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Pasta and colorful veggies mixed together in a bowl.

The Best Easy Pasta Salad


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4.5 from 114 reviews

  • Author: Pinch of Yum
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 10+ - this yields more than 15 cups 1x

Description

Super easy pasta salad – with pasta, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, spicy salami, pepperoncini, olives, and easy Italian dressing. DANGEROUSLY GOOD.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Pasta Salad Essentials:

  • 1 pound uncooked pasta
  • 3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese balls, cut in half
  • 1 lb. salami or summer sausage, cut into cubes
  • 3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
  • 3/4 cup pepperoncini (optional, but do it)
  • 1/2 cup sliced red onion
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Italian Pasta Salad Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar (white vinegar or red wine vinegar work)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 12 tablespoons coarse sea salt (yes, tablespoons – see notes section!)
  • 2 cloves garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons each dry oregano and dry basil
  • black pepper to taste
  • fresh herbs if you want! sometimes I add fresh parsley, basil, or chives.

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, in salted water for more flavor. Allow to cool slightly and toss with a little oil to prevent sticking.
  2. Blend up the dressing, or shake together in a jar.
  3. Toss all ingredients together! I like to use about three-fourths of the dressing, and then I save the rest of the dressing to add to my leftovers.
  4. Keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. I think it actually tastes best the day AFTER you make it.

Equipment

Notes

Update 7/12/22: Based on reader feedback and additional testing, the olive oil in the dressing was reduced to 1/2 cup (previous, it was 1 1/2 cups). 

Please note that the amount written is for COARSE sea salt. If you are using fine table salt, start with 2 teaspoons and add more to taste. The dressing itself will be very salty. Like, too salty for a normal salad. But in this recipe, that’s what we want! That dressing is going to get tossed with an entire pound of plain pasta, as well as a whole lot of fresh unseasoned vegetables, and it will taste delicious once it’s all tossed up. If you don’t want as salty a dressing, feel free to reduce it to 1 tablespoon.

You can also save time on onion prep with this guide on how to cut an onion.

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Category: Side
  • Method: Mix
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: pasta salad, pasta salad recipe, best pasta salad, potluck recipe, summer recipe