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Italian Pasta Salad

This Italian Pasta Salad is an easy dish to make ahead and bring to a potluck. Packed with salami, cheese, cucumbers, peppers and more, this pasta salad is a total crowd pleaser!

Italian pasta salad with cavatappi pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, salami and cheese

Today’s recipe is my spin on the typical Italian pasta salad. I love, love, love the classic pasta salad. But I often find myself craving more veggies.

So I added more veggies! And a positive side effect, adding more vegetables to this pasta salad means it can be stretched to feed an even bigger crowd!

While this recipe makes a lot (like, a lot lot), it’s also great to serve to the family throughout the week. I make this to go with BBQ and big pot roasts, or even as a colorful main dish.

However, I absolutely love bringing it to potlucks. Italian pasta salad both travels well and gets better the longer it sits – it’s like it was made for parties!

Italian pasta salad in a bowl on a table with a wooden spoon

tips to get the best Italian pasta salad ever:

Don’t over cook the pasta. Cook to al dente, or just undercooked. I use cavatappi in this recipe, which usually requires 9-10 minutes to cook. You can use any shape, but check the package for cook time. (fun fact: cavatappi means “corkscrew” which explains its shape) 

Drain and rinse the pasta immediately. Rinsing it does two things. First, the cold water halts the cooking process and makes sure the pasta does not overcook. Second, rinsing off the starches keeps the pasta from sticking to each other and getting gummy. In regular pasta dishes, you want that starch to help the sauce cling to the noodles, but not in pasta salads.

Toss the pasta in olive oil before adding to everything else. This keeps the pasta from absorbing all of the Italian dressing. The last thing you want right before heading out to your event is a pasta salad that has dried up.

Let it sit. Pasta salad is best served cold, and it’s what makes this a great make ahead recipe! Extra time also allows the flavors to develop more, which makes a delicious and flavorful Italian pasta salad. It will keep 5-7 days in the fridge.

Italian Pasta Salad with cavatappi pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, cheese and salami

Did you make this recipe? Did you swap out any of the veggies? I love seeing your creations, so give me a shout!

Check out some of my other party favorites like… Cherry Chicken Salad, Baked Hot Crab Dip or Buffalo Deviled Eggs

Until next time. X

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Italian pasta salad with cavatappi pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, salami and cheese

Italian Pasta Salad

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5 from 1 review

This Italian Pasta Salad is an easy dish to make ahead and bring to a potluck. Packed with salami, cheese, cucumbers, peppers and more, this pasta salad is a total crowd pleaser!

  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 15-20 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb pasta, such as cavatappi or rotini
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 crown broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 red bell pepper, roasted or raw, chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 1/4 cup sliced pepperoncinis
  • 1 cup ciliegine mozzarella, halved
  • 1520 slices hard salami, cut into quarters
  • 1 cup Italian Dressing

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente.
  2. Drain and rinse immediately with cold water, then toss in a large bowl with the olive oil.
  3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and pour the Italian dressing on top.
  4. Toss until everything is mixed and coated.
  5. Transfer to an airtight container or serving dish and chill, covered, for an hour, or preferably overnight.

Notes

tools

  • pot for boiling noodles
  • large mixing bowl
  • serving dish with lid or airtight container

Ciliegine mozzarella is those little mozzarella balls in liquid, usually found in the deli or cheese shop.

This recipe is good in the fridge for 5-7 days.

  • Author: Sarah | AwayFromTheBox
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Stove
  • Cuisine: Italian American

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