Italian pasta salad is packing a punch of flavor with a homemade Italian dressing. This pasta salad is bursting with goodness – salami, pepperoni, mozzarella, tomatoes, spinach, and pepperoncini!
I have been a long time lover of the cold pasta or vegetable salad.
Perfect for potlucks and cookouts, we serve up this Italian Pasta Salad all year long. It’s great in the summer on a hot night, but it’s so flavorful and adds a pop of freshness to a winter or holiday dinner, too!
We also love this broccoli salad with bacon, and of course my mama’s classic macaroni salad is on repeat in my house!
This pasta salad with Italian dressing is basically a big ol’ bowl full of heaven. There is SO much good stuff packed into one pasta salad. I bet you won’t want to share!
Table of Contents
🍝Pasta Salad Ingredients:
Tri-Colored Rotini – Any small shape of pasta will work here, but we love the color and texture of this rotini.
Mozzarella Balls – Shredded mozzarella will also work, if that’s what you prefer.
Pepperoni & Salami – They’ll add a savory, slightly spicy and meaty flavor to the dish that tastes so good with the Italian salad dressing!
Cherry Tomatoes
Spinach
Red Onion – Rinse in cold water to take out some of the bite, if desired!
Pepperoncini – Adds a little heat and zing to the dish!
Helpful Tip!
Swaps & Substitutions:
Skip the pepperoni for extra salami, or swap the pepperoncini for mild banana peppers! Use grated mozzarella instead of fresh mozzarella. Add some olives! It’s hard to mess this one up, though in my opinion, the recipe is perfect as written. 😉
What Readers are Saying!
“My husband made this salad, it was so good, it made so much we were able to have it for several meals. Thank you so much for sharing.”
-Ruth
🥗Pasta Salad Dressing Ingredients:
Olive Oil – Some good quality olive is the base for many Italian dressings and it’s just what you need to bring everything together in this pasta salad.
Lemon Juice – Use a fresh squeezed lemon, it really brings out the flavor!
Garlic – Freshly minced garlic is going to add a lot of flavor to the dressing.
Salt & Sugar – A little bit of both is going to round out the flavors for our simple Italian pasta salad dressing.
Herbs – Oregano, basil, and rosemary.
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad:
Boil: Boil your pasta to al dente in salted water.
Chop: Next, you’ll dice up all the goodies going inside. We try to keep things similar in size for pasta salads.
Dress: Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the pasta salad.
Helpful Tip!
This Italian dressing is pretty darn good as is. But if you were looking for more of a vinaigrette type dressing you could also mix in a little red wine vinegar with the dressing to add that slightly tangy flavor!
Chill: Pop this in the fridge for a few hours, stir, and season with extra salt if needed.
Try this serving pasta salad with some of my other favorite Italian recipes. I bet it would go great with this Air Fryer Chicken Caprese, or my Italian Beef recipe!
FAQs:
Keep this Italian pasta salad stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
Sure! Pasta salad is an easy dish to customize. Some other great ingredients would be black or green olives, diced bell pepper, other varieties of cheese like cubed cheddar, etc.
MORE SUMMER SALAD RECIPES!
- Easy Vegetable Salad
- Italian Cauliflower Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Deviled Egg Potato Salad
- Amish Macaroni Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad
- Deviled Egg Salad
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the pasta salad
- 1 pound tri-colored rotini
- 8 ounces mozzarella balls
- 8 ounces salami
- 8 ounces pepperoni
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/2 cup sliced red onion
- 1/2 cup pepperoncini
For the dressing
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- To make the pasta salad, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rotini and cook until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water until pasta is cool.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut the mozzarella balls in half. Cut the salami and pepperoni into small pieces. Halve the cherry tomatoes and roughly chop the spinach. Dice the peperoncini into small pieces.
- Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl with the prepared mozzarella, salami, pepperoni, tomatoes, spinach, onion, and pepperoncini.
- To make the dressing, whisk together all of the ingredients until well combined.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and stir well to coat.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to serving.
- Taste and add additional seasoning as desired.
sharon says
This was really good!!! Made it tonight!!
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Sharon!
Kelly says
I made this yesterday and it was a total hit!!!! Soooo delicious and everyone said they thought it was part of the catered food!! I will definitely be making this a lot this summer!!