This zesty Italian Pasta Salad is a delicious blend of flavors and textures, perfect for any occasion! With marinated artichokes, olives, and loads of salami and ham, this easy pasta salad recipe can be served as a side dish, or main course and is the ultimate potluck or cookout salad.
Love pasta salad? Try my Caprese Pasta Salad or Creamy Tomato Cucumber Pasta Salad!
When I find something that I love, I go all in, and y’all this salad has me smitten! It’s right up there with my Mediterranean pasta salad and steak salad. Why?
- For starters, it’s loaded with meat, cheese, and briny, salty olives. Oh, and there’s the tender, marinated artichokes. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
- To bring it all together, there’s the homemade Italian vinaigrette dressing, which I think makes this salad so special. The dressing’s zesty punch keeps this meat and cheese salad fresh and flavorful without being heavy.
What You Need To Make Italian Pasta Salad
- Pasta – Penne pasta is my go-to for this to hold onto the yummy dressing! Any similar, short pasta like rotini or bow tie will work.
- Vegetables – Black and green olives, marinated artichokes, pepperoncini, onion, and parsley all add depth of flavor and texture.
- Meat & Cheese – Ham, salami, and parmesan cheese make up the not-salad part of this salad.
- The dressing – You’ll need olive oil, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder, dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, and salt.
Variations And Additions
Pasta salads are great because you can customize it with what you have on hand. Here are just a few ideas to get creative!
- Make it Vegetarian: Swap the ham and salami for red kidney or giant white beans. You can also add fresh herbs, red onion, or bell peppers.
- Swap The Cheese: You can use mozzarella balls if you don’t have parmesan.
- Add Chicken: For a more dinner-like feel, you can use grilled chicken instead of ham and salami—or even in addition to them!
How To Make Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing
- Mix the dressing ingredients in a jar by shaking the jar covered until emulsified.
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions, drain it, and rinse it with cold water. While the pasta cooks, chop the other ingredients.
- Add the chopped ingredients and olives to the cooled pasta.
- Add the cheese and fresh parsley, drizzle on the dressing, and mix everything together. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Donya’s Success Tips
- You can rough chop the ingredients. There’s no need to be fancy; they just need to be bite-sized.
- Cook, drain, and rinse the pasta in cold water. This will stop the pasta from cooking and wash off the extra starch. You can also toss a few ice cubes into the pasta to cool it quickly.
- Don’t over cook the pasta, just cook it to al dente. This way it won’t get mushy as it sits in the fridge.
Can I Make This Salad Ahead Of Time?
I think this Italian pasta salad recipe is better after sitting in the fridge for a bit. The pasta soaks up the homemade dressing, making the salad even more flavorful. You can make it up to a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this is the best part of the salad! You can make it ahead, up to a full day in advance. As the salad sits in the fridge, the acid in the dressing helps to break down the ingredients, resulting in a salad bursting with bold flavor—but also why the pasta can’t be overcooked!
Sure, any standard gluten-free noodle will work, but I do not recommend chickpea pasta. This type of pasta is too soft to withstand sitting in the fridge.
This Italian salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
What Goes With Italian Pasta Salad?
There are so many things that go great with this recipe. It’s a classic that can be served with Easy Glazed Meatloaf, and Air Fryer Steak Bites. And for a lighter meal, you can pair it with Outrageously Good Stuffed Celery, Tomato Cucumber Salad, or Air Fryer Chicken Legs. I think it’s best the best Italian pasta salad served on it’s own as a main dish with a simple side of Parmesan Breadsticks!
More Pasta Salads You’ll Love
If you tried this Italian Pasta Salad Recipe or any other recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks!
Ingredients
- 1 lb (box) pasta
- 1 cup marinated artichokes
- 1 cup black olives
- 1 cup stuffed green olives
- 1 cup pepperocini
- 1 cup ham
- 1 cup salami
- 1 cup onion – thinly sliced
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese – grated
- ½ cup fresh parsley – chopped
Dressing
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup lemon-juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic – minced
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large pot filled with water, cook pasta according to package directions. While water comes to a boil, roughly chop the artichokes, olives, pepperocini, ham and salami.
- In a jar fitted with a lid, add olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper. Screw on lid and shake jar until all ingredients are emulsified.
- When pasta is cooked, drain and rinse, then add back to pasta pot. Add in all chopped ingredients and gently mix. Pour on half of dressing and toss. Sprinkle on parsley and cheese, add remaining dressing and toss to combine. Spoon onto platter or large bowl to serve immediately or store in refrigerator in an airtight container.
Notes
- I think this Italian pasta salad recipe is better after sitting in the fridge for a bit. The pasta soaks up the homemade dressing, making the salad even more flavorful. You can make it up to a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator if needed.
- This Italian salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
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I absolutely adore this recipe! It’s become a favorite in our household. I made a few adjustments to suit our preferences: I omitted the onion since my husband isn’t a fan, and I left out the red pepper flakes due to dietary restrictions. Instead, I added mozzarella pearls and sprinkled some grated Parmesan cheese on top. These small changes worked wonderfully, and the dish turned out delicious. Thank you for sharing another fantastic recipe that’s easy to customize!
Thank you, Lisa! I’m so glad you are here cooking with me.
~Donya
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This pasta salad sounds amazing! The combination of meats and cheeses is mouthwatering. For an extra touch of authenticity, Jamones Sin Fronteras offers the finest Spanish cured meats that would elevate this dish even more.
Would love to try some of your products!
~Donya
The Italian said looks good, but I wonder, if you don’t have any regular noodles,penne,ziti or macaroni (as shown in photo)can you substitute spaghetti,instead?Also do you have any recipes for a spaghetti salad?
I have all kinds of pasta recipes including spaghetti salad. Just go to the homepage and type in pasta in the search bar. Thanks for the great rating!
~Donya
This was delicious!
I make this with a dijon vinaigrette and call it muffaletta salad. Delicious. Thank you!
I was looking for a nice dressing for pasta salad, I didn’t want to use just some random italian. And this was a really delicious dressing. Perfect for a pasta salad. I didn’t have any rice wine vinegar on hand, so I just used white vinegar and it still tuned out perfectly!