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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
More Pasta Salad Recipes:
- Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad
- Caesar Pasta Salad
- Chicken Orzo Pasta Salad
- Cucumber Cauliflower Ditalini Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 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
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
What type of serving dish did you use? I have been looking everywhere for one just like it. Love your recipes, by the way!
Hi Melissa, Here is the wide bowl we use. We purchased it at Sur La Table
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Hi Sandy, thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback.
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I appreciate your feedback and I hope you love every recipe you try.
If the dressing was added to the entire salad and it didn’t all get eaten on the first day, would the salad still be ok the next day or would it be too soggy?
It would have been okay if the dressing was not added but if it’s already there it will be soggy the next day. Let us know how it goes.
Hi Natashas
me encantan tus recetas ya hise muchas de ellas gracias por compartir
Hi Natasha, I love your recipes!!! I going to make this salad and I wanted to know which kind of salami did you used.
Thank you Daisy! We usually use what we have on hand. We purchased our salami pack at Costco.
Hi Natasha, thank you for responding. I was wondering which salami to use, hard salami or genoa salami. Please advise, which one is best for this recipe.
Hi Daisy, I usually prefer genoa salami.
Wow! My wife does not like olives, so I had to put them in separately.
I do not recommend omitting the olives at all! It brings this delicious dish to the next level of awesome!
This is a family, party, and overall crowd pleasing dish!
“Good to the last drop!” Again, wow!
Thanks for sharing that with us and for your suggestion, Joseph. Appreciate it!
Absolutely amazing! Dressing is outstanding and we loved every morsel of the salad…can’t wait to eat it again for lunch tomorrow 🙂 I often find I make subtle changes to recipes…but this one is perfect for me just as written. Thank you!
Hi Renee, thank you for sharing your experience with us. I’m so happy that you enjoyed it!
Hi n
Natasha, I was wondering what kind of salami you used for this salad, there are so many different ones.
Hi Louise, we usually use what we have on hand. We purchased our salami pack at Costco.
Perfect summer salad for get togethers! So yummy and easy to make!
Thank you for your excellent feedback!
Hi Again Natasha,
As I mentioned in the cheesecake section this salad was just A M azinng…..we all just loved it along with that yum yum salad dressing.
Hi Blasilla, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing that awesome review with me!
Yes when you are cutting you should never put your hand on top of a knife. The top of the knife is just as sharp as the bottom. I use a pairing knife too cut cherry tomatoes.
Thank you for those tips Patrick
I have never heard of the top of a knife being sharp
I’m assuming he is referring to a double-sided pairing knife. Mine is not sharp either.
Made it . Wunderbar !
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Barry!
Our family tried this salad tonight. It was definitely a hit.
So lovely to hear that, Teresa. Thank you for sharing!
Natasha!! I love love your recipes! Making pasta salad tomorrow just finished roasting my peppers in the oven. I love this salad bowl you made your pasta salad in…can you link me up so I can get one too? I love that it’s wide and low!
Hi Michelle, I’m so glad to hear that. Here is the wide bowl we use. We purchased it at Sur La Table
Link to food scraper, pretty please.
Hi Bernice, we use this food scraper here.
Do you have a cookbook?
Hi Erika, we do not at this time but stay tuned!
Your recipes are wonderful! I am back in the kitchen! You wanted to know if anyone had a trick to cutting cherry tomatoes. I take two extra large plastic lids (the kind you get at the gas station for a really big drink). Put one lid inside up on the counter. Set the tomatoes on the inside of the lid. Put the other lid right side up over the tomatoes. Hold the top lid firm. Take a serrated knife and cut thru the middle of the tomatoes cutting all the tomatoes at once.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Susan!
Nice tip Susan! Thanks for sharing that with us and giving great feedback!
We do that but with saucers. The weight helps hold the tomatoes and doesn’t slide on the cabinet.
I make pasta salad often using commercial or a homemade dressing, but your Italian dressing is really the best I’ve tried. That little bit of mayo emulsifies everything beautifully and I’ve used the dressing on tossed salads too. A wonderful, knock-it-out-of-park recipe for Italian dressing! Great stuff!
I am so happy with your great feedback, thank you for your nice comments!
Hello Natasha,
I want to make this salad tonight but only have chicken at hand 🙁 do you think I can swap it for the salami?
Thanks!
Hi Andrea, I haven’t tried that yet to advise of the outcome but I imagine that should work since we have to improvise during these times. Please share with us how you liked it!
I can’t find the kitchen tool you said would be in a link? It’s the one you scoop everything on thanks for your help!
Hello Debbie, are you referring to the food scraper (Affiliate link)?
Best salad dressing I ever made!!! Perfect balance of flavors! I love your recipes, there’s always a secret ingredient that makes it great like the mayo and sugar in this recipe and the bacon in your stew! Thank you for your recipes and I hope you and your family are staying safe! I’m so bummed I can’t go to the store now and get sour cream to make beef stroganoff!!
Hello Sandra, your comment and great review really make me happy. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. Stay safe and healthy too!
All I can say is your the best!
You provide everything needed for following simple instructions on how to make the most tasty meals.
Only one thing I ask…
PLEASE, don’t change your style?!
Thank you for making me seem like a real cook. Hahaha!
Thank you for your kind words, Joseph. I appreciate it!