Our friends and family get so excited when we make this Italian pasta salad recipe. It combines a zippy dressing, cheese, salami, olives, and a good hit of Italian herbs.
Everyone needs a great side up their sleeve for summer potlucks and BBQs, and this fresh, herby pasta salad is my absolute go-to. The homemade Italian dressing really makes it incredible!
For more variations, try our popular vegetarian pasta salad or this Greek pasta salad made with big chunks of feta!
Key Ingredients
- Pasta: Choose hearty pasta shapes like penne, fusilli, rotini, and farfalle (bow tie). They also have the advantage of lots of nooks and crannies, which trap the dressing and bits of cheese.
- Red Onion, Tomatoes, and Basil: I love red onion for its bite and tomatoes and basil for their freshness.
- Salami and Cheese: I’m usually serving this to a crowd with kids, so I stick with milder/sweet salami, but feel free to swap in a spicy salami or pepperoni for some heat. For the cheese, we love salty Parmesan with tangy, creamy provolone, though fresh mozzarella pearls would also be excellent.
- Olives: I used black olives in the photos, but feel free to substitute green olives or Kalamata olives. They all add a salty, briny flavor.
- Italian Salad Dressing: This pasta salad’s dressing is inspired by our Italian dressing. It’s bright, herby, and far better than anything bottled from the store.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
Tip 1: Make our Italian pasta salad dressing. Sure, you can buy bottled salad dressing from the store, but I promise ours is much better. It’s also easy! You’ll make it right at the bottom of a big salad bowl (the one you plan to serve it in). That way, you can toss all the salad ingredients in (and not have a bunch of extra dishes to wash).
To make the dressing, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, honey, oregano, thyme, salt, and black pepper together until well blended. It’s zippy and tangy, which works so nicely with the salami, cheese, and fresh basil.
Tip 2: Soak the onions in cold water. Raw onions can sometimes overpower a salad like this one, so we deflame them. It’s easy to do and takes the same amount of time as it takes for your pasta to cook. Add sliced onion to a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes, drain, and rinse. This simple trick will tone down the onion’s sharp flavor while maintaining its crunch.
Tip 3: Let the salad sit for 30 minutes. Pasta salad tastes better after it has sat for a little bit. The pasta absorbs the flavors of the dressing, and any veggies (like the tomatoes in this salad) have a chance to release some of their juices. After 30 minutes, stir well, and serve. It will be amazing! This tip, by the way, also works for potato salad!
Tip 4: Hold the basil if you are making it days in advance. This Italian pasta salad is the perfect make-ahead salad, but we recommend holding off on the fresh basil until the day you plan to serve. Basil is delicate and will wilt as the salad sits in the fridge. Adding it just before serving will make the salad taste fresh.
More Summer Side Dishes
Easy Italian Pasta Salad
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Use a hearty pasta shape for this Italian pasta salad recipe loaded with salami, veggies, and two cheeses. Soaking the red onion in cold water tones down its sharp, raw flavor (highly recommended!).
You Will Need
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces (225 g) dried pasta, such as penne, fusilli, or rotini
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 ml) red wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, finely grated or minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for cooking the pasta
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces (115 g) sliced provolone cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces
⅓ cup (30 g) finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces (115 g) Italian-style salami, sliced and quartered
6 ounces (170 g) ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup pitted olives, halved (such as black, green, or Kalamata)
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped or torn
Directions
1Place the thinly sliced red onion into a small bowl and cover completely with cold water. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse well under cold water, and set aside.
2Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil (see tip below). Add the pasta and cook until just tender with a slight bite, typically 6 to 10 minutes (check your package instructions for guidance). Drain the pasta and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to stop the cooking process and wash away excess surface starch.
3While the pasta cooks, make the dressing directly in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, grated garlic, Dijon mustard, honey, oregano, thyme, salt, and black pepper until well blended and creamy.
4Add the cooled, well-drained pasta to the bowl with the dressing and toss thoroughly so that every piece is coated. Stir in the drained red onion, provolone, Parmesan, salami, chopped tomatoes, olives, and fresh basil.
5Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if desired. While the salad can be served immediately, it is best to cover and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the pasta to absorb the dressing.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Store this salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Stir well before serving, adding a drizzle of olive oil and a spritz of lemon to loosen as needed.
- When cooking the pasta, fill a medium-large pot with water and add ½ tablespoon of fine salt. The water should taste mildly salty.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Easy to use and follow directions
I made this salad this afternoon and absolutely loved it!
Made this twice now -so good. The one change I did on my second batch was use pickled red onion. I love having them in the frig for use in salads. They gave it a bit more punch. But agree with other comments. The dressing is the star.
I love your addition of pickled red onion! Thanks for sharing, Karla.
This Italian Pasta Salad was a hit with my family. It was a perfect summer meal for us here in the Arizona heat. Plus, I consistently have all the ingredients for this on hand at any given time and am so happy to have found this recipe. I did use pepperoni vs salami as suggested in the recipe because it’s what I had on hand. Additionaly, my 14 year old son especially loved this recipe because he loves anything with a great Italian dressing!
This was wonderful – my whole family loved the dressing on this salad. I made it exactly as stated but can see where there is a lot of flexibility depending on your likes or what you have on hand. But don’t change the dressing – LOL.
Decided to take this to a pot-luck today, and it was a big hit. The only thing I did different was added some hard dry salami. I had the deli cut 1/4 lb of if thick so I could cut into small pieces. I don’t usually like pasta salad because everyone makes it with a bottle of terribe Italian Dressing. This dressing is perfect. Also, as an Italian, we never rinse our pasta 🙂
Absolutely inspiring. I made a number of small tweaks based on what ingredients I had available and it still came out great. Really, the key is the dressing.
Yay! We agree, it is all about the dressing 🙂
This salad is a hit wherever I take it! As with all of your recipes, the instructions are very clear, which makes it so easy for people like me who don’t have great cooking skills. This salad is very flavorful – I used Trader Joe’s green olives stuffed with garlic and jalapeño which added a nice additional spice. Thank you for making me a better cook!
Delicious! The only change I made was that I used fresh oregano and thyme. It’s all I had. Hits the spot.
Oregano and thyme sound delicious! Glad you loved your salad 🙂
Love all the recipes