Italian Ranch Pasta Salad

As soon as Spring rolls around we keep a supply of cold pasta salad in the fridge for quick, easy lunches. The Italian Ranch Pasta salad is one of our absolute favorites. 

I'm going to admit right now that I am horrible with measurements, especially when it comes to pasta salad. I have a tendency to throw stuff in, wait until it cools off/soaks in and throw more stuff in if needed. The amount of dressing needed really depends on your preferences. I like mine a bit more dry and David prefers his dripping with sauce. 

Don't be afraid to experiment!!  

I will give a general amount, but you might like it with more or less. Just add more dressing if you think it needs it.

You'll need pasta ( I like rotini or bow tie), pepperoni, green olives, black olives, Parmesan cheese, Ranch dressing and Italian dressing. 

I've seen people put the tiny little pepperonis in their Italian salads. Personally I don't like the flavor of those (yeah, I'm weird), so I use the bigger ones chopped into quarters. If you want easy, go with the minis. I used almost a full bag of pepperoni.

Because I love doing dishes soooo much, I mix all my toppings in a bowl while the noodles are boiling. I used 1 can of chopped Black olives, about half a jar of sliced green olives and a third cup of Parmesan. 
 

Drain your noodles and add in all the ingredients.    

 Now it's time to add your dressing. As a best guess, I used about 8 oz of both Ranch and Italian Dressing. I know for a fact I used 8 oz of Italian because that is how big my bottle was. But once again, experiment. You may prefer more or less dressing. This amount was perfect for me, but David always added extra dressing before he ate it.

Let it sit overnight in the fridge. If you absolutely have to, you can eat if after it all chills, but I think the flavor is better after it sits overnight. 

Finally, Enjoy!! 

 

Italian Ranch Pasta Salad

A box of noodles (your preference)

Bag of pepperoni

A small can of sliced black olives, drained

Half a jar of sliced green olives, drained

1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese 

8 oz (give or take) of Ranch Dressing

8 oz (give or take of Italian Dressing

1.  Boil your noodles until tender. 
2.  Meanwhile cut your pepperoni into quarters and mix in a bowl with both olives.
3.  Drain your noodles
4. Mix all ingredients with the noodles. 
5. Add your dressings and mix to coat.
6. Add your Parmesan cheese and mix again.
7. Let sit overnight or until chilled. Test the flavor before serving to see if more dressing is needed.
8. Enjoy!