Pizza Pasta Salad is the next best thing to a Pizza on a hot day ! The Salad can be made ahead, and only gets better with time – perfect as a potluck dish which everyone will love.
We like pizza, no we love pizza ! But, during warm weather we avoid even the best pizza and would rather have a Pizza Pasta Salad.
All the same taste, definitely not the texture though. But when it comes to food, taste always wins over texture.
Of course we all love a crispy baked pizza base, but it is not as if will never have that again. This Salad is just a cooler, yes less crispy, alternative to the real thing.
I am happy with Cheese, Salami or Pepperoni, and Oregano (oh, this is a must with any pizza – real or salad!) to satisfy my Pizza cravings and so is my family.
They have never complained when I make this, rather the other way around. I usually make this on their request on those real hot days.
As a bonus, this Pizza Pasta Salad keeps well, chilled in the refrigerator in a sealed container. And is also a salad which you can make way ahead of time.
The flavors just gets better and better. I usually throw the salad together the night before to serve as lunch or dinner the following day.
This is a huge salad which makes it the perfect potluck dish, but if you need to, can be doubled or tripled easily.
A Salad, no matter which one, will never replace an awesome Pizza, but it does make a wonderful alternative. And is such a huge time saving recipe – treat your family with a somewhat different Pizza and see what they think !
As usual with a Salad, you can play around with the quantities of the ingredients or change the Cheeses and Deli Meats to something you like.
Pizza Pasta Salad
Pizza Pasta Salad
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 250 g Fusilli Pasta ( 8 oz )
- 1 cup Baby Tomatoes half sliced in half
- ½ cup Gouda Cheese cubed
- ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese cubed
- 1 cup Salami or Pepperoni, chopped
- 3 Spring Onions sliced
DRESSING:
- ¾ cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ cup Red Wine Vinegar reduce to 1/3 cup if you prefer less tart
- 2 t Dried Oregano
- 2 t Garlic Powder
- 1 t Salt
- ½ t Black Pepper freshly milled
Instructions
SALAD:
- Cook the Pasta as per the instructions on the packet – drain, rinse and cool
- Once the Pasta has cooled completely, place in a large mixing bowl
- Add the Tomatoes, both Cheeses, Salami or Pepperoni and the Spring Onions – mix through and transfer to a serving dish
DRESSING:
- Combine all the Dressing ingredients and whisk well – drizzle over the Salad - chill until ready to serve
Best served well chilled.
LINDA
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Jenny Bullistron
Friday 15th of May 2015
I am a huge huge fan of pasta salad and this one looks delicious! And I second Jaime, this is perfect for hot days when I don't want to turn the oven on. I featured your post this week at #FoodieFriDIY – thank you so much for participating!
Jamie Sherman
Wednesday 13th of May 2015
I hear you! The weather is getting warm here in Phoenix and the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven! This is the perfect solution, Linda!
The Seana Method
Wednesday 6th of May 2015
Love this idea... and I like using cherry tomatoes so they don't "weep" too much if you save it a couple of days. I suppose you could serve some crispy flatbread on the side if you really want the crunch!