This Italian Pasta Salad is so quick and easy that you can make it for a weeknight meal, lunch, or even for a crowd. It combines penne pasta, salami, black olives, mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes, sweet red onions, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese tossed lightly with homemade Italian dressing.
Serve it as a main dish for lunch or a light dinner during the hot summer months. Or serve it as a side dish with grilled chicken or grilled shrimp. Whatever you choose to serve it with, it is always delicious and a huge hit.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Red wine vinegar: You can substitute white wine or champagne vinegar
- Pasta: Use penne, cellentani, corkscrew, rotini, bowtie, or elbow pasta
- Italian salami: Such as Genoa, Calabrese, or Napoli.
- Mozzarella: Use balls or cubes of soft whole milk mozzarella
- Artichoke hearts: Look for the canned ones packed in brine. If you can not find the quartered ones, look for the whole ones and quarter them.
- Tomates: Use grape or cherry tomatoes.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated is always best.
Preparation Tips
- Don’t overcook the pasta. It should be cooked fairly firm so it does not break apart when tossed or absorb too much of the Italian dressing.
- If you don’t like something, make a substitution. For instance, if you don’t like artichoke hearts, substitute chopped bell peppers. As I always say, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
- In a hurry, use your favorite bottled Italian dressing.
- This pasta salad can be made up to a day in advance. However, you might want to add a couple of tablespoons of Italian dressing to freshen it up.
Serving Suggestions for Italian Pasta Salad
This is always delicious with lemon pepper baked cod or shrimp salad. Or serve with an open-faced tuna melt, traditional club sandwich, or grinder sandwich. It is also delicious with crusty French bread, crostini, or cheddar pull-apart bread.
More Pasta Salads
Italian Pasta Salad with Italian dressing
Ingredients
Italian Dressing
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Italian Pasta Salad
- 16 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- ⅔ cup diced Italian salami
- ¾ cup sliced black olives
- 1 cup mozzarella balls
- 1 cup drained and quartered artichoke hearts
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, sugar, oregano, parsley, basil, salt, and black pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.
- Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain well and rinse lightly with cool water to stop the cooking process.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked penne pasta, salami, black olives, mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes, red onions, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Toss with the Italian dressing and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- This pasta salad can be made up to a day in advance. However, you might want to add a couple of tablespoons of Italian dressing to freshen it up.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
kristyn
This is my favorite go-to salad!! I love how colorful & tasty it is! It’s a summer must for sure!
courtney
This pasta salad was so easy and delicious – its a keeper!
Echo
Love this pasta salad, one of the best ones I’ve had! I will definitely make it again.
Krissy Allori
This looks like a great classic that would be great for bbq’s this summer.
Jen
This is our favorite pasta salad! The perfect summer dish for any potluck or picnic.
kim
Love this flavorful, easy salad! A go-to recipe for sure!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Kim!
Michelle
I love a good pasta salad and this one sounds delicious! Love that you added artichokes too, will definitely be trying this!
Annie
This is my kind of salad! I love pasta salad and especially ones with so many wonderful additions! I love that you added artichoke hearts too, I really don’t add them to enough dishes!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Annie! I hope you enjoy it!
Emily
This pasta salad is so delicious! I love the addition of artichoke hearts.
Jennifer Duncan
This looks so delicious, and I love the tips you gave for making it! I can’t wait to try it for our next family get-together. Thanks!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Jennifer! I hope you enjoy it!!