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Closeup of antipasto salad.

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 for a few hours or overnight before serving. This gives the pasta time to absorb all the flavors.

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword antipasto, pasta salad
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 10 people

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces tri-color rotini or penne pasta
  • ¾ cup Zesty Italian or red wine vinaigrette
  • 1 tablespoon pepperoncini or banana pepper brine, optional, see note
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 (15-ounce) can great northern beans, rinsed
  • 8 ounces pearl mozzarella
  • 4 ounces hard salami, sliced
  • ½ cup pepperoncini or banana peppers, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup sliced green, black or Kalamata olives (or a mix)
  • ½ medium red onion (diced about ½ cup)
  • fresh or dried basil, to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Red Wine Vinaigrette (If you don't want to use bottled dressing)

  • 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

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, use about two teaspoons of salt. Cook pasta until tender.

  2. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water until cool.

  3. Toss the pasta with the vinaigrette and pepperoncini or banana pepper brine. Stir gently to combine. Add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Taste. Add basil and black pepper to taste.

  4. Cover and chill for two hours or overnight. Before serving, stir the salad. Add more dressing if needed.

Red Wine Vinaigrette

  1. 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.

Recipe Notes

Pepperoncini or banana pepper brine: about a tablespoon of brine (liquid) from the jar of pepperoncini or banana peppers adds a nice flavor boost.