This Italian pasta salad recipe is fresh and delicious! A zesty Italian dressing, veggies, olives, pepperoncini, and cheese fill it with bold flavor.
I’ve made this Italian pasta salad for all our picnics and potlucks over the last few weeks. When I added the ingredients to my shopping list again this morning, I knew I had to share the recipe!
This Italian pasta salad is full of bold, zesty flavor. It starts with colorful veggies, oodles of noodles, and chewy mozzarella cheese. Then, I add olives and pepperoncini for tangy, briny flavor and fresh herbs for an aromatic pop. To tie it all together, I douse it in my homemade Italian dressing.
It’s a perfect recipe for summer gatherings because, like many pasta salads, you can make it ahead. Prep it up to a day in advance of a party or get-together. Just season to taste and top with fresh basil before serving! Savory and satisfying, but still bright and fresh, it’s always a hit.
Italian Pasta Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Italian pasta salad recipe:
- Pasta, of course! I like spiral-shaped rotini here, but you could use another short pasta like fusilli, farfalle, or cavatappi.
- Fresh veggies – I use juicy cherry tomatoes as well as crisp cucumbers, red bell peppers, and red onion. The sweet tomatoes and peppers contrast nicely with the other savory, salty ingredients in this salad.
- Mini fresh mozzarella balls – They add richness and chewy texture. I like to use ciliegine (cherry-sized) mozzarella here. If you prefer, you could use smaller pearl-sized balls or tear a larger ball of fresh mozzarella into bite-size pieces.
- Kalamata olives and pepperoncini – They add tangy, briny flavor.
- Parsley and basil – These fragrant herbs add a lovely freshness to the salad.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
These ingredients go into the salad. You’ll also need my homemade Italian vinaigrette to put on it!
The Dressing
I toss this salad in a zesty Italian dressing. It’s easy to make with olive oil, white wine vinegar and lemon juice, honey, garlic, and Dijon mustard. For even more depth of flavor, I mix in dried oregano, dried thyme, fresh parsley, and Parmesan cheese.
You can’t beat this homemade salad dressing in terms of flavor. However, if you’d like to simplify this recipe, you could substitute your favorite store-bought vinaigrette.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make This Italian Pasta Salad
The first step in this Italian pasta salad recipe is cooking the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare the pasta according to the package instructions. I normally recommend cooking it just until al dente, but in this case, I actually recommend boiling it longer, until it’s slightly past al dente. That way, the pasta will stay soft once it cools.
Drain it and toss it with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. Then, set it aside to cool to room temperature.
Next, assemble the salad. Place the pasta in a large bowl and add the vegetables, cheese, olives, pepperoncini, and parsley. Toss to combine.
Add the dressing, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Toss again.
Finally, add the basil and season to taste. Garnish with more basil just before serving!
Recipe Tips
- Cook the pasta until it’s slightly past al dente. That way, the noodles will stay tender once they cool.
- Dice the cucumber and bell pepper into small pieces. You want to get a little of these crunchy veggies in every bite. Cutting them into small pieces helps them evenly disperse throughout the salad.
- Make it your own. This recipe is flexible! Experiment with adding different vegetables (like steamed broccoli or a green bell pepper) or another type of cheese (freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino is delicious). You could use black olives instead of kalamata olives or drained artichoke hearts instead of pepperoncini. Have fun making this salad your own.
Make it ahead
This Italian pasta salad recipe is a great one to make ahead! It keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you’re making it more than a few hours in advance, I recommend waiting to add the basil until just before serving so that it doesn’t wilt. When you’re ready to eat, fold some leaves into the salad and and sprinkle more on top for garnish.
What to Serve with Italian Pasta Salad
This Italian pasta salad recipe is one of my favorite side dishes to make for cookouts. It pairs perfectly with classic BBQ fare like veggie burgers, black bean burgers, coleslaw, and grilled corn on the cob or mixed grilled vegetables.
It’s also a delicious meal prep lunch. Pack it up for work or school, or enjoy it for a picnic. I love it with a side of fruit salad and homemade brownies for dessert.
More Favorite Pasta Salad Recipes
If you love this Italian pasta salad, try one of these pasta salads next:
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Salad
- Macaroni Salad
- Orzo Salad
- Or any of these 51 Best Salad Recipes!
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound fusilli or rotini pasta
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1½ cups mini fresh mozzarella cheese balls, 8 ounces
- 1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- ½ English cucumber, diced
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- ¾ cup sliced pepperoncini
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 recipe Italian Dressing
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions, cooking until slightly past al dente. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Transfer the cooled pasta to a large bowl and add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, red pepper, cucumber, red onion, olives, pepperoncini, and parsley. Toss to combine, then add the dressing, salt, and several grinds of pepper and toss again.
- Stir in the basil and season to taste. Garnish with more basil and serve.
Deliciously filling lunch pasta salad! The homemade dressing adds perfect acidity balance to the richness of the pasta and the crunchiness of the veggies. I am curious to substitute the fusilli pasta for some colorful radiatore! I used some basil from my garden and extra mozzarella because I love cheese.
I’ve tried several of your recipes and while I had to use a different noodle here & sadly no olives except on my own plate (hubby hates them), this was easy and very tasty! Will add this to the list of summer salads. Lots of fresh basil & parsley went into it as this time of year, we have loads of it!
July cooking club recipe did not disappoint. Flavors are on point. I love the addition of the Peppers and olives to bring in the briny-ness. Combing fresh herbs and veggies with the mozzarella balls added a lot of fun texture, too.
Decent recipe although I do not like recipes that have a recipe within them… ita annoying to have to go back and forth between this recipe and the recipe for the dressing. Why not just write it out in these ingredients/directions? Also, it makes the main recipe seem like it’s going to take less time because it’s written as if everyone already has a batch of fresh homemade Italian dressing on hand, which is obviously not the case.
I made this recipe for July Cooking Club and absolutely loved it! I had to use gluten-free pasta, and wasn’t sure how well it would work, but I could not have been happier with how it turned out! I also swapped in feta and left out peperoncini to accommodate my family’s tastes, and it was a huge hit. It was even better the next day.
Often times pasta salads lack flavor – this is packed with flavor! Made as written except I used basil that was growing in my garden, and I had only a couple of tablespoons, and I limited the pepperoncini because my husband is less tolerant to spices. It was incredibly good. Nice texture, well seasoned, vibrant fresh flavors, terrific for a hot night.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!