Easy Italian Tri-Color Rotini Pasta Salad

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Chill Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Servings: 10

Ingredients

  • 1 (16-ounce) package tri-color rotini pasta

  • 2 large ripe tomatoes, diced

  • 2 stalks celery, chopped into bite-sized pieces

  • ½ cup thinly sliced carrots

  • ½ cup chopped green bell pepper

  • ½ cup peeled, thinly sliced cucumber

  • ¼ cup finely chopped onion

  • 1 ½ (16-ounce) bottles Italian-style salad dressing, adjust amount to taste

  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Add the rotini pasta and cook for roughly 8 minutes, until it is tender but still firm to the bite (al dente). Once cooked, drain the pasta, rinse it under cold water to cool it down, and set it aside to drain fully.

  2. Add the diced tomatoes, chopped celery, sliced carrots, chopped green bell pepper, sliced cucumber, and chopped onion to a large mixing bowl, and toss the vegetables to combine them evenly.

  3. Add the cooled, drained pasta to the bowl of vegetables. Pour in the Italian salad dressing and sprinkle in the grated Parmesan cheese, then mix everything thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly coated.

  4. Cover the bowl tightly and chill the pasta salad in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving, to allow the flavors to meld together. Add extra dressing or Parmesan to taste right before serving if desired.

Note: The original recipe had a formatting error that placed the pasta cooking step after the mixing step; this rewrite corrects the order for logical preparation.