Easy Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad is a long loved recipe in our home. Taught to us by my incredibly talented father-in-law, it has stuck with us ever since. It is so so easy and the perfect dinner to whip up on a busy weeknight! This Easy Pasta Salad is also absolutely perfect for meal prep lunches!

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You can use so many different combinations of vegetables. Have fun with it, use whatever vegetables that you love! This recipe is a great "fridge clearer" to use up all that extra produce in your fridge before it goes bad.

some other veggies you could include

• Broccoli Florets
• Fresh Peas
• Zucchini
• Celery
• Oven Roasted Cauliflower
• Black/Green Olives
• Shredded Carrots

We have also used cubed spicy Italian sausages in place of ham and it was wonderful!

about the basil pesto...

If you have been around for a while, you will know about my obsession with a very specific Basil Pesto. It is the Kirkland Basil Pesto and it is the BEST. It has the best basil flavor, it's not too oily, and it packs some serious garlic (which I love!)

If you love pesto as much as we do, you have to check out our Basil Pesto and Chicken Baked Pasta!

*This is NOT sponsored, I just truly LOVE this product.

Mixing caesar dressing with basil pesto?

TRUST ME on this one. The first time I suggested mixing the two on our regular pasta salad, Eddie shot the weirdest look at me from across the room. He looked majorly concerned and very confused. Then I did it... and boy am I ever glad that I did. This is literally the only way we eat pasta salad now. This is the best dressing secret that no one knows about! So no matter how weird you think it is, you have to try it!

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Easy Pasta Salad

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

A refreshing summer meal or perfect for weekly meal prep lunches!

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Ingredients

• 500 g Tubular Pasta, uncooked
• 3 cups Ham, cut into ½” cubes
• 2 cups Marble Cheese, cut into ½” cubes
• 1 large Red Pepper, diced
• 1 large Yellow Pepper, diced
• 3 Roma Tomatoes, diced
• 1 Cucumber, diced
• 1 cup Red Onion, diced
• 6 Tablespoons Basil Pesto
• 6 Tablespoons Caesar Dressing

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt (optional). Cook the pasta to package directions until fully cooked. Strain, and run under cold water until the pasta noodles are completely cooled. This stops the cooking of the noodles so they do not become over cooked and soggy while cooling.
2. In a very large mixing bowl, combine pasta, ham, cheese, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion. Toss to combine.
3. Add dressing before serving. Use approximately 1 Tablespoon of basil pesto and 1 Tablespoon of caeser dressing per serving.

Notes

Keep salad refrigerated for 3-4 days without dressing in an airtight container. Add pesto and caeser before serving for optimal freshness.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 436Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 872mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 25g

Please Note- The nutritional information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator and it will vary based on the ingredients that you use.

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