Italian Pasta Salad is one of our favorite pasta salad recipes. This is an easy, make-ahead salad that is perfect for meal prep. Every bite is loaded with rotini, salami, mozzarella, olives, healthy veggies, and a homemade creamy Italian Dressing.

Italian pasta salad in serving bowl with Italian dressing

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Pasta Salad Ingredients:

Italian Pasta Salad is a meal in itself with protein, grains and plenty of vegetables. It has vibrant Italian flavors with kalamata olives, fresh mozzarella cheese, salami, and parsley.

We love that you can change up the ingredients based on what you have on hand. Try substituting with diced bell pepper, or crunchy broccoli, or use Feta instead of Mozarella cheese to add some Greek flavors. P.S. If you’re feeling adventurous, roasting your own bell peppers will take this salad to the next level.

Ingredients for Italian pasta salad with rotini pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, mozzarella, red onion, salami, parsley, roasted red pepper and homemade Italian Dressing

What is the Best Italian Dressing?

We love homemade Italian dressing for the best flavor and because you can use high-quality oil and seasonings. In a pinch, store-bought Italian dressings will work. We like Newman’s Own brand Italian dressing and Ken’s brand Italian dressing.

Italian Dressing in mason jar with tomatoes and parsley on the side

How to Make Pasta Salad Video Tutorial:

I hope this Pasta Salad Recipe becomes a new favorite for you. It makes meal prep so easy! If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel and click the bell icon so you get a notification when we post a new video.

What is the Best Pasta for Salad?

We love rotini noodles for pasta salad. Rotini is the spiral-shaped pasta you will see in the photos here. You can buy them in the traditional pasta color or in a multicolor blend which can be really fun for a pasta salad. You can also experiment with different kinds of pasta such as shell pasta or macaroni.

The best pasta salad with rotini pasta and other pasta salad ingredients arranged in mixing bowl

How to Cook Pasta for Pasta Salad:

Cook your pasta in salted water according to package instructions until it is aldenté. Aldente means firm to the bite. Pasta that is overcooked can seem mushy in pasta salad and will absorb more dressing so make sure you don’t overcook. As soon as the pasta is aldenté, drain in a colander then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process, chill the pasta, and rinse off excess starch to keep the pasta from sticking.

Cook’s Tip: Buttered pasta doesn’t work well for pasta salad so do not add butter or oil after your pasta is cooked. Rinsing in cold water is enough to prevent noodles from sticking together and there is plenty of oil in the salad dressing.

Pasta Cooked until aldente for pasta salad in bowl combined with other pasta salad ingredients

More Pasta Salad Recipes:

Italian Pasta Salad

5 from 163 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Italian pasta salad in serving bowl with Italian dressing
Italian Pasta Salad is an easy, make-ahead recipe that is perfect for meal prep. Every bite is loaded with rotini, salami, fresh mozzarella, olives, and healthy vegetables, and it all comes together with a homemade creamy Italian Dressing.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 8 people
  • 8 oz rotini pasta
  • 6 oz salami, sliced into strips
  • 10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved (3 cups)
  • 1/2 English cucumber, diced
  • 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella, pearls or halved mozzarella balls
  • 1/2 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
  • 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
  • 1/2 cup roasted red peppers* drained and coarsely chopped
  • 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 cup Italian dressing, or added to taste

Instructions

  • Cook rotini pasta according to package instructions in salted water just until pasta is aldente (firm to the bite).
  • While pasta cooks, prep remaining ingredients and make Italian Dressing.
  • Add dressing just to the portion fo salad you plan to eat. Enjoy right away or cover and let the salad marinate for 1-3 hours before serving.

Notes

*Or you can make your own roasted peppers

Nutrition Per Serving

386kcal Calories30g Carbs16g Protein23g Fat8g Saturated Fat39mg Cholesterol1340mg Sodium331mg Potassium2g Fiber6g Sugar718IU Vitamin A17mg Vitamin C180mg Calcium1mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Italian Pasta Salad
Amount per Serving
Calories
386
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
23
g
35
%
Saturated Fat
 
8
g
50
%
Cholesterol
 
39
mg
13
%
Sodium
 
1340
mg
58
%
Potassium
 
331
mg
9
%
Carbohydrates
 
30
g
10
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
6
g
7
%
Protein
 
16
g
32
%
Vitamin A
 
718
IU
14
%
Vitamin C
 
17
mg
21
%
Calcium
 
180
mg
18
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: italian pasta salad, pasta salad
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $$
Calories: 386
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen

5 from 163 votes (102 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Linda Stevenson
    February 3, 2025

    If I make this and omit the pasta do you have any idea how many carbs?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      February 3, 2025

      If you omit the pasta in this recipe, you will be removing a large portion the carbs. If you skip the pasta, the carb count for a serving should likely fall around 4-8g net carbs, approximately.

      Reply

  • Murielle lowery
    February 2, 2025

    Hi there. I think you should do a cookbook for Newlyweds and or new mother/fathers. My office just collected recipes for a Newlywed. I gave her some of your recipes that are my go to recipes. I also gave her your web site with them. She loved them.

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      February 2, 2025

      Thank you for the suggestion, Murielle!

      Reply

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