Flavorful, easy to prepare, and completely irresistible, this is the Best Italian Pasta Salad Recipe. Filled with fresh and colorful vegetables, salami, mozzarella cheese, and an easy Pasta Salad Dressing enjoy this cold summer salad with your favorite noodles and enjoy leftovers all week long.
Italian Pasta Salad
Cold pasta salads, including this Loaded Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad and this Herb and Bacon Pasta Salad, are some of my favorite dishes to enjoy during the hot summer months. Few pasta salad recipes, however, compare to this Italian Pasta Salad.
Super easy to prepare, this fresh and delicious pasta salad is loved by just about everyone – young and old! Easily prepared ahead of time, this flavor-filled pasta salad recipe has become my go-to recipe for potlucks and bbq’s as it refrigerates so well and travels easily.
Filled with chopped artichoke hearts, black olives, cherry tomatoes, salami, mozzarella pearls, and fresh spinach, this salad is the perfect combination of salty, creamy, sweet, and savory.
Pasta Salad Dressing
Before we jump into what makes up the bulk of this awesome salad, I thought I should mention the pasta salad dressing.
Made with just 5 main ingredients, you can’t make this Italian Pasta Salad without making the dressing to go with it. It’s a million times healthier than any store-bought dressing too!
- Olive oil – The olive oil will help prevent this salad from drying out. It also helps prevent the noodles from sticking together. You don’t need to use the most expensive olive oil, simply pick one that is good quality and tastes good.
- Red wine vinegar – The must-have vinegar for many (most) Italian dressings. Somewhat sweet, with the perfect amount of acidity, red wine vinegar is good stuff, you guys.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is the best and highly recommended as it gives the best flavor.
- Italian seasoning – Whether you use homemade or store-bought, you’re definitely going to need some dried Italian seasoning. The combo of dried herbs gives this pasta salad life and tastes fantastic with all the mixed together veggies.
- Fresh parsley – So, technically, you don’t have to add fresh parsley. However, for me personally, I feel that a little fresh herb helps bring out all the flavors even more.
- Salt + Pepper – Always to taste, especially since the olives, artichokes, and salami tend to be on the salty side.
Italian Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Pasta – You’ll often see Italian pasta salad made with tri-color pasta noodles. Feel free to use those noodles or any other pasta shape you prefer. Rotini, penne, and bowtie pasta are just a few of my personal favorite.
- Black olives – Black olives, loved by little kids everywhere, make a great addition to any pasta salad – including this one!
- Artichoke Hearts – One of my favorite additions, artichoke hearts add loads of flavor with hardly any work. Simply drain, chop, and mix.
- Salami – Regular or spicy, a little bit of salami goes a LONG way in this recipe. Of course, you can skip the salami to keep it vegetarian.
- Mozzarella cheese – I have a small addition to the little mozzarella balls, so that’s what I added here. If you can’t find them, cubed mini-chunks of mozzarella would also work amazing.
- Cherry tomatoes – Unless you hate tomatoes, I highly recommend that you do not skip the cherry tomatoes. Sweet, juicy, and oh so fresh, they are the perfect balance to the salty salami.
- Fresh baby spinach – I’m a big fan of adding easy fresh ingredients to my recipes wherever it fits in.
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
Theoretically, there are several ways you can go about starting this recipe. This, however, is typically the order in which I’ll prepare this Italian Pasta Salad.
- Prepare the Pasta Salad Dressing- I like to do this first and get it out of the way because it is so fast and easy. Add all ingredients for the dressing (olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt, and pepper) to a jar and seal with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously to combine and season with additional salt, pepper, or red wine vinegar to taste. Set aside.
- At the same time, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Prepare the Pasta- Prepare the pasta according to package instructions and cook just until al dente. Drain and rinse well with cool water. Transfer the pasta to a large mixing bowl and toss with the prepared Italian dressing.
- In a separate bowl toss together the mozzarella balls, salami, spinach, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and black olives.
- Combine- Transfer the salami and spinach mixture to the bowl with the pasta and mix well to combine.
- Serve- Serve or store leftovers in glass containers for easy week-long meal prep.
Can You Make Pasta Salad Ahead of Time?
Yes! absolutely.
Simply prepare the ingredients as instructed and store in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy! That said, here are a couple of tips to ensure that you’ll end up with the best salad even when preparing ahead of time.
- Wait to add the fresh spinach until just before serving to keep it fresh and crisp.
- Keep the cooked pasta stored separately. If the noodles clump together, simply rinse with warm water and drain well before mixing with remaining ingredients.
Tips and Tricks
Here are a few of my trusty tips and tricks to make the very best Italian Pasta Salad.
- Chop your vegetables so that they are small and approximately equal in size. This makes for the easiest eating and therefore the most enjoyment.
- Serve it cold. You guys, this is not meant to be a hot or even warm salad. This is a cold(ish) salad and it will taste best when served that way.
- Get creative. Personally, I love this flavor combo and think it’s perfect, but don’t be afraid to mix things up or add your favorites. Some recommendations include-
- chopped bell pepper
- sundried tomatoes
- different cheeses (Parmesan is highly recommended)
- chickpeas
- red onion
- Let things marinate. In other words, this pasta salad tastes best when it’s been allowed to rest for a good 10 minutes or so. Nothing crazy. Too much longer and I would recommend that you wait to add the spinach until just before serving. But just enough time to allow to pasta salad dressing to soak in with the noodles and veggies.
What to serve with this Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
Pasta salads are made to be enjoyed throughout the warm spring, summer (and in some cases) fall months. Of course, they taste terrific any time of year, but outdoor bbq’s, grilling, and potlucks are Pasta Salads favorite place to be.
One of my favorite recipes to serve with this dish are my Greek Marinated Chicken or Grilled Veggie Skewers. You may also pair this salad with a fruit salad and serve with Grilled Salmon Burgers.
Never forgetting the beverages, I enjoy this Italian Pasta Salad with a light and refreshing Margarita, Mojito, or Gin and Tonic.
Love Pasta Salad? Check out,
- Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta Recipe
- 30 Minute Creamy Ham and Pea Pasta
- Grilled Greek Chicken Salad Recipe
- Paloma Recipe
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe
- Easy Gazpacho Recipe (Gazpacho Andaluz)
If you try making this Italian Pasta Salad Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
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Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Italian Dressing
- 1/3 cup good-quality olive oil
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 3 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley - chopped
- salt + pepper - to taste
For the Pasta Salad
- 1 pound fusilli pasta - cooked to al dente
- 16 ounces mozzarella balls - sliced in half
- 6 ounces salami - sliced and quartered
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach - (or arugula)
- 15 ounces cherry tomatoes - halved
- 1 (15 ounce) can artichoke hearts - drained and chopped
- 1 (6.5 ounce) can black olives - drained and chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the Dressing- Add all ingredients for the dressing (olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt and pepper) to a jar and seal with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously to combine and season with additional salt, pepper, or red wine vinegar to taste. Set aside.
- Prepare the Pasta- Meanwhile, prepare the pasta according to package instructions and cook just until al dente. Drain and rinse well with cool water. Transfer the pasta to a large mixing bowl and toss with the prepared Italian dressing.
- In a separate bowl toss together the mozzarella balls, salami, spinach, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and black olives.
- Combine- Transfer the salami and spinach mixture to the bowl with the pasta and mix well to combine.
- Serve- Serve or store leftovers in glass containers for easy week-long meal prep.
