Easy Creamy Italian Pasta Salad

Learn to make this Easy Creamy Italian Salad in about 20 minutes or less for your next last-minute Summer gathering using your favorite ingredients like crisp romaine lettuce, capicola ham, pepperoni, ripe grape tomatoes, garbanzo beans, black olives, green olives, sweet pepper rings, hot pepper rings, grated Romano cheese, and Suddenly Salad.

You’ll love how easy peasy and light this recipe for Easy Creamy Italian Salad made with Suddenly Salad is to make when you have a last-minute Bbq or impromptu dinners with friends. You’ll spend less time indoors in your kitchen and more time outdoors with your friends and family members. After all summer, grilling is about being outdoors and enjoying the beautiful weather.

*This post was compensated by Suddenly Pasta Salad™ Creamy Italian. All views are my own on this subject matter*

Have you ever been invited to the last-minute Bbq or potluck with little or no time to plan your side dish? Ugh, that feeling of despair, not knowing what to make! We have all been in that situation more than once, so I want to share my short version of one of my Italian salads. It’s s been a huge success time after time at BBQs, gatherings, and potlucks. It’s my Easy Creamy Italian Salad made with all our favorite Italian-Style fixings and Suddenly Salad.

One of my secrets to my Easy Creamy Italian Salad’s success is only using top-quality ingredients and fresh ingredients. I’m big on quality when it comes to the yummy-tasting salad creations I share with friends and family, aren’t you? My second secret is using an 8.3-ounce of Creamy Italian Suddenly Salad.

Suddenly Salad is like a blank canvas you make your own, and these are some of my favorite Italian goodies to use in conjunction with Suddenly Salad to make a light summer salad; chopped green romaine,  chopped purple romaine,  halved grape tomatoes, capicola ham, pepperoni, mild mini sweet peppers, hot pepper rings, garbanzo beans, green olives,  black olives,  and grated Romano cheese to bring out the taste and texture of this easy peasy salad.

Creamy Italian Suddenly Salad is so easy to make; boil the noodles using the package instructions, drain and rinse the pasta, and then combine 1/2 of a cup of mayonnaise with the seasoning packet, stir the seasoning packet contents in with the mayonnaise, and reserve to the side till the noodles cool.

Once the noodles have cooled, combine the noodles with the already joined seasoning packet and mayonnaise from the step above. Reserve the noodles till ready in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour, then combine with green romaine, purple romaine, grape tomatoes, capicola ham, pepperoni, mild mini sweet peppers, hot pepper rings, garbanzo beans, green olives,  black olives,  and grated Romano cheese or combine with other ingredients immediately if you like.

Now feel free to improvise to this tasty Easy Creamy Italian Salad by adding your favorite goodies to the mix like celery, onions, mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, capers, fresh basil, really any Italian ingredients are going to be super delicious in this Easy peasy Suddenly Salad creation.

Easy Creamy Italian Salad 

• One head of green romaine lettuce, chopped

• One head of purple romaine lettuce, chopped

• One cup of ripe grape tomatoes halved

• 1/3 of a cup of garbanzo beans, rinsed

• 1/3 of a cup of black olives

• 1/3 of a cup of green olives

• 1/3 of a cup of mini sweet pepper rings

• 1/4 of a cup hot pepper rings

• capicola ham

• pepperoni

• 1-8.3 ounce- Box of  Creamy Italian Suddenly Salad

• 1/2 of a cup of mayonnaise

• grated romano cheese as a topping

Directions for Easy Creamy Italian Salad

1.  Chop green and purple romaine lettuce and halved grape tomatoes, drain and rinse garbanzo beans, drain green and black olives, slice the mini sweet pepper rings, drain the hot pepper rings, and prepare capicola ham and pepperoni by slicing in strips desired. I left mine whole in the salad I made above.

2. Using the directions on your  Creamy Italian Suddenly Salad box, prepare the pasta, drain, and rinse if desired. Let noodles cool.

3. Combine one packet of creamy Italian Suddenly Salad dressing mix with 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Note you may use Miricle Whip if desired. You may refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour before the last step or combine immediately.

4. In a large glass bowl, combine all the ingredients by lightly tossing.

5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

6. Top with grated romano cheese before serving to your guests.

Other Italian Meats to try in the salad

• Capicola

• Salami

• Prosciutto

• Sopressata

• Pancetta

• Mortadella

• Speck

• Bresaola

Frequently asked questions about Easy Creamy Italian Pasta Salad.

1. Can I make pasta salad ahead of time?  If you’re making pasta salad in advance, store the dressing separately and toss it in 10 minutes before eating. This pasta salad can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

2. Should you rinse pasta with cold water? The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is when it will be used in a cold dish like a pasta salad or when you will not use it immediately.

© Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch, 2023- 2013. Unauthorized use and duplication of this material or photos without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided full and clear credit is given to Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch with appropriate and specific directions to the original content. You may not copy and paste recipes to share on Social Platforms.

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