Description
A vibrant and festive pasta salad perfect for patriotic celebrations, featuring colorful pasta, fresh vegetables, and flavorful dressings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 (16-ounce) box rotini pasta, cooked and rinsed
- 3–4 drops each red & blue liquid food coloring
- 2 tablespoons water, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 pint (about 10 ounces) of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (or mozzarella pearls)
- ¾ cup pepperoni, cut into fourths
- ½ cup black olives, chopped
- 1 (16-ounce) bottle of Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook your pasta per package directions and drain well.
- In a large Ziploc bag, add the 3-4 drops of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon of water. Repeat in another bag with the blue food coloring and the remaining 1 tablespoon of water.
- Separate pasta into 3 equal portions (about 3 cups each).
- Place ⅓ of the pasta (1 of the 3 portions) into the bag with the red coloring and seal the bag. Place another third portion of pasta into the blue bag and seal. Gently knead the bags to mix the pasta with coloring. Continue until the pasta is uniform in color. If the pasta needs additional color, mix 1 drop of food coloring with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the bag until the desired color is reached. Rinse noodles and drain well.
- Mix the remaining third portion of noodles with the olive/vegetable oil. This will help prevent the coloring from bleeding into the white pasta.
- Place all pasta into a large bowl and add the tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni, olives, and dressing. Mix until well combined. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- For a vegetarian option, omit the pepperoni.
- Experiment with different vegetables to suit your taste.
- This salad can be made a day in advance for easier meal prep.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 15mg