Zesty Italian Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing

This pasta salad is light, fresh, flavorful, and perfect for meal prepping! This salad is also perfect for barbecues or picnics. You can add your favorite ingredients to this salad and make it your own!

It is loaded with healthy ingredients that you can find in any grocery store. It's ready in just 15 minutes if you have the pasta premade!

Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.

Full measurements are in the recipe card below.

Pasta- use any kind of your favorite short pasta, we used farfalle pasta. The most popular kinds of pasta to use for pasta salads are penne, rotini, and fusilli.

Bell pepper- we used green and red bell pepper for this recipe. Any color of bell pepper will work great.

Cucumber- use fresh cucumber for this recipe. Cut the cucumber into small pieces.c

Cherry tomatoes- we love using fresh Roma cherry tomatoes in cooking and for pasta salads. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

Red onion- cut the red onion into slices, then cut it into 4 pieces. If you don't have red onion, it's okay using white onion.

Olives- we used black olives but feel free to use your favorite olives like green olives or kalamata olives.

Mozzarella pearls- you can find mozzarella pearls in most supermarkets. If you can't find mozzarella pearls, you can use fresh mozzarella cut into cubes.

Parsley- wash your parsley until it's clean of any dirt, and chop it finely. You can use cilantro if you don't have parsley available.

Olive oil– to make the salad dressing, we used olive oil. Canola oil or vegetable oil will work as well.

Honey- for added sweetness, you can use maple syrup instead.

Red wine vinegar- use red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar.

Dijon mustard- you will need a teaspoon of dijon mustard for this recipe.

Lemon juice- use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.

Chili flakes- add ½ teaspoon of chili flakes to the dressing. You can add more if you want!

Lemon zest- you will need 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. We recommend zesting the lemon first and then juicing it.

Spices– for spices, we used kosher salt, black pepper, dried parsley, dried basil, and dried oregano.

Garlic powder- use your favorite brand of garlic powder for this.

Make the pasta according to the package instructions and cook it to al dente. Rinse and wash the pasta to stop the cooking process and prevent it from sticking.

Into a large mixing bowl, add the pasta, mozzarella pearls, chopped cucumber, chopped red bell pepper, black olives, chopped red onion, chopped green pepper, chopped salami, chopped parsley, and sliced cherry tomatoes.

Make the salad dressing. Into a small mixing bowl, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, kosher salt, chili flakes, black pepper, lemon zest, dijon mustard, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, and lemon juice.

Mix with a small whisk until well combined.

To make this pasta salad in advance, pre-make the pasta a day or two ahead, cut the veggies a day or two ahead, and make the dressing a day or two ahead.

When ready to serve, throw the pasta, veggies, and dressing together, mix well, and serve!

Whole grain- You can use any kind of your favorite pasta kinds and pasta shapes., like chickpea pasta, brown rice pasta, spinach pasta, quinoa pasta, etc.

Gluten-free- you can make this recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta. Simply follow the instructions as written. Also, replace the flour with gluten-free flour.

Vegan- It is very easy to make this recipe vegan, simply replace the feta cheese with vegan feta cheese, or don’t use cheese at all. Also, swap the salami with vegan salami.

Chicken- This recipe works great with chicken. Roast or cook chicken breast, season it with salt and pepper, then slice it into small slices and mix it with the pasta salad.

Dressing- if you have your favorite recipe for Italian dressing or your favorite salad dressing that you love to use, use it for this recipe!

Cheese- you can add grated parmesan to this salad for extra flavor. Feel free to be creative and use your favorite cheeses in this salad.

Chickpea pasta salad- This chickpea pasta salad is made with pasta, cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, chickpeas, and feta cheese. We topped this salad with our favorite greek salad dressing.

Greek pasta salad- Greek pasta salad is the perfect side dish for any occasion, made with cooked pasta, fresh veggies, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and homemade Greek salad dressing.

Spinach pasta salad- This Spinach Pasta Salad is made with fresh spinach, feta, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and freshly made pasta combined together with a simple homemade salad dressing making the perfect refreshing and filling summery pasta salad.

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