The flavors and ingredients of an antipasto platter inspired this pasta salad. Cooled rotini pasta is tossed with a red wine vinaigrette. Then you add lots of tomatoes, beans, banana peppers, fresh mozzarella, Kalamata olives, and salami. Chilling the salad a few hours before serving gives the pasta time to absorb all the flavors.
What’s the Difference Between Antipasto and Pasta Salad?
Antipasto is a first course of an Italian meal. The contents vary by region but it’s usually a platter of cured meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables, and olives.
Pasta salad, as the name implies, is made with cooled pasta and a variety of other ingredients. There’s no one way to make a pasta salad. The origins of cold pasta salad are unclear. However, it’s become a popular American dish.
This recipe was inspired by the pasta salads I ate growing up. My grandparents were all Italian immigrants. And their tables were always full of uniquely Italian-American foods, including pasta salads like this one.
Ingredients and Substitutions.
Here are the ingredients I use to make this pasta salad. Think of them more as a guide than set-in-stone. If you prefer a different type of olive, use it. Love artichoke hearts? Add some! Want lots of veggies? Put them in. This is your salad. Fill it with all the delicious things you enjoy.
- Rotini Pasta. The corkscrew shape holds onto the dressing. This means the dressing doesn’t pool in the bottom of the bowl. Use regular or tri-color rotini. If you can’t find rotini, fusilli or mini-shells are a good substitute.
- Red Wine Vinaigrette. Use bottled or homemade red wine vinaigrette. Or your favorite Italian-style dressing.
- Grape Tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes in half before adding them to the salad. This prevents them from bursting when you bite into one.
- Great Northern Beans. Any white bean works but I like the tender texture and delicate flavor of great northern
- Pearl Mozzarella. The small size of pearl mozzarella stirs easily into the salad. If you can’t find them, use either small mozzarella balls (cut those in half) or diced fresh mozzarella. To make cutting fresh mozzarella easier, freeze it for about 30 minutes before cutting.
- Banana Peppers. Rings of banana peppers add a mild heat. If you want a little more kick, substitute them with pepperoncini.
- Kalamata Olives. Use pitted and sliced Kalamata olives.
- Red Onion. Red onions are slightly milder than yellow onions. But both can be used.
- Salami. I always add some diced hard salami or soppressata. If you want to keep this dish meat-free, omit it.
Tips for the Best Antipasto Pasta Salad.
We’ve all eaten a bad pasta salad. The ones were the pasta is soggy or crunchy and there’s either too much or too little dressing. Here’s how to avoid this so you’ll have a perfect salad every time.
- Prep your ingredients. Before you cook the pasta, prep all the other ingredients. This way, they’re ready to add to the pasta salad when the pasta is cooked.
- Cook and cool the pasta. When you make pasta salad, you want to cook the pasta until it’s tender. This is key. If it’s al dente, it can turn a little crunchy when cool. To do this, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it until tender. This is usually a few minutes longer than you’d cook it for a plate of hot pasta.
When it’s tender, drain it immediately and rinse with cold water. This stops the cooking. If you aren’t ready to use your pasta away, toss it with a little oil and spread it on a sheet pan until you’re ready to use. - Toss everything together. First, toss the cooled pasta with the dressing. Then stir in the remaining ingredients. Give it a taste. Add any additional ingredients or dressing.
- Chill before serving. Pasta salad tastes best after it chills. This gives the pasta time to absorb the flavors. Chill it for a few hours or overnight.
- Give it a final adjustment. After chilling, the pasta absorbs the dressing. If needed, add more dressing.
How to Store Leftovers
This recipe makes a generous amount of salad. So you might have leftovers. Which I love! Store the pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Give it a quick stir before serving and then enjoy!
Antipasto Pasta Salad
The flavors and ingredients of an antipasto platter inspired this pasta salad. Cooled rotini pasta is tossed with a red wine vinaigrette. Then add tomatoes, beans, banana peppers, fresh mozzarella, kalamata olives, and salami. It's best to prep all the ingredients before cooking the pasta. This way, you’re ready to stir everything together when the pasta is ready. Plan to chill the pasta salad a few hours before serving. This gives the pasta time to absorb all the flavors.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces tri-color rotini
- salt
- 1 cup red wine vinaigrette, bottled or homemade, more as needed
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced
- 1 (15-ounce) can great northern beans, rinsed
- 8 ounces pearl mozzarella
- 4 ounces hard salami, sliced
- ½ cup banana peppers, roughly chopped
- ½ cup sliced kalamata olives
- ½ medium red onion (diced about ½ cup)
- fresh or dried basil, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Red Wine Vinaigrette
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, use about two teaspoons of salt. Cook pasta until tender.
-
Drain pasta and rinse with cold water until cool. If you’re not ready to make the salad right away, toss the pasta with two tablespoons oil and spread onto a sheet pan.
-
Toss the pasta with the vinaigrette. Stir gently to combine. Add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Taste. Add basil and black pepper to taste.
-
Cover and chill for two hours or overnight. Before serving, stir the salad. Add more dressing if needed.
To make the Red Wine Vinaigrette
-
Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. This dressing separates. Whisk together right before pouring over pasta.
Leave a Reply