Antipasto Pasta Salad

Summer is officially here! We’re in the thick of backyard BBQ and picnic season, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it… Because this is when I make all of my favorite pasta salad recipes! I love a good cookout, and I’ve found that nothing pleases a crowd quite like this super quick and easy antipasto pasta salad.

Tender bites of rotini (or fusilli) pasta are tossed together with bold ingredients like salami, mozzarella pearls, black olives and more. It’s all of the classic flavors of antipasto tossed together in a simple pasta salad! What holds it all together so well is a vinegar and oil dressing that really makes all of the different flavors sing.

It’ll take you less than thirty minutes to prepare this pasta salad recipe. The only step that will require a little bit of patience is the refrigeration – you’ll want to let the ingredients chill for about 2 hours prior to tossing with dressing and serving. That way everything will be chilled and refreshing, which is when this Italian pasta salad is really at its best!

Pasta – I recommend using rotini or fusilli, as both are smaller shaped pastas that grip the dressing very well.

Black Olives – Always make sure to fully drain black olives prior to tossing them into your recipes.

Pepperoncini Peppers – You can swap these with banana peppers if preferred.

Cherry Tomatoes – Grape tomatoes will also work well.

Mozzarella – I like to use mozzarella pearls, but you can slice fresh mozzarella into small pieces if preferred.

Olive Oil – As one of the key ingredients of the dressing, it’s important to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil that has a nice flavor.

Balsamic Vinegar – You can use my favorite balsamic vinaigrette recipe here for the most flavorful results!

Italian Seasoning – Most Italian seasonings on the market have the same general mix of basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, and sage. I also like to add parsley and thyme. So grab as many of these herbs as you have in your pantry and mix them about 1/2 tsp each.

See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Cook the pasta. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain and cool completely before mixing in the other ingredients.

Prepare the other ingredients. While pasta is cooking, that’s a good time to chop all other ingredients! Once you have cooled pasta, all you have to do is combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl except for the dressing. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Make the dressing. Mix all of the ingredients in a mason jar, close it, and shake it vigorously. When you’re ready to serve the salad, pour dressing over the pasta salad and mix well.

Serve. Serve the pasta right away and enjoy!

Make Ahead and Storing Suggestions

Make ahead:

You can definitely make pasta salad ahead of time just DO NOT mix it with dressing. You can mix all of the ingredients for the pasta salad and the mix ingredients for the dressing in a separate containers. Pasta tends to soak up oil and vinegar like a sponge so if you dress is ahead of time, the salad will be dry. To make sure your pasta salad is not dry, mix in the dressing right before serving. 

So make the pasta salad and the dressing ahead of time about 1 day before. Store them separately in the refrigerator and mix together before serving.

Storing:

Store leftover pasta salad in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should last for 2-3 days. Pasta will soak up a lot of the dressing so you can always add more dressing when enjoying the leftovers.

More of Our Favorite Pasta Salad Recipes

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Greek Tortellini Salad

Green Goddess Macaroni Salad

Avocado Pasta Salad