Italian pasta salad with zesty dressing is perfect for your next picnic or potluck. Tender pasta is mixed with mozzarella cheese, salami and your favorite fresh veggies which are added for both color and crunch. Finished off with an easy homemade Italian dressing, so good.
Next time try this Tabouli salad.
This zesty Italian pasta salad will be your go to salad this summer. If you are low on time, an easy shortcut is to get a store bought bottle of Italian dressing, however the homemade version is incredibly delicious and tastes so much better.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- Zesty and flavorful pasta salad.
- Perfect for any pot luck, picnics or family gatherings.
- Veggies added for crunch and color.
- Easy recipe for kids to eat.
- Leftovers are great for lunch.
- Less than 30 minutes to make.
Italian pasta salad is also a tasty side dish and fun for kids to eat. Loaded with fresh veggies and spiral pasta, kids love to pick up the pieces with their fingers.
📝 Ingredients
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Rotini: I used tri-color rotini which are spiral like pasta shaped, but you can use any type of pasta you would like.
- Olive oil: A key ingredient in the pasta salad as well as making the zesty Italian dressing.
- Mozzarella: Use mini mozzarella balls or a block of mozzarella cut up.
- Black olives
- Beef salami: Salami, summer sausage or even turkey pepperoni can be used.
- Cherry tomatoes: Adds a nice touch of color and flavor.
- Green bell pepper: Adds crunch to your pasta salad.
- Parmesan cheese: This optional item is highly recommended as it adds another level to all the flavors of this zesty Italian pasta salad.
- Vinegar: I used both red wine vinegar and white vinegar.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic tastes amazing for this homemade salad dressing.
- Salt: adds flavor to the dressing.
- Sugar: sweetens the Italian dressing.
🥄 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions. In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and set aside to cool down completely.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pasta bowl.
- Mix together and top with parmesan cheese.
- Place dressing ingredients, except for the olive oil in a small blender, food processor, or tall glass container to be used with an immersion blender.
- With your blender on, pour oil slowly in a thin steady steam to emulsify.
- Pour the dressing to your liking over the pasta and toss well to combine. Taste as you add until you reach your favorite level.
💡 Expert Tips
- Use any neutral oil you like.
- I like using all the dressing for this amount of pasta for a zesty taste.
- If you feel the dressing is too thick for your liking feel free to thin it with some of the pasta water we reserved earlier.
- You can also skip the homemade dressing and get yourself a bottle of store bought zesty Italian dressing. You will need 2 cups of dressing for this recipe.
- This pasta is even better the next day, which makes it great for make ahead.
⌛ Make Ahead
You can make this Italian salad before you need it as it stores very well wrapped in your refrigerator. You can choose whether to add the dressing and store it where it will soak up all the flavors of the dressing or if you don't like it as zesty tasting, you can add the dressing right before serving.
👩🍳 Variations
- Such a versatile pasta salad, feel free to add in any of your favorite chopped up veggies like cucumbers, colorful bell peppers, shredded carrots even, a diced red onion.
- If you're not able to find mini mozzarella balls in your grocery store, you could also use a block of mozzarella and dice it before mixing in with the pasta salad.
- Add a touch of heat by adding Pepperonici peppers.
🧺 Storage
Place leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
💬 FAQs
This homemade zesty Italian dressing has two kinds of vinegars, fresh garlic and dijon mustard which gives a little zing and a ton of flavor to the Italian dressing.
It is up to you! You can or you may make it a couple of hours before you serve it as stated in the recipe card. This Italian pasta salad tastes even more amazing after sitting in the refrigerator overnight as the flavors mix in together.
📣 Related Recipes
- Best pearl couscous salad with fresh sweet and tangy flavors. This salad is a must try.
- An easy edamame salad recipe with edamame, quinoa, tomatoes, bell peppers and so much in between.
- Vegetarian orzo recipe is a family favorite easy meal.
- This one is one of my favorite light lunches! Smoked salmon pasta is full of fresh flavors in creamy pasta..
- Chicken spaghetti with rotel is a classic recipe made easy with cooked chicken.
- Ditalini pasta salad is an easy side dish and a family favorite. It also works as a light dinner especially during hot summer nights.
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Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound Tri color rotini pasta
- 1 drizzle Olive oil about a couple of tablespoons
- 8 oz fresh mini mozzarella balls
- 1 cup black olives pitted and sliced 6oz
- 1 cup beef salami or turkey pepperoni 5oz
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved, 8oz
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese optional (80g)
Dressing
- 2 cups olive oil any neutral oil will work
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 Tablespoons sugar or maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry oregano
- ½ teaspoon dry basil
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to package directions.
- Save a cup of the pasta water aside and drain the rest.
- Run the cooked pasta under cold water.
- Toss pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and set aside to cool down completely.
Make the dressing:
- Place dressing ingredients minus the oil in a small blender or food processor.
- Pulse a couple of times to combine.
- With your blender on, pour the oil slowly in a thin steady stream to emulsify. You can also use an immersion blender just make sure to put the ingredient in a tall container or it will splatter all over the counter.
Assemble the pasta salad:
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pasta bowl.
- Pour dressing to your liking over the pasta and toss well to combine.
- Taste as you add until you reach your favorite level.
- Chill for a couple of hours before serving.
Notes
- Use any neutral oil you like.
- I like using all the dressing for this amount of pasta for a zesty taste.
- If you feel the dressing is too thick for your liking feel free to thin it with some of the pasta water we reserved earlier.
- You can also skip the homemade dressing and get yourself a bottle of store bought zesty Italian dressing. You will need 2 cups for dressing for this recipe.
- This pasta is even better the next day, which makes it great for making ahead.
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