A tasty Italian pasta salad perfect as a side or main dish. Filled with sliced salami, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, and fresh mozzarella cheese.
Make this salad in the morning and let all the flavors meld together for a tasty pasta salad to serve for dinner.
A delicious pasta salad
Pasta salads are comfort foods in the salad world. You've got the carbohydrates from the pasta that fill you up, and lots of tasty add-ins like olives, salami, tomatoes, and onions all covered in a highly flavored vinaigrette. What's not to love?
There are so many versions of pasta salad and just as many versions of Italian pasta salad. This is a recipe you can feel good about serving to your family or taking to a potluck dinner.
It's sure to be eaten up and will have everyone coming back for seconds.
If you love pasta salad, another great salad to check out is this Mediterranean Pasta Salad and this Easy Pasta Salad.
Key ingredients
- Pasta - I use tri-color fusilli pasta
- Salami - Dry cured Italian salami sliced into thin strips
- Mozzarella - Fresh mini balls cut into quarters
- Kalamata olives
- Cherry tomatoes
- Pepperoncinis
- Dressing - Use my easy-to-make recipe or try this Zesty Italian Dressing
Step by step directions
In this section, I share step-by-step photos, cooking methods, techniques, and a general overview. For detailed instructions, temperatures, and timing, check the printable recipe card below.
- Make the dressing by combining olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, honey, and dried Italian seasonings in a glass jar with a lid
- Shake vigorously until everything is well combined
- Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions
- Drain and rinse pasta under cool water
- Place pasta, salami, mozzarella, olives, tomatoes, pepperoncini and onions in a large bowl
- Mix carefully until ingredients are distributed
- Pour dressing over salad and mix to combine
- Add freshly chopped parsley and parmesan cheese
- Cover and refrigerate until chilled through
Recipe tips and variations
- Rinse pasta to help cool it down before adding other ingredients. Be certain to drain well.
- Stir pasta before serving to make certain the dressing is well distributed
- This pasta salad can be eaten right away, but it is best served chilled giving the flavors a chance to meld together
- Use your favorite type of pasta - a short to medium pasta works best. Use farfalle, rotini or even elbow macaroni
- Substitute sliced black olives for the kalamata olive
Recipe Faqs
This pasta salad will last for 3-4 days if covered and stored in the refrigerator.
Yes, this salad is best made ahead and refrigerated before serving.
Serving suggestions
Pasta salad can be served with almost any meal as a side dish and makes a wonderful main dish for lunch too. Consider serving with any barbecued entrees.
- Smoked Baby Back Ribs
- Beer Basted Chicken
- Grilled Flank Steak
- Burgers, Hot Dogs or Brats
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be certain to check out all my delicious salad recipes!
Italian Pasta Salad
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (dried)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Salad
- 8 ounces Tri-color Fusilli pasta
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
- ¾ cup Fresh mozzarella cheese (mini balls cut into quarters)
- ½ cup Dry Italian salami (sliced into thin strips)
- ½ cup Pepperoncini peppers (sliced into thin strips)
- ½ cup Kalamata olives (quartered)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese (shredded)
- ¼ cup Red onion (diced)
- ¼ cup Italian parsley (fresh, chopped)
Instructions
Dressing
- Make the dressing by combining olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, honey and dried Italian seasonings into a glass jar with a lid½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon honey
- Shake vigorously until everything is well combined
Salad
- Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions8 ounces Tri-color Fusilli pasta
- Drain and rinse pasta under cool water. Drain well.
- Place pasta, salami, mozzarella, olives, tomatoes, pepperoncinis and onions in a large bowl1 cup cherry tomatoes, ¾ cup Fresh mozzarella cheese, ½ cup Dry Italian salami, ½ cup Pepperoncini peppers, ¼ cup Red onion, ½ cup Kalamata olives
- Toss with a large spoon to carefully incorporate all ingredients
- Pour dressing over pasta. Toss again.
- Add Parmesan cheese and freshly cut parsley. Toss until combined.½ cup Parmesan cheese, ¼ cup Italian parsley
- Cover and refrigerate until chilled
Notes
- Rinse pasta to help cool it down before adding other ingredients. Be certain to drain well.
- Stir pasta before serving to make certain the dressing is well distributed
- This pasta salad can be eaten right away, but it is best served chilled giving the flavors a chance to meld together
- Use your favorite type of pasta - a short to medium pasta works best. Use farfalle, rotini or even elbow macaroni
- Substitute sliced black olives for the kalamata olive
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
William Wiswald says
Loved it ! I have been making a small variation of this recipe with two changes. First I usually use Hillshire Farms Polska Kielbasa 14oz package of ring sausage cut into 1" slices then cut in half in place of salami and also add 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped into quarters. But I want to let you know I made exactly as written with no changes and found it as good as mine. I DID RATE 5 STARS because I really enjoyed the change. Thank you for sharing.
William W.
Kathy says
Thank you! I'm glad you gave the recipe a try and I'm pleased you enjoyed it as much as your version!
Thanks so much!
Kathy
Susan K says
1st rule of making pasta salad, NEVER RINSE IT UNDER COLD WATER. You put the dressing on the warm pasta so it sticks to it!!!!!!
Kathy says
Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Such a delicious pasta salad, perfect for summer! Love all the flavourful, hearty ingredients. This one needs to happen over the summer. I know it'll be a hit!
Kathy says
Perfect for summertime!
Enjoy 🙂
David @ Spiced says
My mother-in-law makes a similar pasta salad, and I'm not kidding when I say it's one of my top 3 favorite summer recipes! Summer can't officially begin until we've had a batch of that pasta salad. Her version uses cubes of provolone cheese, but I need to try this with fresh mozzarella now - sounds delicious, Kathy!
Kathy says
I like having options to mix things up a bit. Provolone sounds like a delicious option!