Pasta salad is one of the very best foods to have on hand. You can take it to a party, it can stand on it’s own as a weeknight dinner, it can be served right out of the fridge for lunches or a midnight snack, and it’s extremely tasty. Best of all, it lasts in the fridge up to 5 days… if it’s possible not to eat it all before then.
I like to call this Italian pasta salad “kitchen sink pasta” because you can pretty much add whatever you have on hand to it. For example, I had two bags of different types of pasta in my pantry with just under a half-of-a-bag left, so I just threw both in. I also thought I had some jarred roasted red peppers on hand but came up empty so I used pepperoncinis instead and it was fantastic.
Ingredients I used: steamed broccoli, chopped artichoke hearts, sliced dried salami, pepperoncini peppers, crumbled feta cheese, halved olives (green and kalamata) and Italian dressing. I used the Olive Garden brand, however any Italian dressing will do, Newman’s own is also a favorite of mine.
Kitchen sink substitution ideas- cold peas or sliced carrots, diced cheddar cheese or parmesan, black olives, red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, pepperoni, etc. You basically want a meat, a cheese, a pasta noodle, a pepper, a veggie, and a few antipasto ingredients (olives, artichokes, etc).
Step 1- Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and pour into a large serving bowl.
Step 2- Gather ingredients and pre-steam vegetables. You should have roughly 5 cups cooked pasta, 2 cups steamed veggies, 1 and 1/2 cups meat, 1 and 1/2 cups cheese, 1/2 cup olives, 1/2 cup artichokes, 1/2 cup peppers, and 1/2 cup dressing. 
Give the pasta a quick stir using caution not to smash the ingredients and serve!
Keep calm and kitchen sink pasta on!
Italian Kitchen Sink Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 cups steamed broccoli
- 1/2 cup chopped artichoke hearts
- 1 1/2 cups sliced dried salami
- 1/2 cups pepperchinis
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup halved olives green and kalamata
- 1/2 cup Italian dressing. I used the Olive Garden brand, however any Italian dressing will do, Newman's own is also a favorite of mine.
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and pour into a large serving bowl.
- Gather and chop ingredients and pre-steam vegetables.
- Give the pasta a cook quick stir using caution not to smash the ingredients and serve!
- Store in the fridge up to 5 days
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