Patriotic Pasta Salad is a red, white, and blue pasta salad perfect for any Patriotic holiday or summer party. Whether you’re celebrating the 4th of July, Memorial Day, or Labor day this summer pasta salad is easy to make and sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Red White and Blue tri color pasta salad is pretty similar to any pasta salad with Italian dressing you’ve made before except we’re using red and white ingredients and dying our pasta red and blue for that patriotic color scheme.
Patriotic Pasta Salad
Italian pasta salad is something I have been making for years and one of my favorite summer bbq foods. It’s so easy to make and the cool pasta salad is nice on a hot day. Plus, it’s always a hit and after making it for some family who demanded the recipe they started making it all the time too. It truly is a crowd-pleaser.
What is Patriotic Pasta Salad? It’s just a simple zesty Italian pasta salad, but we dye some of the pasta red and blue to fit the red, white, and blue food theme for Patriotic parties. There is nothing patriotic about it except for the colors.
How to Store Pasta Salad? I love making my pasta salad the night before so everything has time to marinate together and get nice and chilled. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until it’s ready to serve. If you’re serving it outdoors I would put it over a bowl of ice to try and keep it chilled, but that is optional.
How to Dye Pasta? Dying pasta is SO easy. You’re going to dye your pasta after cooking it with food coloring and water. Add 3-4 drops of food coloring to a ziplock bag with 1 tablespoon of water. Mix together well and add about 3 cups of pasta. Seal the ziplock bag and gently massage the pasta into the food coloring mixture until the pasta is colorful. Then rinse the pasta off really well.
What are substitutions that I can make? Use bow tie pasta instead of the rotini. You can use store-bought dressing or a prepared, packaged mix. Substitute mozzarella cheese with white cheddar, provolone, or pepper jack. Substitute salami with pepperoni.
4th of July pasta salad Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) box rotini pasta, cooked and rinsed
- 3-4 drops each red & blue liquid food coloring
- 2 tablespoons water, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 pint (about 10 ounces) of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (or mozzarella pearls)
- ¾ cup pepperoni, cut into fourths
- ½ cup black olives, chopped
- 1 (16-ounce) bottle of Italian dressing
Optional additional ingredients: Salami, Red Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Radish, or Purple Cabbage.
How to Make Patriotic Pasta Salad
Cook your pasta per package directions until al dente and rinse well.
In a large Ziploc bag, add the 3-4 drops of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon of water. Repeat in another bag with the blue food coloring and the remaining 1 tablespoon of water.
Separate pasta into 3 equal portions (about 3 cups each).
Place ⅓ of the pasta (1 of the 3 portions) into the bag with the red coloring and seal the bag. Place another third portion of pasta into the blue bag and seal. Gently knead the bags to mix the pasta with coloring. Continue until the pasta is uniform in color. If the pasta needs additional color, mix 1 drop of food coloring with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the bag until the desired color is reached. Rinse noodles and drain well.
Mix the remaining third portion of noodles with the olive/vegetable oil. This will help prevent the coloring from bleeding into the white pasta.
Place all pasta into a large bowl and add the tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni, olives, and dressing. Mix until well combined. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Tips for Making Colorful Pasta Salad:
- Don’t add too much food coloring, otherwise, the colors will be too bright and almost toxic looking. Be sure to start only with 3-4 drops of food coloring and then continue adding as needed.
- Rinse the food colored noodles well, as this will help prevent the colors from bleeding.
Looking for More Patriotic Recipes? Check out these:
- Patriotic Dunkaroo Dip
- Red White and Blue Strawberries
- Red White and Blue S’mores Dip
- Easy Patriotic Charcuterie Board
- American Flag Sugar Cookie Bars
Patriotic Pasta Salad
Patriotic Pasta Salad is a red, white, and blue pasta salad perfect for any Patriotic holiday or summer party. Colorful pasta, meat, cheese, veggies, and dressing combine into a cool summer pasta salad.
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) box rotini pasta, cooked and rinsed
- 3-4 drops each red & blue liquid food coloring
- 2 tablespoons water, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 pint (about 10 ounces) of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (or mozzarella pearls)
- ¾ cup pepperoni, cut into fourths
- ½ cup black olives, chopped
- 1 (16-ounce) bottle of Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook your pasta per package directions and drain well.
- In a large Ziploc bag, add the 3-4 drops of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon of water. Repeat in another bag with the blue food coloring and the remaining 1 tablespoon of water.
- Separate pasta into 3 equal portions (about 3 cups each).
- Place ⅓ of the pasta (1 of the 3 portions) into the bag with the red coloring and seal the bag. Place another third portion of pasta into the blue bag and seal. Gently knead the bags to mix the pasta with coloring. Continue until the pasta is uniform in color. If the pasta needs additional color, mix 1 drop of food coloring with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the bag until the desired color is reached. Rinse noodles and drain well.
- Mix the remaining third portion of noodles with the olive/vegetable oil. This will help prevent the coloring from bleeding into the white pasta.
- Place all pasta into a large bowl and add the tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni, olives, and dressing. Mix until well combined. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
Don’t add too much food coloring, otherwise, the colors will be too bright and almost toxic looking. Be sure to start only with 3-4 drops of food coloring and then continue adding as needed.
Rinse the food-colored noodles well, as this will help prevent the colors from bleeding.
Store covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.