Pasta Salad – A Make Ahead Lunch, Great For Travel

A delicious pasta salad made with homemade Italian dressing. Makes a great lunch or snack and packs easy for work or travel!

Pasta Salad is an easy dish to throw together and it can be used in many different circumstances. We throw it together if we are going to have a busy week because it makes a lot of quick easy lunches or snacks.

It is also great for meals while traveling and is often a go to if we are going for a picnic, going boating or on a road trip. Its easy to throw together, lasts for several days in the fridge and is easy to put in a bowl and take it with you.

What You Will Need

• Italian Dressing. I use my Homemade Italian Dressing
• Pasta. I use this Garden Rotini just because I like the color it adds and its the right size.
• Meat. Normally I use leftover ham from the freezer, but this time I used sausage from our pig. Any kind of meat will work, ones with more flavor, like pork, add a little more to the salad than say chicken, but any meat will do really.
• Cheese. You can use cubed block cheese, or shredded cheese.
• Veggies. Cucumbers, carrots, celery, tomatoes and peppers are all good ones. You could also throw in some olives if you like them.

How To Make Pasta Salad

1. First bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove. Once it is boiling, add a pound of pasta, stir, turn the heat down and cook for 8-10 minutes.
2. While the pasta is cooking cut the veggies, meat and cheese into bite sized pieces.

3. After the pasta is cooked, drain it and then pour the pasta into a large bowl. Make sure the bowl is big enough for all the additional things you are going to add. I’ve put them in a bowl to small way too many times and had to dump them into a bigger one, now I just always use the biggest bowl I have.
4. Pour dressing onto the noodles and stir, coating thoroughly.
5. Next add in all the other ingredients and give it a stir.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Variations Of Pasta Salad

There are so many different things you can do with this recipe. You can make it gluten free by swapping the pasta for gluten free pasta. Make it dairy free by skipping the cheese. Or skip the meat and cheese and just use vegetables. The variations for this recipe are almost endless, so have fun!

How Long Is Pasta Salad Good For

Pasta Salad should be stored in the fridge, and when kept in the fridge it is good for about a week. It is best the day after you make it though, and if it sits too long the noodles will get mushy.