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If the weather is warm, there’s a good chance that you’ll find pasta salad on my table. I cannot get enough of this Creamy Italian Pasta Salad!
I love making a pasta salad over the weekend and having it on hand throughout the week for an easy lunch or snack whenever hunger strikes. It’s also the perfect side dish for summer cookouts, backyard barbecues, or lazy beach days! Whether you are hosting the get-together or you need to bring a side dish to a friend’s house, pasta salad is always the answer.
In this recipe, I’ve pulled together all of my favorite Italian ingredients for a dish that is packed with flavor and texture in every single bite.
ingredients:
- Homemade Mayonnaise
- Dijon Mustard
- Garlic Cloves
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Italian Seasoning
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
- White Wine Vinegar
- Rotini or Fusilli Pasta
- Red Bell Pepper
- Shallot
- Black Olives
- Hard, Uncured Salami
- Fresh Mozzarella cheese
- Fresh Parsley
- Fresh Basil
step-by-step:
Step One: Make the Creamy Italian Dressing
In a blender or using an immersion blender in a wide-mouth jar, combine the homemade mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and vinegar. Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Step Two: Assemble the Salad
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, bell peppers, shallots, olives, salami, mozzarella, parsley, and basil. Pour the Creamy Italian Dressing over the pasta and toss until the pasta is very well coated and combined. Season to taste with salt. Cover and refrigerate until just chilled.
You can make both the Creamy Italian Dressing and the entire pasta salad in advance. If you want to make the dressing ahead, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
The pasta salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. However, the pasta does tend to soak up the dressing once stored in the fridge. If prepping ahead of time, I would suggest making the dressing but not tossing it with the pasta and other ingredients until the day of the event. You can also make some additional dressing to toss with the salad ahead of serving if it seems dry.
In a pinch, you can use store-bought mayo or Greek yogurt. You may want to only use 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar in the dressing to start so it’s not too tangy, but you can adjust to taste.
I cannot wait to see this Creamy Italian Pasta Salad on your tables this summer! It will be the perfect addition to your warm-weather get-together. Comment below and let me know what you think!
looking for more pasta salad recipes? try these!
Creamy Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Creamy Italian Dressing:
- 1 cup homemade mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1½ lemons)
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
For the Pasta Salad:
- 12 ounces rotini or fusilli pasta, cooked according to package directions
- 1 cup diced small red bell pepper (from about 1 small pepper)
- 1/2 cup finely diced shallot (from about 1 large shallot)
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 1 cup diced hard uncured salami
- 1 cup diced mozzarella
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
- kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
Make the Creamy Italian Dressing:
- In a blender or using an immersion blender in a wide-mouth jar, combine the homemade mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and vinegar. Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Assemble the Pasta Salad:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, bell peppers, shallots, olives, salami, mozzarella, parsley, and basil. Pour the Creamy Italian Dressing over the pasta and toss until the pasta is very well coated and combined. Season to taste with salt. Cover and refrigerate until just chilled.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yum! The particular Italian seasoning I used was a little intense, but it sure is a good flavor with the dressing. I even used light mayo to cut back on calories and it’s still good.
It’s the best pasta salad, that I’ve ever tasted!
Love to hear it!
The dressing is seriously amazing and I’m already thinking of other things I can put it on. Overall, the perfect Italian pasta salad!
Thank you so much, Kristine!
Outstanding recipe! Love the combination of flavors here. It’s the best and most flavorful pasta salad.
Thank you so much, Gayle!
I can’t believe there are negative reviews for this! This BOLD dressing totally changes the pasta salad game. Made this today and ate almost half of it myself!
Thanks so much, Liz! Glad you enjoyed this!
Not a fan. This is a very boring pasta salad.
I’m sorry you feel this way as this is a favorite of mine with the Creamy Italian Dressing. Maybe this Grilled Steak and Chimichurri Orzo Salad or this Grilled Antipasto Pasta Salad would be more to your liking.
Did not like at all. I wanted a good creamy pasta salad and this did not deliver AT ALL. WAY too much vinegar I would do less than half the amount. Do not recommend I’m not even gonna eat it.
100% agree with the previous commenter Natalie–I can’t believe this recipe doesn’t have more reviews! The dressing is soooooo good! I decided to stray from my typical Italian dressing pasta salad, and I don’t think I’ll go back. It was THAT good!
So glad you love it, too! Thank you Ally
I made this for the 4th of July last year to bring to a party, and this recipe converted some folks to pasta salad fans. It’s so good!
Love to hear that!
I don’t know why there aren’t more reviews! This is SO good! The combination of the ingredients is perfect and it would get absolutely devoured at any barbecue/summer picnic. I used little mozzarella balls in mine. 10/10!
YES. I agree it’s a show stopper thank you for the comment and review.
The homemade dressing was the star here for me! Comes together really easily too, will definitely be making again.
So glad to hear that!