Tender pasta, juicy tomatoes, crisp bell peppers, salami, and mozzarella cheese are tossed in an Italian dressing for the perfect make-ahead side dish.
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT15M
Total time: PT150M
Rating
5 stars (461 reviews)
Keywords
Best Italian Pasta Salad recipe, How to make Italian Pasta Salad, Italian Pasta Salad, Italian Pasta Salad recipe
Ingredients
16 ounces tricolor rotini
8 ounces salami (chopped)
1 cup Italian vinaigrette dressing (store-bought or homemade )
1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese
1 pint grape tomatoes (halved)
½ cup sliced black olives
½ green bell pepper (diced)
½ orange bell pepper (diced)
½ red bell pepper (diced)
⅓ cup diced red onion
⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and black pepper (to taste)
Categories
Pasta
Salad
Side Dish
Cuisine
American
Italian
Steps
Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Rinse under cold water.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 325 kcal
Carbohydrates: 34 g
Protein: 13 g
Fat: 15 g
Saturated Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 24 mg
Sodium: 818 mg
Sugar: 5 g
Reviews
Debbie on 2026-04-18 (5 stars): Excellent! I used red yellow and orange pepper and omitted the green pepper, cubed fresh mozzarella. Since it is for a church potluck tomorrow, I doubled it. One batch with gluten free brown rice quinoa penne and the other batch with regular rotini. Every thing else I kept the same.
LS on 2026-03-29 (5 stars): Delicious!
Julie Lane on 2025-12-09 (5 stars): This is really yummy! I get tons of compliments on it! I use Kalamata olives, and I buy pre cut peppers and onions to save time. I also use half the salami and add pepperoni for the other half. It takes me a good 30-40 to prepare it, but it is worth it!
Spe on 2025-10-21 (5 stars): Another awesome dinner! Made the homemade Italian Dressing & extra to add the next day as stated. Cut the Genoa Salami thick sliced at deli counter & yummy. Thank you for another go to recipe. I don’t know how you do it Holly!!
Stephanie on 2025-09-05 (5 stars): Absolutely PERFECT! Perfect amounts of ingredients, dressing, cheese and seasoning. I made homemade vinaigrette which topped it off! I am letting it marinade now to serve with fried chicken wings and roasted asparagus! Yummy! Great recipe!
Elizabeth on 2025-08-17 (5 stars): Excellent classic pasta salad recipe! I will admit I do omit the green pepper and add some extra red and orange bell peppers to make up for it. Excellent flavor, will make again!
Ruth on 2025-07-23 (5 stars): I really enjoy your recipes. They are easy to follow and make my life easier.
I needed these recipes for group get together. Thank you!
Melanie W. on 2025-04-20 (5 stars): Wonderful colors and amazing flavor! I made this recipe with the homemade dressing. WOWSA! So very tasty and I didn’t have to grab a vinaigrette from the shelf … because they contain so many additives… so I felt good about taking this for a side salad for our Resurrection Day celebration! It was a HUGE HIT! Most helped themselves to seconds… or thirds!
I will definitely be making this again.
Linda on 2025-03-29 (5 stars): Love this salad, I substitute the mozzarella for small cubed feta. Delicious!
April on 2025-03-25 (5 stars): Just made this omitting olives. I used some marinated mozzarella balls I had on hand, everything else the same. It looks fabulous, can't wait to dig in afterwhile! Thanks for the recipe!
Monie on 2024-07-29 (5 stars): This is the best Italian Pasta Salad I have ever had! Definitely making this again soon!
Barbara on 2024-07-17 (5 stars): My daughter made this for us while we were visiting. My husband and I loved it. It was full of flavor. Yummy 5 star
