4.70 from 176 votes

Easy Classic Italian Pasta Salad

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This quick and easy classic Italian Pasta Salad is the perfect side dish to share. Pasta is tossed with Italian dressing, crunchy fresh vegetables and yummy Italian flavors for this delicious dish. This is the perfect make-ahead dish when you pan to fire up the grill for dinner or have the leftovers for a delicious lunch.

Italian pasta salad in a large serving bowl with a cutting board with vegetables and parmesan cheese and a grater near the bowl.


 

Delicious Pasta Salad For a BBQ Or Potluck

I begged and pleaded with my Aunt for years! She would always bring the BEST Italian Pasta Salad to summer BBQs and potluck parties and it was my favorite thing! I finally got her easy pasta salad recipe and she let me share this great recipe!

You end up with glorious leftovers perfect for lunch or just to add to the dinner table again a second night! (My Greek Orzo Salad has different flavors but is similarly delicious on warm days!)

In the summer I love make-ahead recipes, then dinner is done. It frees me up to spend more time outside, with my family, or just to chill when we BBQ.

Does your family love pasta as much as mine does? Try Chicken Bruschetta Chicken Pasta, it’s delicious hot or cold! Or the infamous Baked Feta Pasta that went crazy viral on Tik Tok is super simple and pretty hands-off.

Ingredients For Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients for italian pasta salad on a cutting board in bowls from the side with labels.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.

The trick to making this Italian pasta salad delicious is having ingredients that are packed full of flavor, have lots of colors and a few that have a little crunch. Here’s what I include for ingredients in this pasta salad.

  • Rotini Pasta– Any type of pasta that is a short pasta will work, but rotini pasta is my favorite for this salad because the dressing gets caught in the spirals of the pasta. The tri-color pasta can also be pretty!
  • Broccoli– Cut this into small pieces, broccoli adds crunch!
  • Bell Pepper– I tend to use red, yellow or orange bell peppers as they are sweeter than green peppers. This adds crunch too!
  • English Cucumber– English cucumbers are my favorite for their mild skins, but any fresh cucumbers work. If your cucumber skins are super dark (like sometimes happens with hothouse cucumbers) consider peeling if the peel is especially bitter.
  • Red or Sweet Onion– Crunch and flavor, if your family isn’t a huge fan on onion, you can reduce this a little.
  • Cherry Tomatoes- grape tomatoes also work, other varieties of tomatoes diced can work too.
  • Black olives– These add a little saltiness to the mix. I usually buy canned from the grocery store, but you can also buy olives from the deli often.
  • Mozzarella cheese– Add cheese and more Italian flavor!
  • Pepperoni pieces or salami– slice these small, they add great flavor and it doesn’t take tons. You can also use turkey pepperoni if you prefer.
  • Fresh parsley- Fresh parsley just gives it a summery taste, but you can use dried if you need to. You can also use other fresh herbs like oregano or basil to give the salad an even more fresh flavor.
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

For The Dressing

You can also use bottled Italian dressing for this recipe, but this quick and easy homemade dressing is delicious!

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon parsley
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 1/2 cups oil – I prefer olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
A bowl of pasta salad in a bowl from overhead with the vegetables, cheese and pepperoni chopped before mixing with more fresh ingredients on a cutting board nearby.

What To Serve With Italian Pasta Salad

I like these kinds of meals in the summer, I can make the cold pasta salad ahead as an easy side dish. When it’s time to eat we can just throw something on the grill for the main dish, slice some watermelon and you have dinner! Here are a few proteins I like to pair with this easy recipe for pasta salad.

Here’s a few other sides I like to serve with this pasta salad, and some of the proteins above!

How Long Do I Need To Chill This Easy Italian Pasta Salad?

I prefer to chill this pasta salad overnight, as the flavors get even better the next day. This recipe can be made and served right away though, but it shines even more if you make it ahead and the flavors have time to meld together.

Can I Just Use Basic Italian Seasonings In This Pasta Salad?

You can swap 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of a general Italian seasoning blend for the garlic, oregano, and parsley in this recipe and it will be delicious.

Depending on if your Italian seasoning has salt, I’d make sure to taste it before you add additional salt. When you’re making the dressing you do want it to be slightly salty than normal because the salt will be spread over and a pound of pasta plus all of the raw vegetables.

Do I Have To Make The Italian Salad Dressing Homemade?

You can use your favorite bottle of Italian dressing in place of the homemade dressing if you prefer.

A homemade dressing usually has a little more flavor to it, but if you are pinched for time a bottle of dressing totally works too. Other vinegarette-based dressings can also work too.

How Do I Keep The Onion From Tasting So Sharp?

While I usually make this pasta salad with red onion for a crowd, at home I made it with sweet onion. Sweet onion has a little less bite to it than red onion does. This also helps my kid, who can be a picky eater, a lot.

Soaking your red onion in ice water for about ten minutes (then dry it well!) can help to take the bite out of the red onion. Also chilling the salad overnight and allowing the flavors to meld together also helps the red onion to have less sharpness to it.

Italian pasta salad being scooped from the bowl with a wooden spoon close up.

What Are Some Easy Ingredient Swaps I Can Make In This Italian Pasta Salad?

This recipe is super easily adapted, here are a few ideas I’ve done to make swaps to this Italian Pasta Salad Recipe! If there is an ingredient your family really doesn’t like in the salad, you can also easily leave it out.

Cheese Swaps

  • Fresh mozzarella cheese balls – marinated or plain
  • Cubed mozzarella chunks
  • Shredded provolone
  • Parmesan cheese- I like to finish the salad with this, I put it on just before serving
  • Feta cheese

Meat Swaps

  • Mini pepperoni
  • Sliced salami
  • Spicy salami – Feeling dangerous!

Vegetable swaps

  • Diced sundried tomatoes
  • Kalamata olives
  • Fresh or marinated mushrooms
  • Other colors of bell pepper
  • Zucchini or other summer squash that has been diced

Pasta Swaps

You can use all the different shapes and colors of pasta in this salad, but a chunkier pasta that will hold up to the dressing works best. Pasta like spaghetti and angel hair that are long skinny strands don’t tend to hold their own as well with the dressing.

If you choose to use an alternative pasta like lentil pasta or chickpea pasta I recommend eating the salad within the same day as the pasta sometimes begins to fall apart. Here are some of my favorite pasta shapes for pasta salad.

  • Rotini- love the tri-colored versions!
  • Penne
  • Bowties
  • Mini shells
  • Elbow
  • Cheese Tortellini- I prefer tricolor when I can get it!

I LOVE this recipe. I make it all the time and add chicken from Sams for a quick and easy dinner and leftovers for the next day.

Joy – On My Kid’s Plate Reader

How Long Does Italian Pasta Salad Last?

Expect this pasta salad will last about 3-4 days if refrigerated and stored in an airtight container.

It tastes best if it is served chilled not room temperature. Allow at least a few hours for the flavors to meld together by refrigerating. This recipe can also be made ahead and kept in the fridge overnight to chill.

Other Cold Salad Ideas You’ll Love

Here’s a few other side salads that are great for a summer side, BBQ or to share at a potluck.

Close up view of pasta full of cheese, basil, pepperoni and olives for an italian pasta salad/
Recipe

Italian Pasta Salad


Course Dinners
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 10 Servings
This classic Italian pasta salad is super easy and packed full of tasty bites! Made with a homemade Italian dressing, this simple dish is the perfect recipe to share with family and friends, or have as a side for dinner or a BBQ!

Ingredients  

For The Pasta Salad

  • 16 ounces rotini tricolor or original, or other short pasta shape
  • 1 cup broccoli about 1 small head of broccoli cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup bell pepper diced, about 1 bell pepper
  • 1 cup English cucumber sliced thinly and quartered
  • ½ cup red onion finely diced, about 1/2 an onion.
  • 8 ounces cherry tomato sliced in half
  • 8 ounces black olives drained and sliced
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese diced
  • 5 ounces pepperoni cut or mini pepperoni, can also use salami, about 1 cup
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped, plus a little for garnish
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For The Dressing

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon oregano dried
  • 1 tablespoon parsley dried
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 1/2 cups oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

For The Pasta Salad

  • In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta in the water according to the package directions on the box for al dente, or the minimum cooking time. You want your pasta to be cooked, but still have a little bite. Place in a colander to drain, and quickly rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Let the pasta drain as much as possible.
  • Prep your vegetables by dicing and chopping your broccoli, bell pepper, cucumber, onion (optional) and cherry tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.
  • Drain your olives and slice into bite-sized pieces.
  • Slice pepperoni and cheese if needed into bite-sized pieces.

For The Dressing

  • In a medium-sized bowl combine garlic powder, oregano, parsley, sugar, salt and pepper together and mix well.
  • Next to the spices add water, oil, vinegar and lemon juice. With a whisk quickly whip together all the dressing ingredients until combined.

Finishing The Salad

  • In a large bowl combine pasta, all vegetables, meat, cheese and dressing. Mix well. Chill well!
  • Garnish with fresh chopped basil, parsley and a little parmesan just before serving if desired!

Video

Notes

  • I prefer to chill this pasta salad overnight, as the flavors get even better the next day! This can be made and served right away though, but it shines even more if you make it ahead!
  • You can swap 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning for the garlic, oregano, and parsley.
  • You can use your favorite bottle of Italian dressing in place of the homemade dressing if you prefer.
  • While I usually make this pasta salad with red onion for a crowd, at home I made it with sweet onion. Sweet onion has a little less bite to it than red onion does.
  • This recipe is super easily adaptable. Some ideas of things you can swap in and out include- marinated cheese, cubed mozzarella or provolone, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, fresh or marinated mushrooms, other colors of bell pepper, and zucchini cut into bite-sized pieces.

Nutrition

Calories: 629kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 28g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 892mg | Potassium: 314mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 920IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 2mg
Keyword cold pasta salad, Italian pasta salad, pasta salad, side dish

Did You Make This?

I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!

Did you make this Italian Pasta Salad? Make sure to give it a star rating and if you have any questions or just want to tell us about the swaps you made share below in the comments section.

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Recipe Rating




53 Comments

  1. Deb Blasczyk says:

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious 😋!!

  2. 5 stars
    Very easy and delicious

  3. Belinda Leach says:

    I tripled the recipe. It makes a lot. And everyone loved it! So glad I decided to make the homemade dressing. It was delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe.

  4. 5 stars
    I did make this but made a few changes,
    1- I used green onions vs red onions (I am not a fan of raw onions in my salads).
    2- I used only red/orange/yellow peppers.
    3- I left out the olives as I don’t like them.
    4- I didn’t use the made dressing. I dunno what I did wrong but it just tasted like oil for me. So I used Olive Garden Italian dressing which was delicious. Will 100% make this many more times.

  5. Cynthia White says:

    5 stars
    A hit! So easy!

  6. Shelley K. says:

    5 stars
    Could you add the basil into the ingredients?

  7. Hi, I’m making this for the first time. I see 1/4 water in the dressing ingredients, but water is not mentioned in the instructions. Is water used or not?

    1. Hi Pete- Yest the water should be added to the dressing when mixing it all together. I can’t believe I’ve not seen that error before, I’ve edited the directions to make it more clear. If you leave the water out the dressing will still be delicious but the water just thins it out a little more since this is a hardy pasta salad. Hope that helps!

  8. 5 stars
    Delicious and so easy!!!! My kids and husband loved it! I will definitely be saving this recipe!

  9. Carolyn Hearn says:

    Could you use Olive Garden Italian dressing instead of homemade

    1. Yes you can totally use a store bought dressing instead of homemade. You will likely need about two cups of dressing, but may need to adjust the amount to your own taste. Hope it is delicious.

  10. Karin Lakin says:

    5 stars
    Best pasta salad I ever made. So glad I made your dressing. Using Italian would not have been as good. I am tickled pink and feeling proud to take it to our neighborhood picnic.

  11. 5 stars
    I loved this salad, and will be making it again and again!

  12. Hope much Italian dressing should I use?

    1. If you’re not using the dressing in the recipe, it’s about two cups of dressing, but adjust to your own tastes.

  13. 5 stars
    I made this for Memorial Day party. If was a big hit and made a really large bowl. I used the mini mozzarella balls cut in half and only substituted a special Lambrusco balsamic vinegar with my olive oil instead of the red wine vinegar. I will definitely be making it again.

  14. Deborah Zavila says:

    5 stars
    Excellent recipe! I made it for vegetarians – left out the pepperoni and added more cheese!

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