Italian Pasta Salad

5 from 3 votes

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: High Protein

Keyword: pasta, salad, tomatoes

Servings: servings

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

Metric - US Customary

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.

Nutrition