Although you can make it any time of year, an Italian pasta salad just screams summer to me. Serve this bright, sweet, tangy, and most importantly, easy Italian pasta salad at your next barbecue, pool party and or beach outing. It’s the perfect summer salad filled with veggies, black olives, salami and lots of cheeses, with a homemade Italian dressing so delicious you’ll want to use it on everything!
Here’s what you’re going to need: Good, spicy salami. Fresh mozzarella and crumbed feta cheese. Tomatoes and fresh parsley. Olives (my personal favorite), red onions, pepperoncinis and a homemade tangy Italian dressing. Also and possibly the most important: you’ll need pasta with good solid texture and shape to absorb all the sauce. My favorite shape and style is rotini pasta.
This recipe uses homemade Italian dressing. You could substitute ready-made dressing to take a short-cut, but making from scratch does make a difference in flavor plus you’ll want those leftovers! The dressing is great for a chicken marinade, dip for veggies or just a little extra for your pasta salad.
Don’t forget to enjoy with a glass of white wine!
- Pasta Recipe
- 1 lb. pasta such rotini
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese balls, cut in half
- 1 lb. salami, cut into chunks
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- ¾ cup black olives, sliced
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- sliced red onion, crumbled feta cheese, pepperoncini (optional)
- 1½ cups Italian dressing
- Homemade Italian Dressing
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar (white vinegar or red wine vinegar work)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon dry basil
- 1 clove garlic
- black pepper to taste
- Whisk or run through the blender to make a creamy, slightly thickened dressing.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Allow to cool slightly (and maybe toss with a little oil to prevent sticking). Toss all ingredients together! Keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
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