Italian Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette has more flavor per square inch than almost any food out there! Mozzarella, salami, tomatoes, peppers, onions, olives, spices, and a red wine vinaigrette come together to make the best Italian-style pasta salad I’ve ever had. Serve it at your next cookout, I promise you won’t regret it!
This pasta salad is infinitely versatile… If you don’t enjoy olives, leave them out. If you really love salami, double it. There are no wrong answers!
Here’s a sneak peek at everything that goes into this amazing pasta salad…
Like I said, it’s full of flavor! Nothing worse than dry, flavorless pasta salad.
This recipe is very straightforward. A little mixing, boiling, chopping, and you’re finished.
The Dressing
Combine the red wine vinegar, olive oil, spices, some grated Parmesan, and a little honey (to cut through the acid) together in a dressing jar or mason jar with a lid. Look at all of the layers of flavor!
Shake until well combined and set aside.
The Pasta
Boil the noodles until al dente, drain, and toss with 1-2 tablespoons of oil to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. I like to use a little of the oil from the marinated mozzarella cheese balls for even more flavor. It would be a shame to throw out all of this goodness.
Top the cooled noodles with all of the add-ins …
and and pour 3/4 of the vinaigrette over the top….
Save about 1/4 of the vinaigrette for drizzling over the pasta salad later, just before serving. This gives it a little boost of flavor after chilling in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Serve the pasta salad chilled. It keeps well covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. The pasta salad is good served straight from the fridge, but sometimes I like to heat a bowl of pasta for 20 seconds in the microwave just before serving to loosen up the dressing a little.
This is my favorite Italian Pasta Salad of all time, but I hope that you make it your own personal recipe….add a little more of the things you love and leave out the parts you don’t like quite as much. I hope it will become one of your favorites too!
Italian Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
Vinaigrette:
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Pasta Salad:
8 ounces pasta, cooked al dente and tossed with a little oil while it cools (I like to use a little oil from the marinated tomatoes)
1/2 of a red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
3/4 cups salami, cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 cup marinated mozzarella cheese balls (or other cheese), sliced in half
2 tablespoons sliced, jarred peperoncinis
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Directions
Vinaigrette: Combine all ingredients in a small jar, cover, and shake until well combined. Set aside while assembling the pasta salad.
Pasta Salad: Cook pasta al dente. Drain noodles and toss with a little oil to keep them from sticking to each other. I like to use a few tablespoons of the oil from the marinated mozzarella cheese balls on the pasta. Once the pasta is cooled, toss with all of the ingredients of the pasta salad, reserving about 1/4 of the vinaigrette for later . Chill the pasta salad for several hours, up to 48 hours. Pour the reserved vinaigrette on the pasta salad just before serving.
This pasta salad tastes even better the second day. Serve straight from the fridge, or microwave a plate of pasta salad for about 20 seconds to loosen up the dressing a little. Enjoy!
If you’re looking for a way to use up your leftover peperoncinis, try this recipe! https://7emptyplates.com/beef-drip-sandwiches/
And here is another favorite pasta salad! https://7emptyplates.com/creamy-macaroni-salad/
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