Italian Pasta Salad

This zesty Italian Pasta Salad recipe has an incredible combination of flavors!! It’s made with cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, sweet peppers, kalamata olives, pepperoncini, artichokes, Parmesan cheese all tossed in a zesty Italian salad dressing.

This Zesty Italian Pasta Salad is a great side salad to serve with grilled chicken or salmon or a sandwich. Or serve it with warm crusty bread and call it a meal. No one will complain!

We love everything about this Italian Pasta Salad recipe! It’s a great potluck dish that travels well and it’s a great summer salad that everyone loves!

Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

• Pasta Noodles. We use Fusilli noodles for this salad, but you could use whatever noodle you prefer.
• Red Onion. A little red onion adds a pop of flavor to the salad. If you want a more mellow onion taste, just soak the slices of onion in a little bowl filled with water for about 15 minutes. You can do this while the noodles cook. I like to add sliced onions rather than chopped onions to most of my salads. This is for people who may not like onions so it’s easier for them to pick out the onion in their serving.
• Cucumber. We use Persian cucumbers for this salad. You could use English cucumbers, but you may want to slice the rings in half. If you use garden cucumbers, you’ll want to peel them and remove the seeds, because they both can be bitter tasting in garden cucumbers. Not so with Persian and English cucumbers.
• Sweet Peppers. Sweet peppers add a nice pop of flavor to the salad.
• Pepperoncini. What would an Italian salad be without pepperoncini!
• Kalamata Olives. We love kalamata olives, and add them to salads whenever we can!
• Marinated Artichoke hearts. Artichoke hearts are meaty and they also add a nice pop of flavor to the salad.
• Cheese. Toss in some Parmesan cheese, but you can also use Gorgonzola, Feta, Mozzarella, Provolone or Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Fresh Basil. Sprinkle in some thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (basil ribbons) and/or fresh Italian parsley.
• Homemade Dressing. We use our homemade Zesty Italian Dressing to toss this salad with. You could also use our Creamy Italian Dressing (which is another family favorite!). Double the batch if you want leftovers.
• Season. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle in a pinch of red pepper flakes too if you like.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

How to Make Italian Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing

This is an easy Italian pasta salad recipe that you can pull together in about 20 minutes start-to-finish.

1. Cook Noodles.  Cook the noodles in a pot of salted water according to the directions on the package. 
2. Make Zesty Italian Dressing.  Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
3. Prep Ingredients.  Slice and chop the vegetables and cut the tough ends of the marinated artichokes off.
4. Toss Ingredients.  After the noodles cooled, toss all of the ingredients in a large bowl. 
5. Serve.  Drizzle the salad with just enough of dressing to lightly coat the ingredients.  Sprinkle in the cheese and fresh basil and toss again. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

What Noodles Should I Use?

I use fusilli (corkscrew noodles) for this vegetarian pasta salad, but you can use penne, rigatoni, or whatever noodle suits you for this recipe. Just be sure to cook the noodles al dente so they don’t turn to mush. And I always like to rinse my noodles after cooking, which gets rid of excess starch and keeps the noodles from clumping together. Be sure to cool your noodles before adding the other ingredients and tossing with the dressing. This will keep your salad ingredients nice and fresh.

Why We Love This Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

More Salad Recipes To Try

• Kale Pasta Salad
• Strawberry Quinoa Salad
• Summer Corn Salad
• Red White and Blue Fruit Salad
• 4th of July Fruit Salad
• Berry Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
• Greek Cucumber Salad
• Mediterranean Bean Salad
• Tuna Pasta Salad
• Summer Melon Salad

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 Servings

Italian Pasta Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

This Italian Pasta Salad with Quinoa recipe is a healthy pasta salad loaded with quinoa, chickpeas, noodles, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, olives and peperoncini all tossed in a delicious Italian dressing.  

Ingredients

• 16 ounces pasta (fusilli, rotini, penne)
• 1-1/2 cups Persian cucumber, sliced
• 4 sweet peppers, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, cut in half and sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2 Roma tomatoes, cut in quarters
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup pepperoncini, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced into ribbons
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

For The Zesty Italian Dressing

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package until the noodles are al dente. 
2. Drain and rinse the noodles under cold water until the noodles are cooled.
3. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Drizzle the salad with homemade Italian dressing to coat the ingredients.  Sprinkle in the cheese and fresh basil leaves and toss again.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
5. Chill in the refrigerator before serving.

For The Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

1. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisk together using a wire whisk or add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid well and shall vigorously to blend the ingredients. You can also add the ingredients in a wide mouth mason jar and use an immersion blender (stick blender) to blend the ingredients.
2. Store the dressing in a mason jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, it should last up to 5 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 484Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 479mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 6g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.