The Easiest Pasta Salad Recipe You'll Make All Summer

This easy pasta salad recipe is the one you pull out when you need to feed people fast and still look like you know what you're doing. It's loaded with bright veggies, briny olives, and a zippy vinaigrette that tastes like it came from a deli — not your panic pantry. We keep it simple, bold, and totally improvable depending on what you've got.

Ingredients

• 12 oz rotini or penne pasta
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup black olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup pickled banana peppers or pepperoncini
• 1/2 cup shredded or cubed mozzarella or any melting cheese you have

Instructions

1. 1Cook your pasta in a big pot of well-salted boiling water according to the package directions until al dente — you want it to have a little bite, not be mushy. Drain it and rinse under cold water immediately to stop the cooking and cool it down fast. Shake off the excess water and let it hang out in a big bowl.
2. 2While the pasta cools, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl or jar. Taste it — it should be tangy and punchy. This is your dressing and it's doing all the heavy lifting, so don't skip the taste test.
3. 3Add the diced bell peppers, red onion, olives, cherry tomatoes, and banana peppers right into the bowl with the cooled pasta. Pour the dressing over everything and toss it really well so every piece of pasta gets coated.
4. 4Fold in the cheese last so it doesn't break down from all the tossing. Give it one more taste and adjust salt, vinegar, or oregano as needed — your kitchen, your rules.
5. 5You can serve it right away or cover it and refrigerate for up to an hour to let the flavors marry. Honestly, it gets better as it sits, so if you have the patience, wait it out. Serve cold or at room temperature.