Repurpose your leftover pizza toppings into this deliciously simple Italian style pizza pasta salad. Including a simple homemade Italian dressing!
Prep Time10mins
Cook Time15mins
Total Time25mins
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Italian
Total Cost: $7.98 recipe / $1.00 serving
Servings: 81 cup each
Author: Beth - Budget Bytes
Ingredients
Homemade Italian Dressing
1/2cupolive oil$0.84
1/4cupred wine vinegar$0.40
1tspDijon mustard$0.06
1/4tspgarlic powder$0.02
1TbspItalian seasoning$0.30
1/2tspsalt$0.02
1/4tsppepper$0.02
2Tbspgrated Parmesan$0.22
Pasta Salad
1lb.rotini pasta$1.00
3oz.pepperoni$1.25
4oz.mozzarella$1.15
1green bell pepper$0.89
1/4cup red onion$0.11
1/212oz. jarbanana pepper rings$1.00
1/24oz. cansliced black olives$0.70
Instructions
Make the Italian dressing first so the flavors have a few minutes to blend. Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and Parmesan to a bowl or jar. Whisk the ingredients together, or place a lid on the jar and shake until combined. Set the dressing aside.
Cook the rotini according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water. Let the pasta drain well, shaking the colander every few minutes to remove excess water from the pasta.
While the pasta is cooking and draining, prepare the other pasta salad ingredients. Cut the pepperoni in half or into quarters, and chop the mozzarella into small cubes. Dice the bell pepper and red onion. Drain the banana pepper rings and black olives.
When the pasta is cooked, cooled, and drained well, transfer it to a large bowl. Add the rest of the prepared ingredients (pepperoni, mozzarella, bell pepper, red onion, banana peppers, and black olives). Toss the ingredients to combine.
Give the dressing another shake or stir before drizzling it over the pasta salad. Toss the pasta salad once again to coat everything in the dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.