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Antipasto Pasta Salad features all the goodies of an antipasto platter in an easy and delicious pasta salad. Bursting with flavor from olives, salami, roasted red peppers, grape tomatoes, sweet onions, and a simple homemade red wine vinaigrette, Antipasto Pasta Salad will be a hit at any gathering!
This Antipasto Pasta Salad is easy to make and incredibly delicious. It pairs beautifully with Chicken Burgers, Grilled Greek Chicken, or Instant Pot Ribs for an easy, summer meal--and is always a welcome addition to a potluck alongside Classic Burgers.
In This Post
Kristen's Key Takeaways
- My Favorite (and a Crowd-Favorite) Pasta Salad. When it comes to pasta salad, there are endless varieties, but my all-time favorite is this Antipasto Pasta Salad. Made with a tangy homemade vinaigrette, fresh tomatoes, salami, and salty olives, this pasta salad is irresistible. along with my Papa's Baked Beans and Grandma's Texas Sheet Cake, it is my most requested side dish for summer potlucks and gatherings.
- Best Made 12 Hours in Advance. Like most pasta salads, Antipasto Pasta Salad tastes better if made the day before serving, making this a great recipe to entertain with.
- Don't Rinse the Pasta! One of the key mistakes people make when making a pasta salad is to rinse the pasta to quickly cool it down. This removes the surface starch which is key ensuring the dressing (and flavor) clings to the pasta.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
How to Make Antipasto Pasta Salad
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook the Pasta in Heavily Salted Water. Cooking the noodles in heavily salted boiling water will help to flavor the pasta itself. Once the pasta is tender, drain the pasta, but do not rinse! That will rinse flavor down the drain.
- Don't Whisk But Blend the Dressing. The red wine vinaigrette is made with red wine vinegar, olive oil, capers, garlic, and Italian seasoning. It is salty, and acidic, and adds incredible flavor to the pasta salad, but is best prepared in a small blender or food processor to fully break down the capers. The capers add an incredible depth of flavor to the pasta salad, but can be a bit overwhelming if left whole.
- Dress the Pasta Twice. Adding a small amount of the red wine vinaigrette to the pasta immediately after cooking will allow the noodles to absorb the flavor of the dressing. But you want to wait to add the remaining dressing until the pasta is fully cooled to room temperature to keep the pasta salad from drying out.
- Add Your Favorite Toppings. Once the pasta has cooled it is time to add the goodies! The options are endless, but think about the things you find on an antipasto platter. Things like grape tomatoes, Greek or Spanish olives, parsley, roasted bell peppers, salami or pepperoni, cubed cheese, fresh mozzarella balls, artichoke hearts, and pickled cauliflower are all great options.
- Chill Before Serving. To allow the flavors to marry, it is best to refrigerate Antipasto Pasta Salad for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours, before serving.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate: Antipasto Pasta Salad can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, although it is best enjoyed within 48 hours of preparation.
- Dried-Out Pasta Salad? As pasta stills in the refrigerator, the noodles can absorb all the dressing. If you feel that your pasta salad is dry, add up to 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss again before serving.
More Potluck Favorite Recipes
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
- Old-Fashioned Potato Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Couscous
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Antipasto Pasta Salad
Made with tender noodles, a simple homemade red wine vinaigrette, and all your favorite antipasto toppings, Antipasto Pasta Salad is always a crowd-pleaser!
Video
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini noodles
- 8 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup Spanish olives, sliced
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- ½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
- 1 small Vidalia onion or red onion, finely minced
- 6 ounces diced hard salami, or pepperoni
- ¼ cup minced parsley
Red Wine Vinaigrette
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and salt well with 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Cook the pasta according to directions, until just al dente. Drain well, but do not rinse the noodles.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing by blending ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons capers, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 clove garlic (peeled), and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning together in a blender or small food processor until well combined.
- Toss the drained pasta with ¼ cup of the red wine vinaigrette and then let cool to room temperature before adding the remaining dressing or ingredients.
- Once the pasta is cooled, add the remaining dressing, halved tomatoes, sliced olives, roasted red peppers, diced onion, chopped salami, and minced parsley and toss well to combine.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight before serving.
Notes
Storage: Leftover pasta salad can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If your pasta salad dries out after sitting in the refrigerator, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil.
Noodles: Be sure to choose pasta that has twists and curves so that the noodle can hold on to some of the additions to the pasta salad. Feel free to use gluten-free or whole wheat noodles if desired. You can also use tortellini in place of the noodles if desired.
Red Wine Vinaigrette: While you can certainly use bottled Italian dressing, the homemade red wine vinaigrette is incredibly simple to make and tastes so much better.
Tomatoes: If you opt to use vine-ripened tomatoes in place of grape or cherry tomatoes, be sure to deseed the tomatoes before chopping to keep the pasta salad from becoming watery.
Other Addition Options: Feta cheese, cubed cheese, artichoke hearts, chickpeas, etc.
Nutrition
Calories: 279kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 6gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 386mgPotassium: 154mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 215IUVitamin C: 3.2mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 0.8mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @amindfullmom or tag #amindfullmom!
This is my summer go-to dish for all the BBQs and potlucks. So easy to make ahead and take. Love it!
This is one of those recipes that if I needed to take a meal to someone, I know this would get eaten. It's family-friendly & enjoyed by everyone.
Thanks so much Kristyn! I never really thought of it as a dish to take to someone! But being that it is such a hit at parties, that makes sense. Thanks for sharing!
This is my go-to for every bbq, every occasion! Everyone loves it & goes so well with everything!
Thanks Natalie! I don't often have a party in the summer without this one either!
LOVE this salad! Makes a great side dish for anything!
I am so glad you enjoy so much Nellie. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
What great memories. Memorial Day for me was similar growing up, and I still adore coleslaw, pasta salad and a platter of veggies at every cookout. This pasta salad looks divine!
Oh yes, we had the platter of veggies too with dill dip, always dill dip! Such great memories!
This looks delicious!
Thanks Susan!
Am so glad that you twaked (which I always seem to confuse with twerked) your mom's recipe, because, Kristen, this salad filled with olives, roasted red peppers, grape tomatoes, sweet onions, and a red wine vinaigrette made with capers is simply jam-packed with flavor! Wow! Memorial Day 2017, I'm inviting myself over! 🙂
Tweeked, twerked, I get the picture 🙂 And you are always welcome!