As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Make this easy Italian Pasta Salad ahead for your weekly dinners, potlucks, and picnics. With fresh vegetables, creamy mozzarella and spicy salami, this noodle salad is tossed in homemade Italian dressing.
Table of Contents
Italian pasta salad with Italian dressing
Pasta salads mean Summer for me. Growing up in Italy, there was always a huge bowl of cold Italian pasta salad ready to eat. Grandma Angela was the chef, she loved to mix cooled pasta with peas, sausage, ham (“Prosciutto Cotto”), sometimes tuna or boiled eggs, and her homemade giardiniera. I preferred it simple, with a zesty dressing. But my dad loved it spicy, extra spicy noodle salad with pepperoni and Sicilian peperoncino.
Yesterday I called my dad and guess what, grandma’s pasta Italiano salad was on the menu. The good news is that we also had a huge bowl of rotini in our fridge! Ever since moving abroad, I always make my own pasta salads. On summer, my girlfriend and I love it for weekly dinners and quick lunches. Together with Mexican street corn dip, fire roasted tomatoes and deviled egg potato salad, it is one of our favorite dishes for potlucks, cookouts, barbecues, picnics and grilling parties.
This simple Italian pasta salad is loaded with fresh vegetables, spicy salami, creamy mozzarella and crunchy Parmesan cheese. You will love it with our flavorful homemade Italian dressing. Cold noodle salad comes in handy for so many occasions. Make it ahead and you will have hearty meals for the week. Or antipasto and side dishes for your upcoming BBQ feast!
Ingredients for pasta salad with Italian dressing
Here’s what Italian pasta salad is made of. Read further for more details, recommendations and replacement options.
- Pasta. The best Italian pasta salad recipe uses short pasta shapes. I like fusilli or rotini, but you can choose penne, farfalle, elbow macaroni, or rigatoni.
- Mozzarella bites. Mozzarella bocconcini are fresh and creamy. If you don’t have it in balls, dice mozzarella and add it into your salad. Mozzarella can be replaced with feta cheese, diced burrata, or Asiago cheese.
- Parmesan cheese. Shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese hits the spot, I highly recommend it.
- Salami. We like our Italian pasta salad with salami that is spicy, but you can replace with your favorite salami, pepperoni, or sausage.
- Fresh vegetables. In this recipe you will find grape tomatoes, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, green bell peppers, red onion, and fresh cilantro.
- Olives. I like black olives but also green olives or Kalamata are great. If you don’t like them, replace with capers or omit.
Easy Italian dressing
Dressing is key, if you want to make the best Italian noodle salad recipe. Although you can use store-bought dressings like Kraft or Olive Garden Italian dressing, I recommend making it at home, from scratch. Our recipe features a quick and easy dressing recipe that comes directly from Italy. You’ll need extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and honey as a base. For the flavor, you will want to add minced garlic or garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, sea salt and ground black pepper. Some readers tried it with McCornmick Salad Supreme and they like it.
Making Italian dressing for a cold pasta salad is very simple. Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk to mix the flavors. Or place everything into a jar, close it, and shake until combined.
How to make Italian pasta salad
- Make Italian Dressing. In a small bowl or in a mason jar, combine all the ingredients for the dressing. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste and set aside for later.
- Cook pasta. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions, until al dente. Once cooked, drain, transfer to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Let cool a completely.
- Assemble noodle salad. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooled pasta with chopped salami, halved mozzarella bites, halved grape tomatoes, sliced black olives, diced bell peppers, and diced red onion. Pour the Italian dressing over your salad and toss to coat evenly. Gently fold in the Parmesan and chopped parsley. Finally, adjust with salt and pepper if it is necessary.
- Refrigerate and store. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Before serving, toss the cold pasta salad to evenly distribute dressing and flavors.
Make-ahead and storage
This tri color pasta salad recipe can be served right away, or it can be made ahead for weekly dinners or cookouts. If you prepare it ahead of time, place leftovers in an airtight food container or in a bowl covered with wrapping paper. Seal well and keep in the fridge to maintain freeness and prevent bacteria from growing.
If refrigerated properly, this dish will last for up to 3 days. Take it out of the refrigerator and enjoy cold pasta salad with Italian dressing. Homemade pasta salad cannot be frozen, it won’t hold its shape and flavors. This dish is best served 12 – 24 hours after preparing it.
Success tips
- Use the right shape of pasta. There are more than 350 different types of pasta, but not all are good for salads. You should use a short pasta shape such as fusilli, rotini, rotelle, penne and farfalle. Spaghetti, linguine, or angel hair are not recommended.
- Do not overcook pasta. If you want to make the best Italian pasta salad, cook the noodles only until al dente. Avoid cooking it for tool long, or it will get too soft and lose its texture.
- Let pasta cool. Once the noodles are ready, drain and place in a bowl with a good drizzle of olive oil (so it won’t stick). Allow the pasta to cool a bit before you mix it with all other ingredients.
- Dress twice. Dress your salad twice, one time after preparing it and one time before serving. That’s because the pasta will dry out and get sticky while it sits in the fridge. So, after bringing it to room temperature, pour in a little more dressing.
- Refrigerate before eating. After tossing pasta salad with Italian dressing, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The cooling time will allow the noodles to absorb all good flavors of our homemade Italian dressing.
Recipe variations
- Gluten-free: Replace regular noodles with gluten-free pasta, we like chickpea pasta.
- Whole-grain: Use wholegrain pasta instead of white noodles.
- Vegetarian: Make meatless Italian pasta salad without salami, or substitute pepperoni with smoked tofu or seitan.
- Diary-free & vegan: Omit cheese and salami, or swap them out for plant based alternatives such as nondairy cheeses and vegan sausage (we like Beyond Meat).
- Cheeses: Try pasta salad with feta cheese, Italian burrata, Asiago cheese, pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
- High protein: Mix in your favorite protein like grilled chicken breast or turkey, ham, tuna fish, or even shrimps (in this case omit salami). Or replace regular pasta with garbanzo beans noodles.
- Vegetables: Experiment with different veggies such as blanched broccoli, artichokes hearts, fresh spinach, blanched green beans, diced cucumber, cannellini beans, or sweet peas.
Yes, you should let pasta cool completely before making the pasta salad. Once it is ready, drain and transfer the noodles to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking and allow it to cool completely to room temperature.
If you plan to prepare it for picnics or barbecues, store the noodle salad in an airtight container and keep it chilled in a cooler with plenty of ice packs until serving time. If possible, keep the cooler in a shaded area to minimize exposure to heat, and avoid leaving the salad out for too long.
More easy summer recipes
- Mexican street corn dip
- Mexican street corn salad
- Protein pizza
- Watermelon salad
- Air fryer corn on the cob
- Creamy cucumber salad
- Cucumber tomato salad
- Frozen lemonade
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz (300 g) uncooked pasta, rotini, fusilli or penne
- 3.5 oz (100 g) salami, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 5.5 oz (155 g) mozzarella bites, halved, or diced mozzarella
- 2 oz (55 g) Parmesan cheese, shaved or shredded
- 7 oz (200 g) grape tomatoes, halved
- 2.5 oz (70 g) black olives, pitted and sliced
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- ⅓ red bell pepper, diced
- ⅓ yellow bell pepper, diced
- ⅓ green bell pepper, diced
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Italian Vinaigrette Dressing
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey, or maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning, or more to taste
- ⅓ tsp onion powder
- ⅓ tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Prepare Italian Dressing
- In a small bowl or in a mason jar, combine all the dressing ingredients. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste and set aside for later.
Prepare Italian Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions, until al dente. Once cooked, drain, transfer to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Let cool completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked pasta with chopped salami, halved mozzarella bites, halved grape tomatoes, sliced black olives, diced bell peppers, and diced red onion.
- Pour the Italian dressing over the salad and toss to coat evenly.
- Gently fold in Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste, if it is necessary.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Before serving, toss the pasta salad to evenly distribute dressing and flavors.
Pasta salad one my favorite meal fo lunch or dinner. Thanks Matt
Hey dear Constantino,
many thanks for your comment! If you like pasta dishes, then this Italian cold pasta salad is for you. Make a huge bowl on Sunday and you’ll have hearty dinners for the entire week.
Have a great weekend,
Matteo
Definitely, this italian pasta salad taste very good!!!??❤️
Hey dear Liza,
I’m so happy to hear that you liked our Italian pasta salad recipe! It reminded me of the cold pasta salad we had on Christmas. It was so delicious, with pieces of ham, black olives and all the good cheeses 😉
Have a fantastic weekend,
Matteo
This same dish was made at another event and it was a success, everyone loved it. ??
I completely agree with you, Liza!! Pasta salad is always a hit ahaha, everyone loves pasta salad on a hot Summer day 😉