Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Italian Pasta Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe
Everybody wants a “go to” pasta salad recipe and that is mine: an Italian Pasta Salad with a Home made Italian Dressing, loaded with all issues Italian: salami, olives, bocconcini, tomatoes and basil.
A necessary for decent summer season nights, fast mid week meals, make forward lunches and gatherings!
Italian Pasta Salad recipe
I used to be impressed to make this as a result of I went on a Salami Bender* after the Salami Cream Cheese Roll I shared a few weeks in the past.
I might by no means be a meals journal editor or comparable. As a result of a correct editor would be certain that a wide range of recipes and substances are used. Whereas I discover or am reminded of one thing that I really like that I haven’t used “sufficient” of these days and I’m going on a Bender*.
And my expensive readers get despatched two salami recipes inside a fortnight, the primary and solely two within the historical past of RecipeTin Eats!
* Is it simply Aussies that use the time period “bender” to explain a wild ingesting spree??? Applicable to use to the present salami spree I’m on!
What goes in Italian Pasta Salad
Regardless of my extreme salami discuss, Italian Pasta Salad does have issues in it aside from salami!
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salami
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Bocconcini (I used child ones) that are simply small balls of contemporary mozzarella (they’re accessible in any respect supermarkets in Australia)
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cherry tomatoes
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capsicum
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olives (I take advantage of Sicilian as a result of it’s on-theme and pitted black ones too)
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basil; and
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pasta (duh!)
Pasta Salad Dressing
This Italian dressing is certainly one of my all time favorite Pasta Salad Dressings. Dried herbs, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, a contact of sugar, pinch of pink pepper and the key ingredient – parmesan cheese.
The parmesan simply dissolves into the dressing and provides that further flavour edge that makes something you pour it over completely irresistible!
TIP: Make a standby Italian Dressing recipe you could hold available simply through the use of garlic powder reasonably than contemporary garlic!
It is a chilly pasta salad
It is a chilly pasta salad recipe to be served at room temperature or barely chilled which makes it supreme to make forward for midweek meals, taking to gatherings, work lunches and buffet spreads.
All that color.
All that goodness. Nobody can resist it! – Johnsat x
Watch tips on how to make it
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar (I like using red)
- 1 1/2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp sugar (any)
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 tsp each dried basil and oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) (optional)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 300g/10oz spiral pasta, or other pasta of choice
- 180g/6oz thick sliced salami, cut into 2.5cm/1″ batons (see photo in post or videos) (I use spicy salami)
- 200g/7oz baby bocconcini, halved (Note 2)
- 1 red capsicum/bell pepper, cut into 3cm/2.2cm strips
- 250g/8oz whole olives (I used Sicilian and pitted black) (Note 3)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (~1.5 Australian punnets)
- 1 cup (tightly packed) fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Place Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.
- Cook pasta according to packet directions minus 1 minute. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop it cooking further. Shake excess water off well then transfer into large bowl.
- Place remaining Pasta Salad ingredients in the bowl. Drizzle over Dressing and toss. Serve at room temperature.
- SCOOP OUT a mug of pasta cooking water just before draining. Add 3 tbsp water to Dressing, shake well. Use this Dressing per above, but reserve 3 tbsp to freshen up pasta salad on Day 2 onwards.
- Freshen up pasta salad: Bring to room temp or briefly microwave (cold pasta = dry) to warm gently. Toss with Reserved Dressing then serve.
Notes
1. If the parmesan is not freshly grated, it will not dissolve in the dressing. So if you are using store bought pre grated parmesan, that’s totally fine but sprinkle it on the salad instead of putting it in the dressing.
2. I used baby bocconcini (which is small balls of fresh mozzarella sold at all supermarkets here in Australia) but you can use any sized bocconcini you want. Just chop it into small pieces.
3. You can use sliced olives if you prefer. I typically opt for whole olives because they are so much juicier! Sicilian olives are green and perfect for an Italian Pasta Salad. They are kind of buttery and smoother than other types of olives.
4. Leftovers: I swear this is even better the next day!
PRO TIP to keep pasta salads juicy when making ahead (as they tend to dry out the next day) – increase volume of dressing by shaking it up with pasta cooking water. Starch in water emulsifies with fat in dressing = more dressing volume, same amount of flavour = can reserve some dressing = juicier pasta salad.
Also, cold pasta is drier. Let it come to room temp or even microwave briefly, the toss with reserved Dressing!
5. Nutrition per serving.
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