Summer Italian Recipes | Italian Pasta Salad
Easy Summer Italian Recipes – a Healthy, Fun, and Colorful Italian Pasta Salad!
This Italian Pasta Salad is a bright, hearty, and satisfying summer recipe. It’s packed with fresh veggies, herbs, salami, tender pasta, parmesan, and mozzarella pearls all covered with a light and tangy homemade dressing. It’s perfect for picnics, parties or family dinners.
Why you’ll love this Italian Salad recipe?
Simple and low effort recipe: This Italian pasta salad requires little effort and can be served in about 30 minutes.
It’s bright, and refreshing: This is a nice colorful summery salad, that tastes just as good as it looks. It’s one of those salad recipes that everyone will ask you to make it again.
light and healthy: This salad makes a nice light and healthy summer lunch or dinner. It’s both delicious and nutritious.
It has a nice blend of texture: When it comes to salads having a good mix of textures is important; from tender, to firm, to crisp.
It’s a great School Lunch Idea: This Italian pasta salad makes a great cold lunch for school or work. It’s a good salad For a large group of people: I enjoy serving this tasty Italian salad as a refreshing side dish during a party or a casual get together.
What ingredients do I need for this Italian pasta salad?
Italian Salad Ingredients:
16 ounces rotini pasta
16 ounces hard salami (sliced then chopped)
3 cups grape tomatoes (halved)
2 cups red, green or yellow bell peppers (chopped)
½ cup red onion (chopped)
8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
1 can black olives (sliced)
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Salad Dressing:
1 cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
How to make this Italian Salad recipe?
Cook your chosen pasta based on package directions with a tablespoon of salt. Keep ½ cup of your pasta water before draining. Put your pasta aside.
During the time the pasta is cooking, Prep your salad ingredients and dressing.
To make the dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, honey, minced garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, then season with salt and pepper according to taste.
Add your cooked pasta to your favorite salad bowl. Add in the chopped bell peppers, red onion, halved tomatoes, salami, olives, mozzarella pearls, grated parmesan, then chopped parsley and basil.
Whisk your salad dressing one more time, then pour over your salad along with the ¼ cup pasta water you left aside. Try to gently mix to cover the ingredients with the tangy dressing.
You can serve it right away or chill for 1 to 2 hours in the fridge for a more refreshing salad. Enjoy Italian Pasta Salad!
Easy and Fun Summer Recipes – This Simple Pasta Salad is Light, Bright, and Extremely Satisfying!
Helpful Tips and Variations:
Which type of pasta works best for tis Italian salad? I prefer to use rotini or fusilli; I think they’re the best pasta shell for a salad, but there are no rules here, choose whichever works best for you. Sometimes, I also use penne or farfalle. Any medium sized pasta will work.
How can I replace the mozzarella pearls? You can either use Feta cheese or burrata.
What can I use instead of Parmesan? You can use Romano, Pecorino, Grana Padano, or Asiago.
How can I substitute the salami? Instead of Salami, I like to use smoked turkey cut into cubes or strips; it tastes amazing. I also make this same salad with tuna or peperoni.
How can I replace the bell peppers? If you’re not into bell peppers, you can use cucumber.
Can I add fruit to this Italian pasta recipe? For salads in general, I prefer to use a pear, apple, mango, or pineapple depending on the recipe. I honestly prefer to keep this one as it is, but feel free to experiment with whichever ingredient you prefer.
How can I store properly? Place your Italian pasta salad in a container with a tight lid, I prefer to use a glass container or a mason jar when it comes to salads. I keep it in the fridge from 3 to 4 days. Sometimes, I store it in lunchboxes for school or work.
How can I serve this Summer Italian Pasta Salad?
This Italian pasta salad pairs well with all types of grilled protein; I personally prefer to serve it alongside grilled chicken, grilled sardines, or baked salmon. I also serve it as a light summer lunch or as a side dish at a Sunday family lunch, or a weekend cookout.
Summer Italian Recipes – Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini pasta
- 16 ounces hard salami sliced then chopped
- 3 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 2 cups red green or yellow bell peppers (chopped)
- ½ cup red onion chopped
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- 1 can black olives sliced
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook your chosen pasta based on package directions with a tablespoon of salt. Keep ½ cup of your pasta water before draining. Put your pasta aside.
- During the time the pasta is cooking, Prep your salad ingredients and dressing.
- To make the dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, honey, minced garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, then season with salt and pepper according to taste.
- Add your cooked pasta to your favorite salad bowl. Add in the chopped bell peppers, red onion, halved tomatoes, salami, olives, mozzarella pearls, grated parmesan, then chopped parsley and basil.
- Whisk your salad dressing one more time, then pour over your salad along with the ¼ cup pasta water you left aside. Try to gently mix to cover the ingredients with the tangy dressing.
- You can serve it right away or chill for 1 to 2 hours in the fridge for a more refreshing salad. Enjoy!
