Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
This Italian Pasta Salad Recipe is perfect for outdoor picnics, summer cookouts, barbecues or any other casual get-together. It's filled with colorful vegetables, cheese, and salami and tossed in a zesty Italian dressing. This easy recipe is a great option for meal prep and can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner throughout the week.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 cups dry rotini/fusilli
- 1 cup hard salami sliced 1/4-inch thick and then into quarters
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes halved
- ¾ cup black olives sliced
- 1 cup yellow bell peppers chopped
- 1 cup orange bell peppers chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion sliced
- ½ cucumber cut in quarter
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella cubed
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to directions on package. For my pasta I boil 5 quarts water with 1 tablespoon of salt. When it is cooked, drain, and set aside to cool down.
- While pasta is cooling, prepare the dressing by whisking together olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, mustard, garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add cooled pasta to an extra large bowl along with salami, tomatoes, olives, bell peppers, red onion and mozzarella. Mix all well.
- Then pour the dressing, parmesan and parsley. Mix well and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cook the pasta until it's done all the way through but still has a slight bite. Cooking it too long will result in mushy pasta.
- Cut the cheese and salami into small bite size cubes so they're easy to eat.
- Whisk the dressing and let it sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
- Add some salt to the pasta water to add depth of flavor to the whole dish.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 | Calories: 636kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 36g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g