Our Italian spaghetti salad recipe (sometimes called California spaghetti salad or just spaghetti pasta salad) is full of delicious flavor! This is a must-have recipe for summer potlucks!
Spaghetti Salad Recipe
I swear, there’s something satisfying about being able to twirl spaghetti noodles around your fork. It just beats spearing rotini or bowtie pasta, doesn’t it? Three cheers for spaghetti noodles, and three cheers for this absolutely amazing cold Italian spaghetti pasta salad recipe.
Italian Pasta Salad with Spaghetti Noodles
There are just so many different ways you could make this classic potluck recipe. You can really get creative with the fresh veggies you choose, but trust me when it comes to the dressing for this Italian pasta salad. My dressing is perfect if I do say so myself.
Whatever you do, don’t skip the McCormick’s Salad Supreme. It adds a special little kick.
With so many holidays and events during the summer, I end up making this recipe at least half a dozen times.
I love it because it’s an easy pasta salad recipe that holds up well in the refrigerator overnight.
Honestly, like a lot of great pasta salads, it probably tastes even better on day two. Letting the pasta salad rest in the refrigerator allows the Italian salad dressing to soak into the spaghetti noodles.
In other words, a little time in the refrigerator can mean a whole lot of flavor in this spaghetti pasta salad!
Oh, and I don’t just save this dish for Memorial Day or the 4th of July. I actually love making this pasta salad to keep in the refrigerator for a few days as a side dish for weeknight summer grilling.
Grilling is so great for busy weeknights when you don’t really feel like cooking. Just throw some burgers, chicken or steak on the grill and then pull out my large bowl of spaghetti pasta salad. It’s the perfect summer dinner combination.
How to Make Cold Spaghetti Salad
Ready to whip up a big bowl of my tasty Italian spaghetti salad? Great! Just make sure you have these ingredients below on hand.
- 1 lb. Thin spaghetti, broken into thirds
- 1 (16-ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing
- 2 tablespoons McCormick’s Salad Supreme Seasoning (kinda obsessed with this stuff)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 (10 oz. package) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ red onion, diced
- 1 English cucumber, sliced and quartered
- 2 (2.5-ounce) cans sliced black olives
- 1 cup mini pepperoni (these are so cute!)
Next, you’ll just want to follow these easy instructions!
- Cook spaghetti according to directions on the box to al dente. Drain, rinse in cool water.
- When completely cooled transfer the spaghetti to a large bowl. Add the Italian dressing, Salad Supreme, and the parmesan cheese, stir until evenly distributed.
- Add the tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, cucumber, black olives and the pepperoni. Toss until all ingredients are coated.’
- Chill for 1 hour before serving.
Looking for an easy and tasty no-bake summer dessert recipe? Look no further than my delicious no-bake pink lemonade pie or this simple peanut butter pie.
Easy Pasta Salad Recipes
- Sweet Macaroni Salad
- Avocado Basil Pasta Salad
- Pepperoni Pasta Salad
- Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
- German Cucumber Salad
Spaghetti Salad
This cold Italian spaghetti salad features fresh veggies, pepperoni, parmesan cheese, spaghetti noodles and lots of yummy dressing!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Thin spaghetti, broken into thirds
- 1 (16-ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing
- 2 tablespoons McCormick’s Salad Supreme Seasoning
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 (10 oz. package) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ red onion, diced
- 1English cucumber, sliced and quartered
- 2 (2.5-ounce) cans sliced black olives
- 1 cup mini pepperoni
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti according to directions on the box to al dente. Drain, rinse in cool water.
- When completely cooled transfer the spaghetti to a large bowl. Add the Italian dressing, Salad Supreme, and the parmesan cheese, stir until evenly distributed.
- Add the tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, cucumber, black olives and the pepperoni. Toss until all ingredients are coated.
- Chill for 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 220Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 458mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 9g
23 Comments on “Spaghetti Salad”
Can this be made night before
Can you make this a day ahead?
I love jesus
Getting plenty of phone calls for this delicious recipe…..HUGE HIT!!! I AM ASKED OFTEN TO BRING THIS COLORFUL AND FABULOUS SALAD
My husband and I loved this recipe! I did not add the pepperoni or Parmesan cheese though.
I used Old Bay Seasoning and it worked out great!
I’ve had this bookmarked for a really long time and finally put it on my meal list before going grocery shopping. It’s going to be a regular food option in my weekly rotations, likely a go-to lunch item. The only thing I’ve changed is adding some cut up pepperoncini peppers and a little bit of shredded cheese to each bowl I get of it — but the original recipe is still great on it’s own, too. I did save about 1/4th of my bottle of Italian dressing to use for regular salads when I made it, and I’d recommend making sure to use the full 16oz (I add a bit more of the dressing I saved to each bowl I make, because using 3/4ths of the bottle didn’t seem to be good enough).
Can’t wait to make this salad, going to a potluck soon.
Very delicious
Based on this recipe, how many will this feed.
I use ranch dressing and hard boiled eggs no Italian garlic and pepper. Barbara coyle
Made this for Easter. Makes a large amount but won’t last long because it’s really tasty!! Will be making it again!
I made this for our family Memorial weekend party today, and it was a huge hit! DELISH!
Hi Jenn, I’m so glad that your family loved this easy spaghetti salad! Thanks so much for commenting! :)
This looks really good I will have to try it out. Thanks for sharing.
Such an interesting recipe. But one I am trying right away. It just sounds delicious
It’s the perfect time of year for this salad. We are actually following a Mediterranean diet and this will fit right into what we are eating.
Oh what a great, easy meal! My family will love this.
I love this idea! I would have never thought about making a spaghetti salad but we use other noodles so why not spaghetti noodles.
YES!!! This salad looks way too good! I am not a spaghetti person but this seems delish!! I do love a cold pasta salad.
I don’t think I’ve ever had something quite like that. Closest thing would be a macaroni salad, but that is full of mayonnaise. This looks much healthier!
I have made this for years, big hit at family gathering. Keep up the recipes I have made and kept a lot of them.
I’ve forgotten how much I love this salad! I need to make it soon!