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Home » Recipes » Dinner » Sides » Italian Pasta Salad

May 7, 2022(updated November 10, 2022)

Italian Pasta Salad

5 from 7 votes
By Dani Spies
Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links.

This colorful Italian Pasta Salad recipe is as delicious as it is vibrant! Packed with veggies like bell peppers, artichokes, tomatoes and olives, this healthy pasta salad with homemade dressing is a great summer side dish or light lunch. It’s also perfect to prep ahead because it’s even tastier the next day!

Italian pasta salad in a large white serving bowl.

Pasta salad is a classic summer staple that pairs well with grilled meats and makes a great picnic and cookout option. This Italian pasta salad is easy, delicious, and packed with fresh veggies. It’s a light side dish perfect for feeding a crowd and meal prepping! Make this to bring to your next barbecue or get-together with friends and family.

Ingredients needed

Every ingredient in this gorgeous salad adds a new flavor and texture element that you’re going to love. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Pasta – Pasta salads like this one, work great with any short pasta. We love fusilli, but bowtie (sometimes called farfalle), penne or rotini are all fine.
  • Dressing – For the homemade vinaigrette, you’ll need olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, sea salt & pepper.
  • Artichoke hearts – Love the kick of flavor these add to the salad!
  • Kalamata olives – I feel like some type of olive is necessary in an Italian salad. I personally prefer Kalamata olives, so that’s what I used, but feel free to use black olives if preferred.
  • Veggies – We’re packing in the vegetables! In fact, there’s over a cup of diced bell pepper and a full cup of baby tomatoes! Add sliced celery and red onion for extra crunch and flavor.
  • Fresh basil – For a pop of color and a lovely herb taste.
Ingredients for pasta salad divided into separate bowls.

How to make this salad

Italian pasta salad is one of the easiest recipes to toss together. The most time-consuming part of making this salad is cutting up all the vegetables.

For full (printable) instructions, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

  1. Boil pasta. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
  2. Make the dressing. While the pasta cooks, whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
  3. Mix pasta + dressing. Drain the pasta and add it right into the dressing. Toss to coat. Let cool, tossing once or twice so the pasta can absorb all the flavors of the dressing.
  4. Add vegetables + serve. Stir in artichoke hearts, olives, bell pepper, tomatoes, celery, onion and basil, and stir well to combine. Serve and enjoy or chill until ready to serve.

Whisking dressing in a bowl.
Colorful veggies in a bowl.

Variations

It’s super easy to customize pasta salads with extra or different ingredients. Here’s some ideas:

  • Add some cheese like mini mozzarella balls, crumbled goat cheese, cheddar cheese cubes, diced pepper jack or crumbled feta cheese.
  • Mix in some protein like sautéed shrimp, chopped grilled chicken, cured meat like pepperoni, or crumbled bacon. Or keep it vegetarian and add chickpeas.
  • Add even more veggies like shredded carrots, chopped cucumber, or sliced green onions.
  • Spice it up with some cayenne pepper, crush red pepper flakes, or diced jalapeños.
  • Use different fresh herbs like mint, parsley, dill, or chives!

Tips

  • Salt the pasta water. Salting the pasta water evenly seasons each noodle from the inside out and really adds to the flavor of the complete dish. And if it needs it, you can always add more salt to the finished salad. Read about how to properly salt your pasta water here. As a general rule of thumb, I add 1 teaspoon salt to 4 cups of water.
  • Cook pasta to al dente. Over cooking your pasta even by just a minute will lead to a soggy pasta salad. The noodles soften as they sit in the dressing.
  • Make ahead. This is a great recipe to make in advance. Let all of the ingredients soak up the dressing for at least 2 hours or overnight for best results. I always find pasta salad is better the next day.

Pasta mixed with veggies in a large bowl.

Storage instructions

  • Make ahead. This salad is great to make a day in advance of serving it because it gets tastier over time. You can also mix the vinaigrette together up to 2 days in advance, and store it in the refrigerator.
  • Storing leftovers. Store leftover salad in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Before serving again, give it a good stir and taste + season again as needed. This salad is great served at room temperature or chilled.

Pasta salad with tomatoes and fresh basil in a white bowl.

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe Video

More side dish recipes

Looking for more easy sides? Here are some faves:

  • Green Bean Almondine
  • Easy Roasted Vegetables
  • Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
  • Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes
  • Roasted Radishes

If you make and enjoy this Italian Pasta Salad recipe, be sure to leave a comment and ★ rating below letting me know how they turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for me and our Clean & Delicious community (thank you!).

Italian pasta salad in a large white serving bowl.
Print Recipe
5 from 7 votes

Italian Pasta Salad

This colorful Italian Pasta Salad recipe is as delicious as it is vibrant! Packed with veggies like bell peppers, artichokes, tomatoes and olives, this healthy pasta salad with homemade dressing is a great summer side dish or light lunch. It’s also perfect to prep ahead because it’s even tastier the next day!
Course: salad, sides
Cuisine: American, Italian
Author: Dani Spies
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time20 mins
Servings: 12 (1-cup) servings
Calories: 74kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 (16-ounce) box Fusilli pasta gluten-free works as well
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts drained
  • 1/2 cup Kalamata olives cut in half
  • 1 1/2 cup bell pepper diced (I like to use yellow and orange)
  • 1 cup baby tomatoes cut in half
  • 1/2 cup celery thinly sliced into half moons
  • 1/2 red onion finely diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. While the pasta cooks, whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
    Making vinaigrette in a large bowl.
  • Drain the pasta and add it right into the dressing. Toss to coat. Let cool, tossing once or twice so the pasta can absorb all the flavors of the dressing.
    Stirring pasta with dressing in a large bowl.
  • Add in artichoke hearts, olives, bell pepper, tomatoes, celery, onion and basil and stir well to combine. Serve and enjoy or chill until ready to serve.
    Pasta salad made with tomatoes and basil.

Notes

Store leftover salad in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Before serving again, give it a good stir and taste + season again as needed. This salad is great served at room temperature or chilled.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 74kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 292mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 731IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

Lunch, Recipes, Salad + Dressing, Sides

About Dani Spies

Dani Spies is the founder and host of Clean & Delicious; a weekly cooking show on YouTube and a healthy eating blog that celebrates real, whole foods! She takes a holistic approach to health and wellness and is loved for her approachable, down to earth style both in and out of the kitchen.

Learn MoreWork With Me

Reader Interactions

Yum! I love this recipe.

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    If you loved this recipe please leave a comment and star rating below. Questions are also welcome. Cheers!

    Recipe Rating




    Comments

  1. Lance says

    May 9, 2022 at 10:45 pm

    5 stars
    Amazingly delicious!

    Reply
    • Dani says

      May 10, 2022 at 5:41 am

      So glad you enjoyed it, Lance!

      Reply
  2. Danielle says

    June 19, 2022 at 3:13 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was a hit for a summer dinner party! Glad that I could make it in advance so I didn’t have to hurry. And I even had people asking for the recipe! Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Dani Spies says

      June 23, 2022 at 2:37 pm

      I’m so glad to hear that, Danielle! Thanks for letting me know.

      Reply
  3. Rachel G says

    September 13, 2022 at 1:44 pm

    5 stars
    OMG delicious!

    The only thing minor change was that I used Dani’s Greek Salad dressing recipe since I was making a big batch of it anyways and it’s very similar to the dressing here. I also used dried basil since I didn’t have fresh; fresh would be better but dried was fine as well. Another great recipe!

    Reply
    • Dani Spies says

      September 14, 2022 at 9:37 am

      I love how you the dressing you were making to keep things easy! So clever – and I’m glad you enjoyed this one, Rachel.

      Reply

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