Italian Pasta Salad Recipe – Love and Lemons

SaveSavedRemoved 0

This Italian pasta salad recipe is contemporary and scrumptious! A zesty Italian dressing, veggies, olives, pepperoncini, and cheese fill it with daring taste.

I’ve made this Italian pasta salad for all our picnics and potlucks over the previous few weeks. After I added the elements to my purchasing record once more this morning, I knew I needed to share the recipe!

This Italian pasta salad is stuffed with daring, zesty taste. It begins with colourful veggies, oodles of noodles, and chewy mozzarella cheese. Then, I add olives and pepperoncini for tangy, briny taste and contemporary herbs for an fragrant pop. To tie all of it collectively, I douse it in my home made Italian dressing.

It’s an ideal recipe for summer season gatherings as a result of, like many pasta salads, you can also make it forward. Prep it as much as a day prematurely of a celebration or get-together. Simply season to style and high with contemporary basil earlier than serving! Savory and satisfying, however nonetheless vibrant and contemporary, it’s at all times a success.

Italian Pasta Salad Components

Right here’s what you’ll have to make this Italian pasta salad recipe:

Pasta, in fact! I like spiral-shaped rotini right here, however you can use one other quick pasta like fusilli, farfalle, or cavatappi.
Contemporary veggies – I exploit juicy cherry tomatoes in addition to crisp cucumbers, purple bell peppers, and purple onion. The candy tomatoes and peppers distinction properly with the opposite savory, salty elements on this salad.
Mini contemporary mozzarella balls – They add richness and chewy texture. I like to make use of ciliegine (cherry-sized) mozzarella right here. In case you want, you can use smaller pearl-sized balls or tear a bigger ball of contemporary mozzarella into bite-size items.
Kalamata olives and pepperoncini – They add tangy, briny taste.
Parsley and basil – These aromatic herbs add a stunning freshness to the salad.
And salt and pepper – To make all of the flavors pop!

These elements go into the salad. You’ll additionally want my home made Italian French dressing to placed on it!

The Dressing

I toss this salad in a zesty Italian dressing. It’s simple to make with olive oil, white wine vinegar and lemon juice, honey, garlic, and Dijon mustard. For much more depth of taste, I combine in dried oregano, dried thyme, contemporary parsley, and Parmesan cheese.

You may’t beat this home made salad dressing by way of taste. Nevertheless, for those who’d wish to simplify this recipe, you can substitute your favourite store-bought French dressing.

Discover the whole recipe with measurements beneath.

Methods to Make This Italian Pasta Salad

Step one on this Italian pasta salad recipe is cooking the pasta. Deliver a big pot of salted water to a boil and put together the pasta in accordance with the package deal directions. I usually advocate cooking it simply till al dente, however on this case, I truly advocate boiling it longer, till it’s barely previous al dente. That approach, the pasta will keep delicate as soon as it cools.

Drain it and toss it with a drizzle of olive oil to stop sticking. Then, set it apart to chill to room temperature.

Subsequent, assemble the salad. Place the pasta in a big bowl and add the greens, cheese, olives, pepperoncini, and parsley. Toss to mix.

Add the dressing, salt, and several other grinds of pepper. Toss once more.

Lastly, add the basil and season to style. Garnish with extra basil simply earlier than serving!

Recipe Suggestions

Cook dinner the pasta till it’s barely previous al dente. That approach, the noodles will keep tender as soon as they cool.
Cube the cucumber and bell pepper into small items. You need to get a bit of of those crunchy veggies in each chew. Reducing them into small items helps them evenly disperse all through the salad.
Make it your individual. This recipe is versatile! Experiment with including completely different greens (like steamed broccoli or a inexperienced bell pepper) or one other kind of cheese (freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino is scrumptious). You may use black olives as a substitute of kalamata olives or drained artichoke hearts as a substitute of pepperoncini. Have enjoyable making this salad your individual.

Make it forward

This Italian pasta salad recipe is a good one to make forward! It retains nicely in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days.

In case you’re making it quite a lot of hours prematurely, I like to recommend ready so as to add the basil till simply earlier than serving in order that it doesn’t wilt. If you’re able to eat, fold some leaves into the salad and and sprinkle extra on high for garnish.

What to Serve with Italian Pasta Salad

This Italian pasta salad recipe is one in every of my favourite aspect dishes to make for cookouts. It pairs completely with traditional BBQ fare like veggie burgers, black bean burgers, coleslaw, and grilled corn on the cob or combined grilled greens.

It’s additionally a scrumptious meal prep lunch. Pack it up for work or faculty, or take pleasure in it for a picnic. I adore it with a aspect of fruit salad and home made brownies for dessert.

Extra Favourite Pasta Salad Recipes

In case you love this Italian pasta salad, strive one in every of these pasta salads subsequent: