Antipasto 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!
Servings: 10
Calories: 279kcal
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 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 279kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 386mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 215IU | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.8mg