A pasta salad to beat all pasta salads!
This Italian pasta salad recipe is loaded with tender cavatappi pasta, chopped salami, cubed provolone, crisp veggies, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and THE BEST Italian dressing you'll ever make.
This'll become your new dish-to-pass, all year-round!
Featured Ingredients
- Cavatappi: Corkscrew pasta that's tubular, making it soak up all of that delicious dressing.
- Cheese: Provolone or mozzarella by the block, chopped into bite-sized cubes.
- Salami: I like to use uncured sliced salami and chop it into squares.
- Veggies: You can use any raw, chopped veggies that go well with Italian ingredients, such as bell pepper, cherry or grape tomatoes, zucchini, baby spinach, red onion, mushrooms, etc.
- Briny vegs: Some olives or marinated jarred artichokes are a nice touch.
- Parsley: Either curly or Italian flat-leaf.
- Dressing: You will not regret making your own Italian dressing with red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, freshly grated Parmesan, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and a pinch of sugar to balance it out. IT'S THE BEST.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Drain; rinse pasta with cold water until cooled.
- In an extra-large bowl, combine cooked pasta, provolone or mozzarella, salami, vegetables, olive or artichokes (if using) and parsley.
- In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together dressing ingredients.
- Add dressing to the bowl with the pasta salad ingredients; toss well to incorporate.
- Cover; refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Stir again before serving.
Recipe Substitutions and Alterations
- For the pasta: Use any tubular pasta, such as penne, rigatoni or cellantani, rotini or bow tie.
- For the cheese: You can sub with fresh mozzarella pearls or any semi-firm Italian cheese.
- For the salami: Any Italian cured meat will do. You can even skip it if you're going meatless.
- For the vegetables: Any fresh, crisp vegetables that pair well with Italian flavors are great, such as any color bell pepper, cherry or grape tomatoes halved or quartered, zucchini, baby spinach or kale, diced red onion or sliced mushrooms.
- For the briny veg: Olives, marinated jarred artichokes, roasted red peppers or other marinated jarred peppers would be excellent in this pasta salad.
- For the herbs: Throw in the basil as well as parsley, if you're in the mood.
- For the Italian dressing: If you don't have all of the ingredients on hand to make your own or are in a hurry, you can use about 1 cup of your favorite store-bought Italian dressing.
Nutrition Considerations
- To make this gluten free: Use gluten free pasta.
- Be sure all other ingredients you choose are gluten free.
- To make this dairy free: Skip the cheese or use dairy free cheese.
- To make this vegetarian: Skip the salami.
- To make this vegan: Skip the salami and cheese and include more vegetables.
- Skip the Parmesan in the dressing.
- To make this nut free: This recipe does not contain nuts.
- Be sure all ingredients you choose are nut free.
- To make this egg free: This recipe does not contain eggs.
Storage Suggestions
- Store leftovers in a glass airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers should last up to 4 days refrigerated.
- You can make it a day in advance; if it becomes dry, toss with a little olive oil before serving.
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Cavatappi Pasta Salad
A loaded Italian pasta salad recipe with tender cavatappi pasta, chopped salami, cubed provolone, crisp veggies, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and THE BEST Italian dressing you'll ever make.
- Prep Time: 15 mins.
- Cook Time: 10 mins.
- Total Time: 25 mins.
- Yield: Serves 10 1x
- Category: Side Dishes, Salads
- Method: Stove-Top, No-Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Pasta Salad:
- 1-pound cavatappi pasta (or cellentani), rotini or bow-tie
- 8-ounce block provolone or mozzarella, cubed
- 4 ounces salami, chopped
- 2-3 cups chopped raw vegetables (bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, spinach, zucchini)
- ½ cup olives or chopped jarred marinated artichokes, drained (optional)
- ½ cup curly or flat-leaf Italian parsley, roughly chopped
Italian Dressing:
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar or balsamic and white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse pasta with cold water until cooled.
- In an extra-large bowl, combine cooked pasta, provolone or mozzarella, salami, vegetables, olive or artichokes (if using) and parsley.
- In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together dressing ingredients. Add dressing to the bowl with the pasta salad ingredients; toss well to incorporate. Cover; refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Stir again before serving.
Notes
Substitution Tip: Use any tubular pasta or rotini instead of cavatappi.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10 of recipe
- Calories: 315
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 424mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 29mg
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