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8 Comments

Delicious Antipasto Pasta Salad

Kathleen

by Kathleen Pope Jul 17, 2023

Jump to Recipe

An Antipasto Pasta Salad loaded with hunks of cheese, pepperoni, salami, black olives, peppers, artichoke hearts and more. Dressed in a nutty and tangy simple, balsamic vinaigrette.

I’m always in search of great salads that I can bring to teacher luncheons, potlucks or barbecues, or honestly, make on Sunday meal prepping for the week, tastes delicious all week long

If you like simple, vibrant salads you might try these; Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad, Harvest Wild Rice Salad and Maple Pecan Apple Salad.

Large white bowl with tricolor pasta, cheese, salami and pepperoni with a garnish of basil.
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Start with a good quality pasta, you can do tricolor or plain, though tricolor sure is pretty. You can use any type of pasta, just make sure it has some ridges or twists in it to help hold the dressing.

Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente, you don’t want it to fall apart in your salad.

white bowl of tri-color twisty pasta salad with hunks of cheese, meatt, oliaves, artichoke hearts and basil.

While the pasta cooks, grab a nice big mixing bowl and begin by chopping the bell peppers. Any color peppers you like really, I like red, orange and yellow, plus add chopped English cucumbers for the green! YUMMY!

Process Shots for Antipasto salad. 1. chopped bell peppers (orange, red and yellow) chopped cucumber. 2. chopped olives, chopped artichoke hearts. 3. chopped cheeses, pepperoni and salami. 4. rinsing tricolor pasta.

Chop the salami and pepperoni. Ideally it would be great to get the actual “sausage” and just dice, but I couldn’t find the ones I wanted, so used pre-sliced and chopped those up well.

Slice cheeses into cubes; try different cheeses, you can use just one, here I used both Asiago and Smoked Mozzarella, Provolone or regular mozzarella would have been delicious too.

Process shots for balsamic vinaigrette 5. pouring balsamic vinegar into jar. 6. adding fresh chopped basil. 7. blending with immersion blender. 8. pouring over pasta salad.

HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

In a hurry? Buy a good quality bottle of balsamic dressing. But this dressing is super easy to make!

In a jar or container with lid; place olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil and onion powder. Shake vigorously to emulsify, or use an immersion blender.

What does emulsify mean?

What in the world is emulsify or an emulsion? Webster defines it as:

“A suspension of tiny droplets of one liquid in a second liquid. By making an emulsion, one can mix two liquids that ordinarily do not mix well, such as oil and water.” 

Webster Dictionary

Pour dressing over pasta, tossing occasionally, making sure the entire salad is coated in dressing. Add more or less dressing to taste, refrigerate any leftover dressing (if you have any) and use on any salad.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat, or may be served immediately, but EVEN BETTER the next day! Mangia!

pasta salad in large white bowl with wooden spoon

If you like this recipe, try these other fine salads.

  • Bacon Balsamic Macaroni Salad
  • Italian Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad
  • Asian Ramen Noodle Salad

Don’t forget to PIN to your favorite Salad board.

Like this recipe?

Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and leave a comment below the recipe!

Recipe Card
pasta salad in large white bowl with wooden spoon

Antipasto Pasta Salad

5 from 4 readers
Author: Kathleen Pope
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes
Total Time: 34 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 -16 servings
Print Pin SaveSaved!
An easy Italian antipasto pasta salad recipe is made with cucumbers, red and orange bell peppers, pasta, artichoke hearts, olives, meat, cheese, and homemade Balsamic dressing! The perfect dish to bring to a summer picnic, potluck or barbecue!

Equipment

  • Eddington 50012 Italian Olive Wood Salad Server, Handcrafted in Europe, 2-Piece Set, 13-Inches
  • 9-Inch Handcrafted Indonesian Round Teak Wood Salad Serving Bowl
  • Clear Glass Wavy Salad Bowl, Mixing Bowl

Ingredients 
US Customary – Metric

For the Salad

  • 1 lb fusilli pasta tricolor or plain; or other textured or twisty pasta
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1 orange bell pepper
  • ½ green bell pepper and/or English cucumber chopped
  • ¼ lb genoa salami diced (good quality)
  • ¼ lb pepperoni sausage diced (good quality)
  • 14 oz brined or marinated artichoke hearts 1 can, quartered
  • 6 oz can sliced black olives drained
  • ¼ lb asiago cheese diced
  • ¼ lb smoked mozzarella diced (try different cheeses, smoke or regular provolone)

DRESSING

  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley or a tablespoon dried
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • 1-2 teaspoons of sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse with cool water.
  • Dice peppers, salami, pepperoni and cheeses and toss in large mixing bowl. Add olives and artichokes. Add cooked pasta and toss to mix.
  • Mix all dressing ingredients in a jar with a covered lid, shake vigorously to emulsify.Pour over pasta salad (to taste, might use entire jar, might not). Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
  • Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Doubles or triples easily for a crowd, your dressing may not need to be doubled though.
Last step! Leave a RatingRate this recipe here. This helps other readers and helps support this website.

Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 488kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 976mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1292IU | Vitamin C: 56mg | Calcium: 197mg | Iron: 2mg
pasta salad in large white bowl with wooden spoon
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artichoke hearts bell peppers fusilli pasta salami

Kathleen Pope

Meet Kathleen

Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer

Hi, Iโ€™m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen.

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  1. Shanon

    Wed, May 26, 2021 at 1:15 pm

    This pasta salad was the bomb! My teen boys loved it and my father-in-law raved (and he never raves). It’s versatile too. I left out the olives & artichoke and added tomato & cucumber. This recipe is going into the regular rotation. Thank you!

    Reply
    • KathleenKathleen

      Wed, May 26, 2021 at 2:37 pm

      Shanon, thank you so much for taking the time to write a kind comment! I love how versatile this salad is too and love your tweaks! So glad you โ€œmade it yours!โ€

      Reply
  2. Julie Menghini

    Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 1:18 pm

    5 stars
    Why in the heck haven’t I been using my immersion blender with my dressing? This salad is just gorgeous and we loved every single bite. Even the leftovers (few) were great the next day at lunch.

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Stewart

    Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 3:34 pm

    This is light and yet hearty! All my favorite goodies all in one bowl!

    Reply
    • KathleenKathleen

      Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 4:13 pm

      Thank you so much Jennifer! Have a great day!

      Reply
  4. Jennifer Stewart

    Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    5 stars

    Reply
  5. Paige

    Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 9:58 pm

    5 stars
    Loved this recipe!

    Reply
  6. Deb Clark

    Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 3:21 pm

    5 stars
    We loved this salad! All the different flavors made this a great light lunch – five stars!!!

    Reply

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Kathleen Pope

Meet Kathleen

Hey there! I'm Kathleen Pope, a proud wife, mom of two awesome college boys, and recipe nerd. Welcome to my world of easy recipes with a healthy twist! Join thousands who trust The Fresh Cooky as their go-to recipe source. Let's cook up some magic!

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