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Pizza Pasta Salad

Pizza pasta salad with rotini, pepperoni, mozzarella, olives, bell peppers, and mushrooms tossed in a pizza-sauce-spiked Italian dressing. Chilled for 30 minutes so every bite tastes like pizza but eats like pasta salad.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 650
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Salad base
  • 1 lb rotini pasta Cook until al dente, then rinse cold and cool completely.
  • 4 oz pepperoni Halve pepperoni rounds.
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella Cube or use bocconcini.
  • 1 cup black olives Slice olives.
  • 1 pepper green bell pepper Dice bell pepper.
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes Halve tomatoes.
  • 4 oz mushrooms Slice mushrooms.
  • 0.25 cup parmesan Grate parmesan.
Pizza dressing
  • 0.5 cup Italian dressing
  • 2 tbsp pizza sauce
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Cook and cool the pasta
  1. Cook rotini pasta in boiling water until al dente (about 8–10 minutes), then drain in a colander.
  2. Rinse the pasta cold under running water, then spread it out to cool completely on a sheet pan.
Make the pizza dressing
  1. Whisk Italian dressing with pizza sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes until smooth.
Assemble and chill
  1. Combine cooled rotini pasta with pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, black olives, green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms in a large bowl.
  2. Pour pizza dressing over the pasta and toss until every piece is coated.
  3. Top with grated parmesan and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up the dressing.
  4. Toss once more right before serving and add a little more pizza dressing if needed to loosen and coat.

Notes

Pro tip: fully cool the pasta before mixing so the mozzarella doesn’t melt and turn stringy. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days; it also freezes poorly due to the dairy, so do not freeze. For a lighter option, use part-skim mozzarella and reduced-sodium pepperoni.