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Pasta salad on oval white tray with olives, tomatoes, parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Tri-Color Pasta Salad

Yield: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Total Time: 34 minutes

Ingredients

  • 12-ounce package tri-color rotini pasta
  • ⅔ to 1 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing (see note)
  • ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 (6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced
  • ¼ cup finely diced red onion or green onions
  • ¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 6-10 fresh basil leaves, cut into strips or torn into pieces, plus more for garnish, if desired
  • ¼ cup basil pesto (see note)
  • ½ to 1 cup toasted pine nuts, optional (see note)

Instructions 

  • Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, lightly salted water until al dente, according to package directions. Drain the pasta and transfer to a bowl.
  • Add the dressing and toss to evenly coat the warm pasta.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to the pasta, except for the pine nuts and extra basil. Toss to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
  • Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 4 hours). If the pasta salad seems dry after refrigerating, add a little more Caesar dressing and stir to combine.
  • Before serving, top with pine nuts and fresh basil.

Notes

Caesar Salad Dressing: choose a brand of dressing that you love the flavor of. I recommend these brands: Ken's, Marzetti, Breannes or Newman's Own.
Tomatoes: you can use regular tomatoes in place of the Roma; I like to give them a light squeeze over the sink after slicing in half to get rid of a bit of water before adding them to the salad.
Pesto: for a brighter, fresher flavor, refrigerated storebought pesto is my preference over jarred/shelf stable pesto. 
Pine Nuts: I've subbed unsalted sunflower seeds for the pine nuts before with good results (although pine nuts are my preference; love them!).