Easy Italian Pasta Salad
- PREP 10min
- COOK 10min
- TOTAL 20min
Italian pasta salad made with a fresh and flavorful dressing, two kinds of cheese, salami, olives, and the perfect blend of Italian herbs. Take one bite of this pasta salad, and you won’t be able to stop.
Start with a hearty pasta shape that has nooks and crannies to hold onto the dressing like penne or rotini. We love adding parmesan cheese, which melts into the dressing as well as provolone cheese and salami, but you can always adjust the ingredient list based on your favorite Italian cheeses and meats.
You Will Need
Pasta Salad
8 ounces dried pasta like penne, fusilli or rotini
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces sliced provolone cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
4 ounces Italian-style salami, sliced and quartered
6 ounces tomatoes, chopped, about 1 cup
1 cup olives, pitted and halved
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Salad Dressing
1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30ml) red wine vinegar
1 small garlic clove, finely grated or minced, about 1/2 teaspoon
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or use 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Place the sliced onion into a small bowl and cover with cold water. Set the bowl aside for 10 minutes so that the raw flavor on the onion calms a little. Drain, and then rinse the onions before adding them to the salad.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, 6 to 10 minutes (check the package for recommended cook time). Drain and rinse well under cold water.
While the pasta cooks, in the bottom of a large bowl, make the dressing. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, honey, oregano, thyme, salt, and black pepper together until well blended.
Add the drained and rinsed pasta to the dressing and mix well.
Stir in the drained and rinsed red onion, provolone cheese, parmesan cheese, salami, tomatoes, olives, and basil.
Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Serve or for the best results, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Pasta salad gets better and better over time so making it a day in advance is a great idea.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.