This Italian dressing pasta salad is the perfect summer side bursting with flavor!
Salami, cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and marinated artichokes are tossed with pasta and ready-made Italian dressing!
Why You’ll Love This Italian Pasta Salad
- It’s colorful and crisp with zesty flavors.
- This recipe is so easy to make in just 2 simple steps.
- Italian dressing pasta salad that stays fresh longer than lettuce-based salads.
- This versatile dish stands alone as a main dish, but also works as a side with BBQ chicken, beef kabobs, or a juicy flank steak!
Ingredients and Variations
Pasta: Fusilli is a fun spiral-shaped pasta the dressing easily clings to. Other kinds of pasta that hold the dressing well are rotini, bowtie, medium-sized elbow, or shell-shaped pasta.
Salami: Chopped salami is delicious in this recipe, but sliced pepperoni or summer sausage make great substitutes.
Vegetables: Lots of colorful and crisp veggies make this salad so popular! Be sure they are all relatively uniform in size so a little gets in every bite! If using canned veggies, be sure to drain and rinse them thoroughly.
Cheese: Mozzarella cubes, bocconcini (mozzarella balls), crumbled feta, and blue cheese crumbles add creamy and tangy flavor, but any cheese works!
Dressing: Choose any creamy or vinaigrette-style Italian dressing, or make your own and have leftover dressing for other pasta salads or as a marinade for fish and chicken.
Variations
- Mix and match the pasta, protein, veggies, and cheese to make a new recipe every time—experiment using mini meatballs or even bacon crumbles.
- Missing any ingredients, or maybe not a fan of some? No problem, omit what you don’t like or don’t have. For a vegetarian option, omit the meat altogether and use small cubes of tofu instead.
- Sliced cucumbers, zucchini, peas, edamame, chickpeas, shredded carrots, corn kernels, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and red onion are all great additions to a pasta salad.
How to Make Italian Dressing Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- Gently toss all ingredients in a large bowl until combined (recipe below.)
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Garnish with fresh herbs like parsley or basil, some parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes if desired.
Serving and Storing
- This salad tastes best when it’s uber-cold so feel free to assemble ahead and toss with the dressing just before serving.
- Keep Italian pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and stir before serving. Add some fresh dressing to refresh the flavors.
More Cold Pasta Salads To Try
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Italian Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound fusilli tri-colored if desired (or rotini)
- 8 ounces salami chopped
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese cubed (about ¾ cup)
- 1 bell pepper diced (any color)
- 4 ounces black olives large, halved or sliced, 1 can, any size 3.8-6 ounces will work
- 13.75-15 ounces artichoke hearts quartered, 1 can
- 1 pint grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup Italian salad dressing store-bought, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
Optional Garnish
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Tablespoons freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
Optional Add Ins
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- pepperoncini peppers thinly sliced
- ½ long english cucumber diced
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Cook pasta to al dente per package directions. Rinse under cold water and cool completely.
- To a large bowl, add cooked and cooled fusilli, salami, mozzarella cheese, bell pepper, black olives, artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes, Italian salad dressing, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. If refrigerating overnight, taste and refresh the salad with a little additional dressing if needed.
Notes
- Nutrition calculation does not include garnish or optional add in’s.
- Best served cold.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Add some fresh dressing to refresh the flavors if needed.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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