This Best Italian Pasta Salad is one of my favorite salads with little flavor bombs throughout the salad like salami, mozzarella, veggies, olives, basil, and more! Simply made with your favorite Italian dressing (we love Olive Garden), nothing could be easier and faster!
Bringing some great salads like this one to your next BBQ or gathering will have everyone excited. They make the perfect side dish. You can also try our Tortellini Pasta Salad, Pineapple Walnut Raisin Coleslaw, Mandarin Chicken Salad, Classic Caesar Salad, or Caprese Salad.
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Love the array of colors in this rustic-looking salad. You can change up the ingredients to your liking but keep the salad fun and full of delicious, colorful ingredients.
You get the richness from the cheese and salami, the crunch from the veggies, the saltiness from the olives and the tang from the Italian dressing. All of these ingredients combined together make the Best Italian Pasta Salad. Think of this salad almost like an antipasto that everyone enjoys so much, but it is all combined together.
What to Put in Italian Pasta Salad?
Nothing unusual here, but together it makes the best cold pasta salad. Try to get the best quality and freshest ingredients for your salad. This will give you the best results and the tastiest outcome!
Buying salami in a whole log gives you the ability to cut it any way you like. For me, I like tiny cubes or thicker little slices. You decide how you will like your salami cut.
Olives, I think, are a must, and I love a deli selection of different olives if you can get them but try and get the best quality you can source. Kalamata olives are my favorite. Pitted is kind of key in a salad like this.
Rotini makes the best shape for a pasta salad, in my opinion. And a garden version with the different colors is appetizing to the eye too.
I like a regular mozzarella for this recipe instead of fresh mozzarella or mozzarella balls as it is more sturdy and stands up to the other ingredients better. You could try a smoked mozzarella if you like that too.
I don’t like salami, can I use something else? The best thing about a pasta salad is there are no rules. You can put what you like in there. Swap out the salami for pepperoni or ham. Need some zip? Add some red onion; even some red pepper flakes will power this salad up a bit. Change up the fresh herbs from basil (although that is my favorite) to maybe oregano or dill. Want a stronger cheese… go ahead. Play with it as you wish. A little smoked gouda in this salad could be wonderful, or try an Asiago or some grated Parmesan to finish.
Ingredients
- 6oz Salami, diced
- 12oz Mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
- 16oz Garden Rotini Dry Pasta
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 1 Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
- 10oz Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 1 Cup Whole Black Olives, I really like kalamata olives in this salad
- 3 Green Onions, chopped
- 1/3 Cup Italian Salad Dressing (store bought) or Homemade Italian Dressing
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Basil, chopped
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
Just a few easy steps to accomplish this salad that is also great for a make-ahead portable dish for so many occasions!!
- Cook pasta to al dente according to directions and rinse well under cold water.
- Add all chopped vegetables to a large bowl and mix well.
- Toss together with the pasta and salad dressing and season to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. A salad like this can use an hour or two for the flavors to marry a bit. Also leaves you time to get other dishes finished.
You can add more dressing before serving if you like or see that it may have dried out a bit.
What to Serve with Italian Pasta Salad
This Italian Pasta Salad recipe can be served with many dishes. It also can be eaten as an entire meal on its own. I love to see it on a table at a BBQ or summer gathering with other salads to choose from. Grilled Italian sausage, this pasta salad and a green salad would be an amazing meal in the summer. In the winter months, it is great with an Italian main too. Here are some of our favorite dishes to serve it with.
Smoked Bacon Wrapped Sausage Roll
Grilled Chicken with Homemade BBQ Sauce
Can You Freeze Pasta Salad?
I honestly thought this was a strange question as I would never think of freezing a salad, but the question has been asked many times.
I don’t like freezing noodles, they don’t thaw well and end up weird, so therefore I would not freeze this dish. The other ingredients would also not fair well; basil would turn black, tomatoes mushy, etc. If you have leftovers, divvy up what is left among family or friends, and you take some of their salads or leftover food for a great easy dinner the next night.
The salad does keep well, though. This salad should be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy!!
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Best Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 6 oz Salami diced
- 12 oz Mozzarella cut into cubes
- 16 oz Garden Rotini Pasta
- 1 Red Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Yellow Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Cup Whole Black Olives
- 10 oz Cherry Tomatoes halved
- 3 Green Onions chopped
- 1/3 Cup Italian Salad Dressing
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Basil chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta to al dente according to directions and rinse well under cold water.
- Add all chopped vegetables to a large mixing bowl and mix well.
- Toss together with the pasta and salad dressing and season to taste.
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