Basic Pasta Salad
June 15, 2010 | Print | E-mail | Filed under pasta, vegetables
We went on a camping trip this past weekend with a few of our friends, and it was a lot of fun. In fact, my body is still recovering today from the challenging hike we did on Saturday. When we got to the halfway point though, we all sat down and had a picnic lunch together. I made this basic pasta salad as a side for our dinner Friday night, but the leftovers were perfect for packing up and bringing along. The cool, crispy vegetables in the salad tasted great on such a hot summer day! And of course, the best part is that you can throw in whatever you like. From broccoli and carrots to bacon and chunks of cheese, start with this basic pasta salad recipe and make it your own!
- 1 (12 ounce) box rainbow rotini
- 1 (13.75 ounce) can artichoke hearts, in brine
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup onion
- 3 ounces pepperoni slices
- 1/4 cup Italian dressing
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and let cool.
Drain the artichokes, then cut them into quarters and toss them into a large bowl. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add them to the bowl.
Dice the onion and pepper and mince the garlic, and then add them to the bowl.
Quarter the pepperoni slices. Toss all of the ingredients together in the bowl with the Italian dressing. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator. Serve cold.
June 15th, 2010 at 9:31 am
Love that you used tricolor pasta – so pretty!
June 15th, 2010 at 9:38 am
I love the addition of pepperoni! That sure would make the meat-eaters in the crowd happy!
June 15th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Looks really yummy, I need to learn how to make this for summer – thanks for posting!
June 15th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I love love pasta salad…I don’t know why I only eat it in the summer, though…seems like I should enjoy this all year round!
June 15th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
It was so good!!! You should post about that incredible beef stew
June 15th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
I love pasta salad! I could eat it every day. Yours sounds sooo good. I love the addition of artichoke hearts. Your fellow hikers must have loved you for this:)
June 16th, 2010 at 11:05 am
I love a good pasta salad. I would love to have some of this for lunch today!
June 16th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Awesome go-to recipe. Thanks for sharing.
June 16th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
This looks wonderful! It’s funny… For all of the things that I cook and bake, I always have trouble with potato and pasta salads. I’ll definitely give this recipe a try!
June 17th, 2010 at 4:56 am
This look yummy! I just love pasta salad esp. this curly-ribbon sort of pasta..lol! I call i the curly-ribbon cos i don’t know what pasta this is! lol! But now i know cos i see from your recipe it is called rotini? lol! I learnt something today!
June 17th, 2010 at 9:05 am
This is such a pretty pasta salad! We are always sure to take a big batch of pasta salad on our camping trip. It is a welcome break from hot dogs and sandwiches.
June 17th, 2010 at 9:26 am
We love pasta salad in the summer. Just posted our recipe too:)
June 17th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
I can’t wait to make this for our next potluck dinner. I can also imagine it making a great cold salad on hot day.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
June 17th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I love a good classic pasta salad! This one looks perfect for a summer picnic!
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:38 am
So useful for summer BBQ’s and cookouts…and a beautiful dish too!
June 25th, 2010 at 11:04 am
So pretty and colorful! And love how simple it is, too. Great summer recipe!
July 5th, 2010 at 11:56 pm
I made this pasta salad for the 4th of July! And everyone loved it!!!! Thank you for sharing! And for those of you who have not tried it yet, it’s so easy and SO good!!!!
July 6th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Karen – I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed it!