Classic 4 ingredient Pasta Salad Recipe!

This four ingredient pasta salad is so delicious and so simple! It’s made with just bowtie pasta, pepperoni, colby jack cheese, and Italian dressing!

Simplicity Is This Pasta Salads’ Secret Ingredient

Going to let you in on a little secret about this pasta salad. You are going to be obsessed with it. I know it says it makes enough for 6-8 people but you actually won’t share and will eat it straight from the fridge.

Okay, maybe that’s just me.

But, in all honesty, it’s delicious. The recipe has just four ingredients but they are four ingredient that work SO well together so that every bite is perfect.

Also, important to note that this pasta salad does not have mayo in it. This makes it a little bit lighter and I feel less guilty about eating 3 servings at one time.

What are the four ingredients in this pasta salad?

Let me remind you that this recipe has FOUR ingredients. It’s not four weird ingredients, either. These are all things that you probably already have in your kitchen, pantry, or fridge.

• Bow-Tie Pasta. You’ll need some bow-tie pasta that you cook according to package instructions. Then, let it chill for like 30 minutes because this pasta salad is served cold.
• Pepperoni. Any kind of pepperoni works, the most important part is to chop it into small pieces that are about the same size as your cheese.
• Colby Cheese. This is my favorite cheese to use for this and not only because it’s my toddler’s favorite cheese to eat. But, hey it is more likely she will eat this dish when she sees something she already loves.
• Italian Dressing.

Other Ingredients You Can Substitute In Your Pasta Salad

If you don’t have these exact four ingredients, here are some good substitutes in this easy cold pasta salad recipe.

• Pasta. You want to use a noodle that is similar in size to bow-tie, nothing super small. My recommendations would be to use penne or fusilli noodles.
• Pepperoni. Easy swap here, just use turkey or veggie pepperoni. It has to be pepperoni though, not ham or salami or another type of cured meat.
• Cheese. You could really use any kind of cubed type of cheese but my recommendations for swaps would be mozzarella or cheddar.
• Italian Dressing. Sorry, there is no swap here! I don’t have a specific brand to use, so there is variation there. If you don’t have Italian dressing, you could make your own! Here is a recipe for a homemade dressing.

Other recipes with less than 5 ingredients

If you are looking for some additional recipes that use pantry and kitchen staples, we’ve got you covered. These recipes all have less than 5 ingredients and are simple to make.

• Salami Wrapped Olives + Cheese. Well, this one is pretty self explanatory. Use any kind of olive, any kind of cheese, and stick ’em all together with some salami on a toothpick. Easy peasy and delicious.
• Tortilla Pepperoni Roll Ups. You make these little roll ups in the air fryer and they are delicious. A perfect afternoon snack.
• Caramel Apple Snickers Salad. Another thing I would eat straight from the container. This one has apples in it, so it’s healthy.