Instant Pot Tricolor Rotini Pasta Salad

Instant pot pasta salad is simple to make, cooks fast, tastes delicious and is so flavorful. Basically, let your instant pot do all the work for you!

Pasta salad has always been a family favorite – my mom says I used to call it “rainbow” salad because of the tri-colored rotini noodles. When we first discovered pasta salad, it was with a box mix but then used our own recipe and cooked the rotini on the stove top. Now it is so much easier and quicker in my Instant Pot and the pasta cooks perfectly each time! While the instant pot cooks the rotini, I chop up the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives and onions, and crumble the feta cheese. The whole process takes 10 minutes!!

The perfect side dish anytime!

The instant pot pasta salad is great as a side dish, especially in the summer to be served at a picnic or with your favorite barbecued meat. It tastes delicious whether it is served immediately or is allowed to cool in the refrigerator for an hour. It can also be made the night before, covered and refrigerated. This gives the ingredients an opportunity to blend together for an even more flavorful dish.

What are the best noodles to use for this Pasta Salad?

The best pastas to use are rotini, bowtie (farfalle), or penne pasta as these hold in the flavors because of their shapes.

What if I don’t have an Instant Pot?

That’s okay. This delicious pasta salad can be made by following the directions for the stove top that you find on the packaging.

Are there variations to this recipe?

For a spicier pasta salad, add crushed red pepper flakes or spicy salami (cut in small pieces).

Feel free to add other veggies such as bell pepper, cauliflower or broccoli.

Meats, such as pepperoni, bacon bits, or salami can be added.

For a gluten free Instant Pot pasta salad, use gluten-free pasta and gluten-free Italian dressing.

For a creamier pasta salad, reduce the Italian dressing to 1/2 cup and add 1 cup of your favorite mayonnaise.

How long can I store my leftovers?

The instant pot pasta salad can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.  Make sure to keep it in an air-tight container, and keep an eye on the veggies as they will be less fresh after two days than they were when you first made the salad.

Before serving leftover, you may want to add a tablespoon or two of the Italian dressing to boost up the flavor.

Ingredients:

Tricolor rotini pasta – you don’t have to use this specific type of noodles. You can use bow tie, penne, egg noodle, regular rotini, elbows, shell, etc. The ideas are endless!

Cucumber – I love the crunch of a fresh cucumber in my pasta salad! You can choose to leave the skin on or off.

Cherry tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes add a sweetness to this pasta salad. You can also use grape tomatoes!

Feta cheese – I use feta as I like the sharp, salty, and tangy flavor it adds to the pasta salad.

Black olives – for this recipe, I purchased canned sliced olives.

Red Onions – red onions are a sweeter, tangier onion, and paired well with the Italian dressing. Red onions do better in recipes where the onion is raw.

Italian dressing – you can absolutely make your own Italian dressing, or buy your favorite store bought brand!

Place pasta in the instant pot and submerge in water. Add enough water to cover the pasta.

Seal lid and pressure valve and cook on high for 6 minutes. Quick-release pressure and drain pasta. Run cold water over pasta for a few minutes. Let pasta cool.

Add chopped vegetables and dressing to the pasta…

… and gently fold to mix.

Enjoy!

Supplies I used for this recipe:

I used an Instant Pot for this recipe. What I love about the Instant Pot is that you just set it, and forget it! You can walk away, and know that when it alerts you it is done, your pasta will be cooked perfectly! I like to start the Instant Pot on the noodles before I do any type of prep work since I have the time.

I prefer a good, high-quality wooden spoon to mix my ingredients, as well as serve with. Any will do, but I sure do love this set! They are non stick, and so beautiful!

To save any leftovers, I love using these containers! The glass is easier to clean than plastic without the toxins! I also love how the lids lock into place.

If you love this Instant Pot Tricolor Rotini Pasta Salad, you should try my Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast!

Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls