Italian Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

This bright and tangy Italian pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, salami, peas, and a splash of red wine vinaigrette is my new personal favorite to keep on hand!

Italian Pasta Salad, a Cool and Refreshing, Easy Go-To Meal

The warmer months lend themselves beautifully to light, fresh meals that are on the cool side, and I like to take advantage of that.

A nice salad on the ready as a light lunch or dinner allows me to not have to cook quite as often during the course of a busy week—let me tell you, I sure do appreciate that!

Pasta salad is great option when a cool and refreshing, easy go-to meal is what you're looking for.

While I enjoy creamy pasta salads like this delicate Summer Macaroni Salad, or this Macaroni Salad with Spring Vegetables, I personally tend to favor the more tangy, vinaigrette-based recipes, ones such as this Italian pasta salad with a few savory and delicious add-ins.

The flavors of a classic antipasto—those bites of dry salami, olives, mozzarella, basil, sun-dried tomato and the like—have always appealed to me. So I created this recipe using those basic ingredients, all tossed together with tender pesto-filled tortellini and a zesty red wine vinaigrette.

It's so deliciously lively and flavorful, and just perfect to keep in the fridge for several days to tuck into whenever craving something light, yet satisfying!

A Delicious Italian Pasta Salad Needs a Delicious Pasta Salad Dressing

While any pasta salad gets it's flavor from the tasty little elements you add into it, it gets its zingy "pop" from a good dressing.

And in my humble little opinion, it's the dressing that can make or break a pasta salad, and this Italian pasta salad comes alive with a base of red wine vinegar and olive oil.

For my zippy pasta salad dressing, I like to use one part red wine vinegar to two parts olive oil, and then load it up with a few other ingredients for a deeper flavor.

Some of my favorite ingredients are garlic (I like to go a little heavier on that for more “oomph”), dried herbs, a tiny hint of parmesan, and a sprinkle of sugar just to balance things out.

Just these few simple ingredients make a difference in the flavor of the dressing, creating a little more complexity in each and every bite.

And to make it easy on myself, I just toss all of the main ingredients into my food processor, turn it on, and slowly drizzle in my olive oil, whirling everything up together until well-emulsified.

This dressing is one that any pasta salad recipe could benefit from, for sure!

Tips & Tidbits for Italian Pasta Salad:

• Prep your dressing ahead: You can very easily prepare your vinaigrette dressing a day or two ahead of time, and keep it cold in the fridge until you're ready to use it.
• Substituting vinegars: I love the flavor of red wine vinegar for this Italian pasta salad, but you could also substitute white wine vinegar, balsamic, or even apple cider vinegar.
• Olive oil for more flavor: A good olive oil adds extra richness and flavor to the dressing for this salad, but feel free to use avocado, or even canola, in a pinch.
• Type of pasta: Mini tortellini pasta with pesto is my preferred pick for this salad (and I get mine at Trader Joes—it's in the dry pasta section, in a bag); but you can easily substitute the regular size tortellini, or cheese-filled ones (and omit the mozzarella in the recipe), found in the refrigerated section of the market with the other fresh pastas.
• For a vegetarian option: To make this pasta salad vegetarian, leave out the salami and use only the veggies and cheese—it's still just as delicious!

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Recipe

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

This cool Italian pasta salad with red wine vinaigrette, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, peas, salami and black olives makes for a refreshing light meal that's easily prepped ahead, chilled and ready when you are!

Yield: Serves 8

Nutrition Info: 467 calories

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes (pasta cooking time)

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (dry herbs)
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup olive oil

Pasta Salad Ingredients:

• 1 pound (16 ounces) pesto-filled tortellini (or your choice of pasta)
• 8 ounces diced, fresh mozzarella
• ½ cup peas
• ½ cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes (patted dry if packed in oil)
• ¼ cup pitted black olives, sliced (I like Kalamata)
• 4 ounces dry Italian salami, chopped or sliced
• 1 (2 ounce) package fresh basil, stems removed, leaves julienned (finely sliced) or torn
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preparation:

--Prepare the vinaigrette by adding all of the ingredients up to and including the black pepper into your food processor, and process for about 30 seconds to blend; with the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the vinaigrette is well emulsified and blended; add to a glass dressing bottle or pour into a dish, and set aside. (Can be made ahead and refrigerated.)

-Cook your pasta according to the package instructions, just until al dente; once cooked, strain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process and to cool the pasta down.

-Add the cooled pasta to a large bowl, along with the diced mozzarella, peas, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and salami, and pour in some of the dressing (start slow and add more as needed); toss to coat, check your seasoning to see if any additional salt/pepper is needed (or more dressing), and then sprinkle in the basil and chopped parsley, and gently toss; check to see if any additional salt/pepper is needed.

-Serve immediately, or keep cold in the fridge for later.