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Two bowls of colorful Italian-style antipasto pasta salad. A bowl of cherry tomatoes are in the top left corner. The bottom bowl of pasta salad is wrapped with a green and white kitchen towel.
Sacha Hirschfeld

Loaded Antipasto Pasta Salad

This recipe highlights the flavors of Italian antipasto we all know and love. This pasta salad is a stellar made-ahead recipe and a great option to a bring along to a BBQ, picnic, or potluck. Make it vegetarian by skipping the salami.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting time in the fridge (optional but strongly suggested) 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Pastas
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 823
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Red Wine Vinaigrette
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp sugar may sub honey
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano heaping
  • 2 tbsp fresh basil chiffonade or chopped
  • kosher salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste
Pasta Salad
  • ¾ lb dry, short pasta noodles like rotini, penne, or gemelli
  • 1 cup jarred artichokes left quartered
  • 1 cup salami quartered and chopped; or 90 g sliced
  • 1 cup black olives may sub for whatever olives you have on-hand
  • 1 cup small variety tomatoes halved
  • 1 cup fresh mozzarella cut, torn, or mozza balls
  • ¼ cup jarred roasted red peppers sliced
  • ⅛ cup red onion thinly sliced
  • fresh basil a few leaves for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 large pot
  • 1 large bowl
  • 1 medium bowl
  • 1 whisk
  • 1 wooden spoon

Method
 

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of kosher salt, stir, and return water to a roaring boil. Add pasta and cook as per package instructions until al dente. DO NOT OVERCOOK!
  2. Meanwhile, let's make the red wine vinaigrette. In a medium bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, sugar, dried oregano, about ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Slowly drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil while whisking vigorously, until emulsified.
  3. Drain the pasta and do not rinse; we want to keep all the starch on the pasta. Transfer pasta to a large bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Let this cool for on the counter or 15 minutes and then pop in the fridge for 30 minutes (you can skip this step if you're in a rush).
  4. Remove chilled pasta from the fridge and add artichokes, salami, roasted red peppers, olives, tomatoes, mozzarella, and red onion; toss until well-combined.
  5. Garnish with a few small basil leaves and serve. If you're making this recipe ahead of time (highly recommend), just cover and pop it in the fridge until you're ready to enjoy.

Notes

Store in the fridge in air-tight container for up to 3 days.