Pasta Salad with Homemade Dressing

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Description

This homemade pasta salad dressing made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and garlic elevates an Italian pasta salad to a whole new level!

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package uncooked tri-color rotini pasta
6 ounces pepperoni sausage, diced
6 ounces provolone cheese, cubed
1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives, drained
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1 Gather all ingredients.
2 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rotini and cook until tender yet firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.
3 Transfer drained, cooked pasta to a large bowl. Add pepperoni, provolone cheese, red onion, cucumber, bell peppers, olives, parsley, and Parmesan cheese.
4 Mix olive oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, ground mustard, salt, and pepper for dressing in a jar with a lid. Seal the jar, and shake until well combined.
5 Pour dressing over the pasta salad; toss until well coated. Serve immediately, or cover and chill in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours before serving.