The Best Easy Pasta Salad
Total Time
30 mins
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
4.5 out of 5 stars
(114)
Ingredients
> 15 cups
- 1 pound uncooked pasta
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese balls, cut in half
- 1 lb. salami or summer sausage, cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 3/4 cup pepperoncini (optional, but do it)
- 1/2 cup sliced red onion
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white vinegar (white vinegar or red wine vinegar work)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1–2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons each dry oregano and dry basil
- Black pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs if you want! sometimes I add fresh parsley, basil, or chives.
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Preparation
Step 1
Cook pasta according to package directions, in salted water for more flavor. Allow to cool slightly and toss with a little oil to prevent sticking.
Step 2
Blend up the dressing, or shake together in a jar.
Step 3
Toss all ingredients together! I like to use about three-fourths of the dressing, and then I save the rest of the dressing to add to my leftovers.
Step 4
Keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. I think it actually tastes best the day AFTER you make it.
Step 5
Save recipe for the next time?
Chef's notes
Update 7/12/22:
Based on reader feedback and additional testing, the olive oil in the dressing was reduced to 1/2 cup (previous, it was 1 1/2 cups).
Please note that the amount written is for COARSE sea salt. If you are using fine table salt, start with 2 teaspoons and add more to taste. The dressing itself will be very salty. Like, too salty for a normal salad. But in this recipe, that’s what we want! That dressing is going to get tossed with an entire pound of plain pasta, as well as a whole lot of fresh unseasoned vegetables, and it will taste delicious once it’s all tossed up. If you don’t want as salty a dressing, feel free to reduce it to 1 tablespoon.
You can also save time on onion prep with this guide on how to cut an onion.
