Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
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Zesty Italian Pasta Salad combines rotini pasta, hard salami, fresh mozzarella cheese, black olives, tomatoes, red onion, peppery arugula, and a creamy Italian Dressing. This salad is packed with flavor and is one the whole family will love!
Try our Best Italian Chopped Salad next!
Italian Pasta Salad
We’ve entered pasta salad season and we’re extremely happy about it. This means that the weather is warming up, flowers are blooming, and backyard parties are back.
When it comes to pasta salad, make sure you save some dressing for serving. The noodles tend to soak up a lot of dressing so it’s nice to freshen it up. If you’re out of dressing, add a little bit of olive oil to serve.
Why This Recipe Works:
- QUICK AND SIMPLE – This zesty pasta salad recipe uses simple ingredients that you can easily find in the grocery store. You can have it made in 40 minutes or less.
- PORTABLE – This cold salad is a perfect one to pack in an airtight container and take to a party or family gathering. No mayo means it’s safer to serve at a summer bbq too.
- FULL OF FLAVOR – We love the Italian flavors in this pasta and it’s even better the next day. The creamy dressing adds a ton of delicious flavor too!
What You’ll Need:
- Rotini Pasta – We love rotini but you could use other pasta shapes as well.
- Fresh Mozzarella Pearls – These are tiny fresh mozzarella balls found in the deli.
- Hard Salami – A type of cured sausage that is typically made from beef or pork, and provides a savory flavor to the salad.
- Fresh Vegetables – Cherry tomatoes, red onion, and arugula.
- Black Olives – Or use green olives instead of black.
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese – Use a wedge of fresh parmesan cheese and shred it yourself.
- Creamy Italian Dressing – A combo of extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
- Optional Ingredients include pepperoncini peppers, fresh cucumber, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh herbs.
How to make Zesty Italian Pasta Salad:
Step 1
Cook noodles. Boil dry pasta on the stovetop over medium-high heat according to package directions, or to al dente. Add plenty of salt to the water for flavor. Strain noodles and cool slightly.
I often add a little bit of dressing to the slightly warm pasta to add even more flavor.
Step 2
Combine ingredients. In a large bowl, add the pasta noodles, red onion, cherry tomatoes, arugula, black olives, hard salami, fresh mozzarella pearls, and freshly shredded parmesan cheese. Toss to combine.
Step 3
Make homemade Italian dressing. In a mason jar, combine the dressing ingredients – olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Shake well to combine.
Step 4
Add dressing to the easy pasta salad. Drizzle about 3/4 of the dressing into the pasta salad. Stir to combine.
Step 5
Chill. Place the Italian pasta salad in the refrigerator to chill. I recommend chilling to allow flavors to meld together.
Step 6
Serve. Serve the pasta salad with extra Italian dressing and some more parmesan cheese, if desired.
Expert Tips:
- Always boil your pasta to al dente. Over-cooked pasta tastes mushy and we don’t want that.
- Add plenty of salt to the noodles as they cook to add even more flavor.
- Adding some of the dressing to the warm pasta adds incredible flavor to the salad. Give it a try.
- I recommend freshly shredding the parmesan cheese. No powdered stuff, please!
What to Pair with Italian Pasta Salad:
This easy recipe is a perfect side dish for any of the following main dish recipes. However, it’s often a main course for me!
Other Pasta Salads:
These pasta salads are some of our other favorite side dishes as well.
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the pasta salad:
- 1 lb rotini noodles – boiled to al dente
- 6 oz can black olives – halved
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes – sliced in half
- 1/2 cup red onion – sliced thin
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella pearls
- 4 oz. hard salami – sliced
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese – freshly shredded
- 1-2 cups arugula
For the dressing:
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook noodles. Boil noodles on the stovetop over medium-high heat to al dente. Add plenty of salt to the water for flavor. Strain noodles and cool slightly.
- Combine ingredients. In a large serving bowl, add the pasta noodles, red onion, cherry tomatoes, arugula, black olives, hard salami, fresh mozzarella pearls, and freshly shredded parmesan cheese. Toss to combine.
- Make dressing. In a mason jar, combine the dressing ingredients – olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Shake well to combine.
- Add dressing to the salad. Drizzle about 3/4 of the dressing into the pasta salad. Stir to combine.
- Chill. Place the Italian pasta salad in the refrigerator to chill.
- Serve. Serve the pasta salad with extra Italian dressing and some more parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Always boil your pasta to al dente. Over-cooked pasta tastes mushy and we don’t want that.
- Add plenty of salt to the noodles as they cook to add even more flavor.
- Adding some of the dressing to the warm pasta adds incredible flavor to the salad. Give it a try.
- I recommend freshly shredding the parmesan cheese. No powdered stuff, please!
Love the dressing on this pasta salad!
So glad you enjoyed it, Josh! 🙂
This salad is perfect for the hot summers! I love that it is only 7 ingredients and that it stores well in the fridge. It is so refreshing since it is cold. A perfect recipe for summer!