer days! I'll never buy the boxed pasta salad again.

Nice and light for summertime. Added additional parmesan and some spices.

I really wanted to make this salad but had to improvise a bit with what I had on hand. For the pasta I used bowtie and that went over well with the kids. I didn't have any green onions but since I don't care for raw onions I wouldn't have added any anyway. I only had 2 roma tomatoes and that wasn't enough. The recipe calls for 6 and and that would have been a lot better. I used a greek vinagrette instead of Italian and liked that a lot since it had feta cheese in it. I don't like it when recipes say to use cheese by the ounce. I used at least a cup. When it came time to serve I added more dressing and parmesan. I would recommend this recipe. It was delicious and easy.

I made this salad for a party and it was a hit! I doubled the recipe but did not double the Italian dressing--I only ended up using about 20 oz. and it was the perfect amount. I'll make this recipe again for sure.

In the past my family would cringe when I suggested I'd make the pasta salad....not so with this recipe!  Everyone at our recent gathering loved it.  The only variation I made in the recipe was I marinated the cukes, onion, tomatoes (I used halved grape tomatoes)&amp; the Italian seasoning in about 1/3 of the bottle of dressing while the pasta cooked and cooled.  I added the parmesean last.   This recipe is definitely a keeper! 

This was very tasty and a great way to use up the veggies in my garden.  Next time I am going to add feta cheese.

I think the dressing you select is important.  Because the one I chose (Newman's Italian dressing), wasn't soo vinegary for me, and I didn't like this dish too much.

I have gotten some RAVE reviews making this salad.  Only gave it four stars because I did make some modifications.  I used the cherry tomatoes and just cut them in half.  I used one cucumber and added one green pepper.  I didn't have the italian seasoning so I bought a packet of Italian dressing mix (zesty) and added that in along with the bottle of prepared dressing.  I also added some jumbo olives that I sliced.  Everyone just LOVED it and I think a big part of it was the "kick" that the zesty dressing packet added.  I am now asked to bring it to every family event.  My 2 year old can't eat enough of it when I make it!!

Just like the name says! I would probably use a little less dressing than the recipe calls for, and light instead of full-fat Italian.

I made this pasta salad for my 3 year old's birthday party (for the adults of course).  I have a picky family and it was a hit!!!! I was so pleased.  There was only a little bit left when we were done and my mom asked if she could take it home.  My sister recently asked me to make some for another get together we are having.  The only thing I did differently was cut down the tomatoes since I don't really like tomatoes all that much.  I only used one.  I also put in some black olives.  Great recipe!!!  You could use whatever vegetables you like.

LOVED THIS ONE!!! Added the mozzarella cheese in cubes and lots and lots of parmesan cheese

Made some modifications by adding in some small slices of pepperoni, red and green bell peppers, and a mix of Italian herbs for added flavor.

Took it to a house party and it was a huge hit. Made a giant bowl and brought back only about 1 cup full. Will definitely make again, as it is good warm (fresh) or after refrigerating.

Served for large family dinner last night.  Everyone gave it 4 stars.  Very good salad.  Made as directed.  Next time I make it (which I will), I will leave out the cheese or choose another "chunkier" kind (parmesan isn't quite right) and cut the dressing by 1/3 - 1/2.  Very good recipe though!

Excellent and so easy! I made it yesterday and got many compliments! I added a small can of sliced black olives, chopped mozzarella cheese and chopped Genoa salami.

Good recipe. I followed exactly and it was very good.

I've made it twice now. Everyone absolutely loves it. It really is so super simple and I think that's what makes it so good. You're not bombarded with too many conflicting ingredients and your able to enjoy just enough variety to compliment any main course. It's very healthy too. I cut up some grilled chicken and threw on top for some protein...a perfect lunch the next day.

This is a great classic pasta salad recipe. Turned out fabulous. Thanks for the recipe!

This was delicious.  I didn't have green onions or cucumbers on hand, but added black olives.  This is the perfect recipe if you need to throw a side dish together quickly!

This was really good!  I halved the dressing amount and it was still quite tasty!

Gave this recipe to someone to make for a community feast of 200 people. It tasted amazing and was so summery and full of veggies. After scaling the recipe, it called for 40 tomatos, which is what I bought, but the girl who made it said she only used half of them so I would only buy small good quality tomatoes for this recipe next time. I imagine it was also be delicious with feta cheese in it.

Love this recipe!  I did add some sliced black olive, some chopped yellow bell pepper and used shaved parm and romano cheese, because I didn't have any grated.  Highly recommend!

I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. My husband and father-in-law loved this the most! Will definitely be using this again, especially for those summer picnics!

Good and simple - I didn't have quite enough tomatoes so I added green pepper and black olives. Perfect!

I cooked pasta and tossed with Italian dressing and chilled overnight. 2 hours before serving I folded into pasta all ingredients. I used small grape tomatoes and sliced green onions plus feta cheese and pitted kalamata olives.

I made this as is and it was very good, this is the classic pasta salad I grew up eating!!!

Excellent!!! Very easy, just involved some chopping, but I love recipes that I don't have to measure out all the ingredients perfectly.  I added a can of black olives and I recommend using ZESTY Italian dressing.  My family loved it! 

This was the first time I had ever made homemade pasta salad and I think it turned out pretty well.  After reading some of the reviews I made it last night so it would have time to marinate before our cookout tonight.  I tasted it after it was finished thought and it was really good!  I used tri-color rotini noodles, 4 large red tomatoes seeded, 1 large cucumber, 1 head of brocolli chopped up, and then threw in some green and black olives and some mild pepper rings.  I used fresh grated asiago cheese rather than the parm.  It looked and tasted great and I know my guests will love it!  Thanks! UPDATE: Everyone loved this and asked for the recipe, it was a big hit!

I made this pasta salad for my wife and daughters: Great &amp; Simple.  I seeded roma tomatoes as well as peeled/seeded the cucumbers.  I'd recommend adding a fistful of black olives.  Original feeds twelve ,but for my family of four it means leftovers better than the original:)

so simple and yummy. i wasn't sure about the cucumber for some reason but it was very good. i added some chopped green pepper and some green onion. my picture doesn't look nice but i used tri color rotini which made this even prettier.

Good pasta salad.  It is good if you can let it sit over night.  I doctored the recipe a bit by adding tuna fish and more veggies; celery, green and red peppers, and I also left out the parmesan cheese, just not a fan.  Good and easy recipe though, especially to take as your addition to a potluck BBQ.

This was simple and easy. It tasted pretty good. I add carrots to it and found it to be a good addition

This is a simple, versatile salad that I've made twice in the past week. The first time I followed the instructions, and the result was a summery flavorful Italian pasta dish. The second time I skipped the cucumber and added broccoli, chopped red pepper, and shredded carrots. It was equally delicious. Also used bowtie pasta, which worked really well.

Simple and satisfying. I skipped the green onions and added carrots. Yum :)

This looked beautiful! I sliced some black olives and added them to the salad and I halved some grape tomatoes. Those were the only changes I made and the family loved it!

Easy to make, tastes great. Didn't last more than a couple hours in my house before it was all gone!

I'm not a huge fan of cucumbers, but it was still good. Next time we plan to use red bell peppers instead of cucumbers.

I have had many pasta salads made with italian dressing, but the parm cheese and italian seasoning really makes this a step up!  Very good..

This was excellent!!  I've never made a good pasta salad until now. I didn't have any green onions so I used red oniona.  I also added little squares of cut up sharp cheddar cheese.  Perfect--very refreshing! Just what I was looking for!

This was really good and really easy! I left out the green onions because I didn't have any, but it was still delicious. 

I used this as a base for a "clean out the fridge" pasta salad. I added chopped garlic, chopped shallot, spinach, and seasoned cooked chicken to make a one dish meal.

It was so easy to make and tasted amazing!!! *****!!!

I was surprised I liked this so much. I don't really care for italian dressing and the ingredients seemed so simple I was expecting it to taste like every other pasta salad I've had. It really had a good flavor. I cut the recipe in half and still had some leftover. I used Good Seasons dressing (the one you make yourself) and added some black olives, celery and chick peas. I will certainly make this again.

We enjoyed this for the rotini pasta - used tri color. FYI, 4 oz. Grated parmesan cheese  = about 1 cup. We used 3/4 cup and was just right.

This was a quick, very good, recipe.  I made just a few tweaks.  I used whole wheat rotini pasta and light Northern Italian (Ken's Steakhouse) salad dressing to make it a bit more healthy.  I also cut down on the tomatoes (I used 4) and cucumber (I used 1).  I didn't let it marinate overnight, however I did prepare it in the am, so it had a good 6 hours to set.  Thanks for the great recipe!

I did a half-batch, and, as per usual, I changed the recipe according to what I had on hand. As such, I used: 8 ounces of fiori pasta (sort of a wagon wheel shape), 8 ounces of Italian dressing (I use Wishbone), 1 large tomato, a couple thin slices of yellow onion (diced very fine), maybe 12 or 15 baby carrots (julienned into medium-ish pieces), one large can of black olives (sliced in half), 2 or 3 ounces of grated Parmesan (the Kraft stuff) and 1½ tsp Italian seasoning. It tasted great as soon as I finished it, but I think it'll suck the dressing up as it chills. I'll just add some extra Italian dressing if needed when I serve it in five hours. Thanks for sharing, Katzen! I look forward to trying it when I have some extra cukes!

This was good! I did not use a whole bottle of italian dressing. That to me would of been too much. I also used some carrots and red onion as opposed to the green onions. Will definitely make again.

This was delicious! It is my new favorite pasta salad recipe.  So easy and so yummy!  :)

This was a hit at a pot luck. I used halved cherry tomatoes and the colorful tri color rotini. Very good!

I make this for a Christmas Party and everyone loved it.  It's easy to make and tasts great.  

Maybe my vegetables are bigger than most, because 6 tomatoes sounded like a lot. I used 5 regular tomatoes, but I left out the end slices that were mostly skin. I also added 2 more ounces of parmesan with Italian seasoning because I felt it could use more cheese. And I added a small can of black olives. It definitely makes a lot of pasta salad, more than enough for everyone at the barbecue!

super easy and extremely good. I made this for a family party and everyone raved about it. there was only a little tiny bit left by time the party was over. the only change i made to the original recipe is that i used grated parmesian/romano cheese as thats what i had on hand.

Good solid recipe. I used grape tomatoes instead and added 1/2 a green pepper. I will definitely add red onions to it as next time. Instead of Italian dressing, I used Balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing. I added salt, fresh ground pepper and a few squirts of lemon juice for taste.

Left out the cucumbers as I didn't have any and not sure I would've like them anyway.  Pretty easy to make.  It was pretty good when recently made.  I only left it in the fridge a couple of hours.  I have to disagree totally that it's best when left to sit overnight, because when I had leftovers the next day, it had just soaked up all the dressing, was drier and I just didn't think was very good that way.  It was good at 2 hours.

Great recipe! Its very light and great for the summer. I am making a big batch of it for a suprise birthday party this july!

This is my new pasta salad recipe!  Added tuna, delicious!  Thanks for the recipe!

Lovely pasta salad.  I made this with Tex-Mex Burgers with Cajun Mayo (also on this site).  The two complimented each other nicely.  Everyone loved it.

This was excellent! This salad depends heavily on good, fresh produce and a good Italian dressing. Spend a little extra on the vegetables because it makes a huge difference. I went with my favorite Italian dressing - Ken's Lite Northern Italian and this turned out great!

FREAKING AMAZING RECIPE! Thank you. I twisted mine a bit like others did. I used Good Season's Dressing. Added Parmesan and Romano. Cut the tomatoes in half, and cukes. Added black olives and used green onions. Added McCormick's Salad Seasoning to it as well. And YUMMMM! Husband said it was the best ever- raved liked mad!! :-)

Pretty good! While I prefer my Pampered Chef Italian pasta salad recipe, this wasn't half bad considering it was made from bottled Italian dressing. My recipe calls for a homemade vinaigrette and a generous bounty of fresh veggies (i.e. broccoli, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, etc.) and that sets it above any pasta salad made from convenience items, IMHO. Having said this, I think I would have enjoyed this a bit more if it were made with different veggies. I think a mix of bell peppers and red onion would have been more to my liking. The tomatoes kinda broke down after sitting in the fridge overnight and the cucumber, although tasty, overwhelmed everything else. All in all this was decent, but I'll need to make a few changes in order to better suit my tastes. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Katzen! :)

It was amazing. My picky son even ate it.

Cut ingredients in half - for just my husband and I. We both loved it! I used thinly chopped red onion instead of green onions and took reviewer's advice &amp; used a good bottled Italian dressing.  Plan to experiment adding salami and maybe cheese chunks . Excellent &amp; fast!

delicious,  simple,  easy. I added turkey pepperoni and sweet peppers

I have made this salad multiple times since coming across this recipe and this is amazing. It's fast, it's simple, and it makes a great lunch or side dish (we used it as both). I didn't even have to make any alterations to this, which is a plus. The only thing that I did to give it a little bit of texture was to peel one cucumber while leaving the skin on the other. I will definitely be making this again.

I made this for my daughters birthday party and it was a hit!  I made a TON!

Made this for my daughters 1st birthday cookout. I added black olives. It was a big hit and easy to make.

I've made this before but this time I tried something different. I used Ken's Steak House Greek Salad Dressing and diced red onions. I also sprinkled grated Parmesan cheese over the top. It was a hit at my luncheon. 
Lady D

This was so easy to make!  I am refrigerating overnight and serving at a potluck tomorrow!  It is delicious!

My wife and I LOVE pasta salad! And this recipe was no exception. Because we try (try being key word) to be a little more health conscious, we do without the salted boiled water. Oddly enough we where out of Italian seasoning so we made do with oregano, and as you can tell in the picture we add broccoli. I read in one the the reviews about a displeasing with this recipe because of the choice of dressing they chose; I'm not sure how their choice reflects of overall performance of this recipe, buuuuuut we used Tuscan Garden Zesty Italian (from Aldi) and I am satisfied with that option. Which I may add also has NO high fructose corn syrup.

The only change I made was to chop the salmon into little squares,that way I got more salmon in every bite.the recipe was delicious just the way it is in every other respect.thank you for such a great recipe.!!

Excellent side! Nice texture &amp; flavor! Did differently: made our own fresh vs bottled dressing from creating an herb infused olive oil made 3 days prior (Delish alternative!). A few hours prior to dressing pasta- add remaining dressing ingredients &amp; set aside. Added capers to pasta &amp; more parm cheese. Meant to add some fresh parsley or basil before serving...next time!

It was delicious- I used fewer tomatoes than the recipe called for, and used an orange bell pepper.  Sitting overnight makes it even better!

I am a huge fan of pasta salad, but I'm always looking for simplicity. I don't like tons of elaborate ingredients, but just a good simple pasta salad. When I found this recipe, I decided to try it out, and I was thrilled with the results. It was flavorful and delicious. My brother (who isn't a huge fan of pasta salad) LOVED it! I only used 2 large tomatoes, because I didn't want  a ton of them in my salad. I omitted the green onions, but overall, I would DEFINITELY recommend this recipe to all pasta salad lovers. I will DEFINITELY be using this recipe again!

I made this recipe for my son’s birthday party with around 50 people in attendance and this recipe was a massive hit. This was so easy. Following the recipe as written is delicious and worthy of the rating, but I also added cubed pepperjack cheese, chopped pepperonis, and half a red pepper.

My daughter loves taking this for her school lunch. Very yummy and easy to make.

I also added pepperoni, cubed sharp cheddar cheese and sliced black olives.  Of course, this is an easy recipe  for making it to your liking.  I used Wish Bone Italian Robusto salad dressing because it has so much flavor.  I bought extra Italian dressing  to add later.  The pasta always absorbs some of the dressing and I didn’t want the salad to dry out too much,  Again to your liking  as to how moist you prefer the salad.

made with bowtie pasta, and added fresh basil.,very easy and great recipe.
Will try adding other favorite veggies as they come in season.

This was a great pasta salad that I had made for our small family gathering for Labor Day and birthday celebration. 
 I had only used 12oz of Italian dressing because that is all I had. I used the Olive  Garden dressing and it was just enough for the salad. I thought 160z that was mentioned  to use, was little too much. I used a  red onion chopped rather than green onions. It gave it a good flavor to add to the salad. Next time I will add black olives or maybe green bell pepper would also be a good addition to the salad. This was an  easy, simple and delicious pasta salad to make for any celebration!! Will definitely be making this again!!

I made quite a few changes.  I added a can of kidney beans (make it a meal!) and only used 1 cucumber (it was large). I didn't have parmesan cheese or onions, so I didn't add those. My salad dressing was flavorful on its own, so I omitted the Italian seasonings too. Also, this recipe does not need so much salad dressing! Unless you want pasta salad soup, cut back on the dressing. 
The bottom line is: Feel free to change this recipe a lot. It still turned out super yummy for me! 
BE WARNED: this recipe makes a LOT of salad!! Be prepared with a huge bowl.

Definitely the keys to this pasta salad are a good dressing and high quality shredded parm cheese.  The italian seaoning added to the cheese adds GREAT flavor.  I used Good Seasons Italian dressing made with apple cidar vinegar and olive oil. I added spinach (green),4 plum tomatoes (red) and orange and yellow mini sweet peppers, with some red onion.  What a beautiful presentation. Any veggies you want or have with the shredded parm, italian seaoning and a good dressing! Easy! Can't be beat!

I wouldn't use a bottled dressing with this recipe.  The sodium content seems too high to be healthy.

This is awesome.. n my kid loved it too.. Just followed the recipe as it is.. dressing n seasoning are home made too.. The recipe took very little time.. Thank you

This was a very pleasant surprise. I thought maybe it might not have enough ingredients to be flavorful. But it did and it was great!!! I used tri color penne, because that is what I had in the pantry.

A quick and easy salad with rotini pasta and vegetables.

simple pasta salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total: 1 hours

Author : Katzen

Ingredients

Instructions

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