Italian Style Pasta Salad
This Italian Style Pasta Salad is loaded with classic Italian flavors like black olives, cannellini beans, mozzarella cheese, Italian spices, and much more. It’s a delicious, hearty pasta salad that everyone will love. Mangia!
We love Italian pasta. It’s the perfect side for any occasion because you can tweak it to suit your needs. Whenever my Italian family comes over, my husband and I love to make this Italian style pasta salad because it’s chock full of classic Italian flavor, and it’s so easy to make!
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It uses simple ingredients available at any grocery store.
- It’s an easy recipe that takes very little time or effort.
- It’s a hearty side dish that pairs well with just about anything.
- It’s overflowing with delicious Italian flavors.
🛒Ingredients
This recipe only uses a few simple ingredients that you can find easily at your local grocery store or in your kitchen.
Everything you need is listed here, but you can find the exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Elbow macaroni
- Grape/cherry tomato medley
- Canned small whole black olives – drained and sliced
- Canned cannellini beans – drained and rinsed
- Block mozzarella cheese – cut into small cubes
- Red onion – chopped
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Parsley
- Oregano
- Dried basil
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Balsamic vinegar
🔪 How to Make Italian Style Pasta Salad
Making this pasta salad couldn’t be easier. If you can boil water and use a can opener, you can make this recipe with ease!
Step 1: Cook the Pasta
Cook the pasta according to the directions for al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta and pour it into a large bowl.
Step 2: Combine the Oil and Vinegar
Combine the oil and vinegars in a small bowl and set aside.
Step 3: Make the Pasta Salad
Add all the ingredients to the pasta and mix well.
Step 4: Chill
Chill the pasta for at least an hour or until cold and enjoy!
📝Variations
- Spicy – Add red pepper flakes for a kick of heat.
- Pepperoni – Add mini pepperonis or chopped pepperoni to the salad.
- Italian Dressing – Omit the oil and vinegar and use Italian dressing, instead.
If you think this looks good, we think you’ll enjoy our pepperoni pasta salad.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Mixing bowl
- Pot
- Strainer
🥫 Storage
Refrigerate this Italian style pasta salad for up to 5 days in an air-tight container.
What to Serve with Italian Pasta Salad
This delicious pasta salad is overflowing with Italian flavor, making it the perfect addition to any Italian dinner. Serve it with all your Italian favorites!
You can also serve it with all your favorite classic pasta salad pairings like hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, chops, steak, and the like.
💭 Tips
- Only cook your pasta to al dente, or it will break apart when you mix it with the other ingredients.
- It’s important to let this pasta salad chill so the flavors can meld well.
- Be sure to thoroughly rinse your beans and pasta to avoid a starchy, sticky pasta salad.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Absolutely not. Pasta salad is an American invention, however, this pasta salad is loaded with authentic Italian flavor and ingredients.
If you overcooked your pasta, it will be too soft and break apart while cooking. In addition, when pasta is cold, it’s less malleable, and it’s normal for it to break up a bit as its spooned out.
First and foremost, always rinse your pasta for pasta salad. Second, be sure you’ve used an adequate amount of olive oil and vinegar to ensure you thoroughly coat the pasta.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy pasta salad? Then try these delicious recipes:
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Italian Pasta Salad
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Mixing Bowl
- Pot
- strainer
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow noodles
- 32 ounces grape cherry tomato medley
- 6 ounces whole black olives drained and sliced
- 15.5 ounces cannellini beans drained and sliced
- 4 ounces mozzarella cut into small cubes
- ½ medium red onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Cook macaroni according to package directions.
- Drain and rinse with cold water and pour into a large bowl.
- Combine oil and vinegars in a container and set aside.
- Add the tomatoes, olives, beans, onions, mozzarella, salt, pepper and spices to the bowl of macaroni.
- Pour the oil and vinegars over and mix to combine well.
- Serve cold.
