Easy Italian Pasta Salad
Italian pasta salad is the perfect summer recipe for cookouts and barbecues if you’re looking for that versatile side dish to please a crowd. With fresh vegetables, cheese, salted meats and pasta, each bite packs different textures and flavors that pair well with almost any meal. This easy Italian pasta salad recipe is the best I’ve had as I’ve finally found the perfect blend of ingredients that complement each other flawlessly!
Why You Will Love This Pasta Salad
So, what makes Italian pasta salad the best type of cold pasta salad?
Fresh Rustic Flavors: Perfectly salted salami and fresh aromatic herbs add a beautiful, rustic flavor to the pasta.
Cheese: Soft, delicate mozzarella cheese paired with grated parmesan gives a smooth and rich flavor.
Make Ahead: The pasta salad tastes even BETTER when made in advance! As a mom, being able to make food in advance without having to worry about heating everything up before serving makes all the difference.
Budget Friendly: Pasta is one of the cheapest foods to exist, and salami is quite budget friendly too. Add in a few veggies and herbs and you’ve got yourself a budget friendly meal that can be made in bulk.
The Italian version is the most flavorful in my personal opinion, and the BEST types of cold pasta there is!
What is in Italian Pasta Salad?
Italian pasta salad is cold pasta (normally a form of macaroni or rotini) blended with vegetables, cured meats, seasonings, cheese, and a zesty dressing. The result is a side dish with both crunchy and soft textures with a tangy, salted flavor.
Common ingredients include pasta (of course), olives, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, celery, purple onion, salami, Italian dressing, parmesan cheese, mozzarella, and fresh herbs.
My recipe is a bit different as I use Greek Kalamata olives rather than the traditional black olives. I find black olives tend to overpower the overpower the pasta salad to the point where it hides the freshness of the other ingredients. Greek olives are JUST right 😊
Ingredients
Rotini Pasta – choose any type of pasta you prefer, but I find smaller sized pastas such as macaroni or rotini to be the best. They are small enough to fit on a fork with a blend of other ingredients and do a great job picking up the dressing.
Kalamata Olives – odd that I chose Kalamata over black olives, right? This is my personal preference since they aren’t as overpowering as other types of olive and add a unique saltiness to the dish. The Divina brand kalamata olives are what I use.
Bell Pepper – this is more for texture to give a little bit of crunch to the italian pasta salad. Choose a color of your choice (they all taste the same).
Cherry Tomatoes – gives a nice acidic burst of flavor.
Pepperoncini – I add a lot of pepperoncini because I LIVE for the salty, pickly twist this adds. Adjust the amount based on preference as sometimes the spice level can be overwhelming to some. You can get the precut style here to save time on chopping.
Celery – another added mostly for texture. This adds a lot of crunch.
Purple Onion – use purple onion specifically as other onions can be too bitter when raw. These can be overpowering to some so adjust based on preference
Salami – the best part! I normally go for the Boar’s Head cooked salami and ask for the thickest cut they can give me. I dice it up into chunks at home.
Italian Dressing – My favorite brand of pre-made Italian dressing will always be Olive Garden brand! Affordable, convenient, and delicious. You can also make it from scratch by blending olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, grated parmesan cheese, fresh herbs and Italian seasonings.
Parmesan Cheese – always use it freshly grated from a block of parmesan. Pre-shredded parm is too dry which can lead to it being less flavorful. Not to mention, I’m not a fan of the chemicals added to pre-shredded cheese. If price isn’t an issue and you want a strong cheese flavor, you can get aged parmesan straight out of Italy here!s
Mozzarella Cheese – use fresh mozzarella in order to get a softer texture that melts in your mouth. I always prefer salted mozzarella.
Fresh Parsley – for garnish and aroma.
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
Let’s start with the basics first – pasta! Cook the pasta according to box instructions in heavily salted water. For rotini, I boil a 12 oz box for 9-10 minutes. Cook 7-8 minutes if you prefer al dente (firmer pasta).
Chop your remaining ingredients while the pasta is boiling. This includes dicing half a purple onion, 6 pepperoncini (roughly ½ to ¾ cup), 1 ½ cup worth of sliced cherry tomatoes, 1 large bell pepper, 8 oz mozzarella, ½ cup celery, and 2 cups of diced salami.
Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add in your chopped ingredients, 1 cup of pitted kalamata olives, and 1 cup Italian dressing. Mix well until the pasta salad is fully coated with dressing and blended evenly. It helps to give it a little taste test to see if the amount of dressing needs to be increased.
Top with chopped parsley, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, salt and freshly cracked pepper. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour for the pasta to chill. Serve cold and voila! The perfect Italian pasta salad recipe that is sure to impress your guests.
How to Store Leftovers
Always store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freshen it up with more dressing if it gets too dry. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this as it will cause the vegetables to get mushy when defrosted.
Serving Suggestions
Italian Pasta Salad is more of a side dish (unless you’re me and eat it as a main course). It goes well with practically anything but my favorite way to serve it is with a cut of meat. Chicken breast or chicken thighs are the best in my opinion as they are light in texture which is great with pasta. However, it’s also the perfect side dish for bbq cook outs with burgers and grilled ribs!
Speaking of BBQ’s, this would go great with my Mississippi Chicken sliders recipe that I bring with me to any outdoor cookout! The chicken in these sliders are flavored with pepperoncini which is a main ingredient in this pasta salad.
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 oz Rotini pasta
- ½ Purple onion
- 6 whole Pepperoncini roughly ½ cup or more if desired
- 1½ cup Cherry tomatoes sliced in halves
- 1 whole Bell Pepper any color will work
- ½ cup Celery
- 8 oz Fresh mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups Salami thick cut, diced. I used Boar's head hard salami
- 1 cup Kalamata olives pitted and halved
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tbsp Parsley Fresh. Use only 1 tbsp if using dried.
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to box instructions in heavily salted water. For rotini, I boil a 12 oz box for 9-10 minutes. Cook 7-8 minutes if you prefer al dente (firmer pasta).
- Chop your remaining ingredients while the pasta is boiling. This includes dicing half a purple onion, 6 pepperoncini (roughly ½ to ¾ cup), 1 ½ cup worth of sliced cherry tomatoes, 1 large bell pepper, 8 oz mozzarella, ½ cup celery, and 2 cups of diced salami.
- Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add in your chopped ingredients, 1 cup of pitted kalamata olives, and 1 cup Italian dressing. Mix well until the pasta salad is fully coated with dressing and blended evenly.
- Top with chopped parsley, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, salt and freshly cracked pepper. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour for the pasta to chill.
- Enjoy!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links in which I may receive commission from upon sale. These are products I have tried myself and hope you love them as much as I do!
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