The best of both worlds pizza and pasta, this Pizza Pasta Salad is sure to be a crowd favorite. With delicious pasta, pepperoni, mozzarella, and plenty of vegetables this is a great recipe for picnic and potlucks!
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Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
This recipe began as a total fluke. I wanted something that my family could bring in our bento boxes to the park for a picnic. Well we had just had homemade pizza the night before and I had a bunch of ingredients leftover. My recipe creation brain started brainstorming and I landed on a pasta salad. Using all the leftover I made the best pasta salad I had had in a long time. And quite honestly this recipe hasn’t changed much since that first time about a year ago.
The beauty of this recipe is it is great for using up leftover ingredients after a pizza night but it is equally as easy to make from just a few ingredients from the store.
Have I mentioned yet that this is customizable so you really can make it with what you like! Honestly I would expect everyone who makes this to add a slight twist on it with your own favorite pizza toppings.
pro tip
This makes an amazing school lunch. Make one large batch at the beginning of the week and add it to lunch boxes all week long. My kids are always so happy to see that this is what is for lunch for the week.
ingredients
- Pasta (Rotini) – So I personally really love rotini in this dish but you really can use what you have on hand. Some other good pastas to use for pasta salad would be Bowtie/Farfalle, Fusilli, Penne, Gemelli, Rotelle.
- Pizza Sauce – Whether you have store bought or homemade pizza sauce on hand, whatever works! If you are looking to make this specifically and not using leftovers you should be able to find smaller jars of pizza sauce, I know Rao’s has a smaller glass jar.
- Olive Oil – We will be mixing the pizza sauce with olive oil to make a dressing for the pasta salad.
- Oregano – I felt like the dressing needed just a touch more flavor so a bit of oregano helped! If you are using a pizza sauce that is already particularly strong in flavor feel free to leave the extra oregano out.
- Mini Pepperoni – I love the little mini pepperonis that you can find at the store BUT if you can’t find these adorable little pepperonis just grab regular pepperoni and quarter cut it.
- Shredded Mozzarella – Hopefully you have a little left from making pizza, if not you’ll need a little extra.
- “Toppings” – Green Bell Pepper and Black Olives are in the recipe as written and are my favorite additions but you also might like artichoke hearts, sliced red onion, green olives, and diced ham. Feel free to really add what you like on your pizza (or leave out what you don’t like).
instructions
This comes together pretty fast when you use the ingredients as written, the only prepping you will really have to do is the dicing of the green bell pepper. I like to make this directly in a huge Tupperware so I can just stick it immediately in the fridge or bring it where it needs to go.
Cook pasta according to package instructions, ensuring that you cook to al dente and don’t let it get too soft. Once the pasta is cooked drain and rinse with cold water to cool down.
Meanwhile prepare the sauce by mixing the sauce, olive oil, and oregano together.
Once the pasta is cool add everything to a large bowl and stir to mix. Keep refrigerated.
tips, tricks and questions
Can I mix up the ‘toppings’?
Absolutely! Take out and add in what you and your family like best.
How long does Pizza Pasta Salad last?
If kept covered properly in the fridge this should keep 5 to 7 days. After a while if it starts drying out you can always add a touch of olive oil to waken it back up.
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what to serve with this
Pizza Pasta Salad
Sure to be a hit with friends and family, combining pizza and pasta never tasted so food. This Pizza Pasta Salad is easy to make and sure to be a crowd favroite. Perfect to bring along to your next cookout or potluck!
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta (rotini)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 5 ounce package of mini pepperoni (or a heaping cup pepperoni, quarter cut)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
- 3.8 ounce can sliced black olives, drained
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions, ensuring that you cook to al dente. Once the pasta is cooked rinse with cold water to cool down.
- Meanwhile prepare the sauce by mixing the sauce, olive oil, and oregano together.
- Once the pasta is cool add everything to a large bowl and stir to mix. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
Mix up this pizza pasta salad how you and your family will like it! Change around the 'toppings', I love to really just use what I have left in the fridge. Some additions I love are artichoke hearts, sliced red onion, green olives, and diced ham.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1/8 of the dishAmount Per Serving: Calories: 209Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 232mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 6g
Nutritional data is automated and might not be 100% accurate, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
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