When you’re feeding a large family, finding recipes that are simple, delicious, and satisfying an be a challenge. This Zesty Italian Pasta Salad is refreshing, flavorful and gorgeous. It’s perfect for busy weeknights, potlucks or family gatherings.

pasta salad with red onion, red peppers, cucumbers and black olives in a bowl

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This pasta salad recipe is everything you need for a busy family meal. It is quick to prepare, budget-friendly, and loaded with vibrant flavors. It’s also a hit with both kids and adults, making it a go-to dish for feeding a crowd.

My mom recently made this as part of our Thanksgiving dinner, it was delicious and it made the table look so elegant. You can turn this into a full meal by adding some diced grilled chicken, some shrimp, or keep it vegan and throw in some chickpeas.

You can also use whatever veggies you have on hand. Zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, mini pepperoni and Parmesan cheese would all be great additions. You can also make your own homemade dressing to put on.

close up of pasta salad recipe in a bowl with red peppers, black olives, sliced cucumber and diced red onions

How to make it

First you’ll want to cook your pasta. At our house, we enjoy our pasta al dente. This means you want to cook the pasta for the least amount of time listed on the box. It should have a tiny bit of a crunch to it still. Drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent it from sticking.
While the pasta is cooking you can be getting all your other ingredients ready. Chop the onion and peppers, slice the cucumbers and drain the black olives.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, onion, peppers, cucumbers and olives.
Next, pour the entire bottle of Italian dressing over the pasta and stir well.
You can eat this immediately or put cover it and put it in the fridge to chill. Before you serve it, check to see if you need to add anymore dressing. The pasta will soak in some of the dressing. If it’s too dry, add more.

pasta salad in a bowl with a metal spoon, sitting on the counter with mini cucumbers

Whether you’re serving this pasta salad recipe alongside grilled meats at a summer barbecue or enjoying it as a light dinner, this recipe is sure to be a hit. Give it a try and don’t forget to share your favorite variations in the comments below!

pasta salad recipe in a white bowl with cucumbers sitting next to it

Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

This easy pasta salad recipe is perfect for family meals, potlucks or warm summer evenings. Add some meat for a nutritious, one bowl meal!

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Servings 18

Ingredients

2 lbs cooked pasta
1/2 diced red onion
1 diced red pepper
1 diced orange pepper
5-6 small cucumbers- sliced or 1-2 large diced cucumbers
1 can black olives, drained
1 bottle Zesty Italian dressing or make your own
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Combine everything but the dressing and pepper in a large bowl.
Stir it all together to mix it up.
Dump the whole bottle of dressing and the pepper onto the salad and stir well.
As the salad sits, the pasta will soak in some of the dressing. If it gets too dry, add more dressing if needed.

Notes

Add some sliced grilled chicken, shrimp or even some chickpeas to turn this salad into an entire meal!

Check out this video to see the other foods we enjoyed for Thanksgiving this year!