This rustic Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Recipe is on regular rotation in our house, especially in the summer. It's great to pack in lunches or take for a picnic or potluck. We love this flavorful pasta salad with its colorful spirals of pasta, zesty homemade dressing, salty bites of salami, and crisp vegetables!
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This homemade Italian chopped pasta salad is so much better than the kind you buy at the deli in the grocery store. Our homemade version is fresh, bursting with flavor, and irresistible. It always disappears quickly when we bring it to family gatherings as we hear over and over, "Hey, can I get that recipe?"
If you like easy crowd-pleasing dishes that are great for sharing, you will also love these Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes, our Chicken Alfredo Lasagna, and this Taco Pie.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make Ahead of Time: We love making this pasta salad recipe the day before a family gathering or potluck then letting all of the flavors meld together in the fridge overnight. Just grab it and go!
- Customize It How You Like: You can easily adapt this dish with your favorite vegetables and Italian-inspired ingredients.
- Crowd Favorite: This dish travels well and you can easily double it if you need to feed a lot of people.
Ingredients
- Pasta: We used multi-colored rotini for this pasta salad because it holds the dressing well and is more colorful but you could also use penne, fusilli, or farfalle.
- Salami: Salami adds a rich, salty flavor. Choose great quality Italian dry salami and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Mini pepperonis make a tasty alternative.
- Mozzarella Pearls: These add creamy texture and have a luxurious quality to them. You can find them in the specialty cheese section or take regular fresh mozzarella and cut it into small cubes.
- Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan adds great flavor and a little extra saltiness to the zesty pasta salad.
- Fresh Vegetables: We used English cucumber, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, and red onion for the perfect blend of textures and flavors.
- Black Olives: You can use canned sliced olives. Green (or a mix of black and green olives) works too!
- Fresh Parsley: We suggest flat-leaf Italian parsley for this dish to brighten it up.
- Dressing Ingredients: You'll want to pick up extra virgin olive oil, a fresh lemon to squeeze the juice from, Italian seasoning, garlic, Dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar. In a pinch, you could use pre-made Italian dressing but we suggest making it fresh if you have time. It's so good!
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Add a Mediterranean Twist: Throw in some artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta cheese to the zesty pasta salad recipe.
- Spice It Up: Add pepperoncini peppers, spicy calabrese salami, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to give it more heat.
- Add More Protein: Throw in some diced pepperoni, diced ham, and garbanzo beans for a heartier version.
- Gluten-Free Pasta: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta made with brown rice or lentils.
- Add More Veggies: Roasted broccoli, roasted bell peppers, and marinated mushrooms would go perfectly in this salad.
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
This dish is super simple- just chop all of the ingredients, add the dressing, and toss it together!
- Step 1: Make the Pasta. Use a large pot to cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain in a large colander and rinse the pasta with cold water to cool it down.
- Step 2: Make the Dressing. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, sugar, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper to a bowl. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- Step 3: Mix It All Together. Add the cooked pasta and other ingredients to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the top. Mix until well combined. Serve cold and enjoy!
Hint: Don't Overcook the Pasta
Only cook the pasta to al dente so that it won't become too mushy or soggy as it soaks up the dressing.
Expert Tips
- Chopping the Veggies: Keep the vegetables bite-sized, about ¼ to ½-inch pieces. You want everything to be roughly the same size so each bite of Italian veggie pasta salad gives you a balance of flavors and textures.
- Make It Your Own: This recipe is a great starting point and you can get creative from here. Change the type of cheese, veggies, or meats to adapt the recipe to your favorites.
- For Fast Assembly: Cut your vegetables and cheese while the pasta cooks and make the dressing in advance. This will help make assembly even faster and easier!
- Let the Pasta Cool: Before you add the cheese and vegetables, make sure the pasta is at room temperature. This prevents the cheese from melting and ensures that the veggies will stay crisp.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. We don't recommend freezing this one as the ingredients are better fresh.
- Make Ahead: This salad is so good on the second day so feel free to make it a day ahead of time to let all the flavors meld. The pasta will absorb the dressing as it sits. Drizzle on a bit more oil or make a little extra dressing to add to it when you're ready to serve it.
Serving Suggestions
This is a nostalgic dish we often think of for summer barbecues, birthday parties, and picnics, but it's great any time of year! We love making it for family or group gatherings, or bringing it to a potluck because it feeds a lot of people without too much time cooking.
- Top with fresh basil before serving. We love the beautiful pop of green color it adds!
- For a well-rounded Italian meal, serve it with chicken tetrazzini or homemade lasagna, and garlic knots.
- This pasta salad would also be really good with chicken parmesan pasta and roasted potatoes with carrots.
- Make a picnic and pack this Italian-style pasta salad along with ham crescent rolls, fruit salad, and cookies and cream cookies. Yum!
More Delicious Pasta Salad Recipes
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Best Italian Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 16 oz rotini pasta
- 10 oz salami (chopped into ¼ inch pieces)
- 1 cup English cucumber (quartered and sliced)
- 2 cups grape tomatoes (halved)
- 1 ½ cups bell peppers (diced, I like two use two different colors)
- ½ cup red onion (chopped)
- 8 oz black olives (drained and sliced)
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella pearls
- ½ cup parmesan cheese (shredded)
- ½ cup parsley (chopped)
Dressing
- 1 ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 ½ tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook pasta according to the package directions on the box for al dente. Drain in a large colander and rinse with cold water to cool the pasta down. Then set aside.
- Add, olive oil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, sugar, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper to a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
- Add cooked pasta and the remaining pasta salad ingredients to a large bowl. Then pour dressing over the top. Mix until well combined!
- Serve cold, and enjoy!
Notes
- If you can't find pearl-sized fresh mozzarella, you can easily substitute it with fresh mozzarella in brick or ball shape cut into small cubes.
- Can't track down salami? Mini pepperonis make a tasty alternative. They offer a similar flavor and are a great stand-in for this recipe.
- When cutting the veggies, aim for uniform, bite-sized pieces.
- If you're making this ahead of time, keep a few ingredients separate until it's time to serve the salad. Add the fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and herbs last to maintain their texture and keep the salad from getting too watery.
- Sprinkle fresh basil on the salad when you go to serve it to add more color and freshness.
Nutrition
*All nutrition information provided is automatically calculated and is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients, brands, and changes in cooking methods listed in the recipe. If you need exact numbers on your ingredients, I would recommend calculating them with your prefered nutrition calculator.
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