Antipasto Pasta Salad

5 from 11 votes

An easy Italian-Style pasta salad made with a homemade red wine vinaigrette and all the delicious goodies of a classic Antipasto platter.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 279kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

16 ounces rotini noodles
8 ounces grape tomatoes halved
¼ cup sliced Spanish olives
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 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and salt well. Cook the pasta according to directions, choosing the longest suggested cook time. Drain well, but do not rinse the noodles.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing by blending the olive oil, vinegar, capers, salt, garlic, and oregano 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, tomatoes, olives, peppers, salami, and parsley, and toss well to combine.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight before serving.

Video

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.

Onions: Use a red or Vidalia onion. White or yellow onions can be used, but have a much stronger taste and can overwhelm some of the delicate flavors. I would only half a white or yellow onion if you opt to use one of those varieties.

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