This 3 ingredient pasta salad is perfect for your next picnic or pot luck with fresh Italian dressing, creamy mozzarella, and spicy pepperoni.
When it comes to potato and pasta salad I’m a pretty simple gal. So, it’s no surprise that the pasta salad I grew up on was nothing but pasta and Italian dressing. This was how my grandma made pasta salad for as long as I can remember. And when I started experimenting with different recipes I just couldn’t shake the old standby. It just doesn’t get easier than 1 ingredient, besides the pasta of course.
Then one day I made this pasta salad for an end of the year picnic. I especially like this for a picnic because it has no mayo, sour cream, or cream cheese in it so it doesn’t need to be refrigerated. A friend mentioned in passing that it would be great with some mozzarella. And it was like fireworks and angels singing. Or something. So the very next time I made it I added some chunks of mozzarella when it was still warm. They got soft but not melted because they were in chunks and it was soooo good.
And I ate it happily this way for another few years until another friend suggested adding pepperoni. I’m starting to realize I have some pretty genius foodie friends. And while this pasta salad isn’t at all complicated with it’s 3 ingredients, it’s absolutely delicious! Could you make your own Italian dressing? Of course! But then you would be a fancier person than me because I use the stuff straight out of the bottle. And the next time you get invited to a picnic, pot luck, or backyard bbq whip this stuff up and enjoy an easy side dish that won’t give you food poisoning from sitting out in the hot summer sun 😉
But this year I’m kicking off bbq season with something extra awesome! I’ve teamed up with around 50 of my blogging friends to bring you #CookoutWeek – an entire week filled with amazing summer recipes perfect for your next cookout, along with a fun giveaway, courtesy of some awesome sponsors! {Holla to the free stuff!}
It’s super easy to enter, and one lucky winner will get:
- Char-Broil American Gourmet 600 Series Charcoal Grill (see specs here!)
- Edmond Fallot Dijon Mustard, French Farm Butcher Salt Box, & Confit of Figs & Balsamic Vinegar from The French Farm
- Sauce 3-Pack (Ketchup, BBQ, Veracha) from True Made Foods
- Wimpy’s BBQ Rub, Dilly Dust Seasoning, and Cheryl’s Jamaican Me Hungry Seasoning from Swine Dining
- A Perfect Pickler Kit from Perfect Pickler
- A gift basket of products from Fungus Among Us
- A gift bag of products from Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods
- All Natural Boneless Duck Breasts, Fully Cooked Roast Half Ducks w/Orange Sauce, Duck Bacon, Duck Wing Drummettes from Maple Leaf Farms
Y’all…it’s a prize pack worth over $300! Plus it’s pretty much everything you need to host an awesome cookout this summer. Thank you so much to all of the wonderful sponsors listed above, who have made #CookoutWeek possible.
Enter below for your chance to win!
3 Ingredient Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz large shell pasta, cooked
- 2 oz pepperoni, cut into strips
- 4 oz mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch chunks*
- 1/2 cup Italian dressing
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing until well coated, and chill for 1-2 hours.
- Serve cold.
Don’t forget to check back throughout the week with all of the bloggers participating to get some yummy #CookoutWeek recipes. Here’s the full list of participating bloggers:
The PinterTest Kitchen • 2 Cookin’ Mamas • A Day in the Life on the Farm • addicted 2 recipes • Aimee Broussard & Co. • Amy’s Cooking Adventures • Angels Home Sweet Homestead • Bakin’ and Eggcerpts • Balancing Motherhood • Body Rebooted • Cheese Curd In Paradise • Cindy’s Recipes and Writings • Cook With 5 Kids • Cook. Craft. Love. • Cookaholic Wife • Cricket’s Confections • Crumb: A Food Blog • Eat, Drink, Be Healthy! • Everyday Eileen • Fairyburger • Food Parsed • Get the Good Stuff! • Goodie Godmother • Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks • Home in the Finger Lakes • Jennifer Cooks • Jessie Weaver • Kate’s Recipe Box • Life on Food • Little House Big Alaska • Little Scratch Kitchen • Making Miracles • Moore or Less Cooking • Rhubarb and Honey • Savvy In The Kitchen • Seduction in the Kitchen • Simple Food 365 • Style Island • Thanks for Cookin’! • The Food Hunter’s Guide To Cuisine • The Hungary Buddha Eats the World • The Spiffy Cookie • The Weekday Gourmet • This is How I Cook • Tramplingrose • Vintage Kitty • West Via Midwest
Brian Jones
Sunday 3rd of July 2016
Sometimes less really can be more, simple great flavours and a quick turn around time are always a huge positive :D
Meaghan
Tuesday 5th of July 2016
Agree! This is one of my favorite things to make a big batch of so I can eat it throughout the week when I don't have the energy for anything but leftovers :)
~Meaghan
Byron Thomas
Tuesday 28th of June 2016
Hey, Southern Belle! I do declare that I love me a simple pasta salad! I think sometimes we get so caught up with trendy ingredients and complicated recipes that we forget that simple things in life are better - and that includes food! I've been on a big food kick lately which is allowing me to explore a minimum number of ingredients which transform into something yummy - like this pasta salad! Bravo!
Meaghan
Wednesday 29th of June 2016
Agreed! I love when we can just keep it simple and classy and down home. Sorry, quinoa my pasta salad has just 3 ingredients.
~Meaghan