The BEST Pasta Salad Recipe

May 17, 2026

10

This Italian-inspired pasta salad is packed with salty salami, creamy mozzarella, briny olives, and juicy tomatoes. With max flavor and texture in every bite, it’s earned its place as the best pasta salad recipe around!

Pasta salad in a big bowl with a spoon in it.

We don’t call this the Best Pasta Salad Recipe lightly. It’s loaded with fresh, zesty flavors, hearty ingredients, and works just as well for lunch meal prep as it does for a summer potluck or picnic. Chilled cavatappi pasta is loaded with salty bites of salami, creamy mozzarella pearls, kidney beans, and briny, juicy bursts from Castelvetrano olives and cherry tomatoes, then tossed in a simple Italian vinaigrette.

With just 30 minutes of hands-on time, this pasta salad comes together for hot-weather meal prep or to feed a crowd. If you love the flavors of our Italian Chopped Salad or our favorite Grinder Sandwich, you will love this pasta salad recipe!

How to Make the BEST Pasta Salad Recipe

Ingredients

Process

Place a large pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and continue to bring to a boil. Pour pasta into water and stir. Boil pasta for 8 to 9 minutes or until full cooked and tender. Drain and rinse pasta in a colander, under cool water, until room temperature.
Pour pasta into a large bowl and toss together with 1/3 of the vinaigrette. Refrigerate pasta for 30 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, except mozzarella pearls and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, and toss together with 1/3 cup more of the vinaigrette.
Refrigerate for another 30 minutes.

Add remaining vinaigrette, mozzarella pearls, and toss pasta salad one last time.
Top with remaining Parmesan and serve.

Why We Think This is the BEST Pasta Salad EVER!

You get a bit of everything in each bite: Zesty, meaty, creamy, and cool. A little brine, a little juiciness. The ingredients complement each other so well that together each bite tastes as good as the last.

The flavors get better over time: You can absolutely eat this pasta salad straight after making it, but remember all those flavors? They taste even better the next day.

It’s hearty enough for a meal: With pasta, beans, salami, and mozzarella, you can easily enjoy this cold pasta salad as your main course. It’s got enough hearty and protein-rich ingredients to satisfy you and keep you full.

It’s the easiest dish to feed a crowd: From start to finish, you can have this pasta salad ready to serve up to 16 people. And because it’s so easy to make ahead, it’s the perfect dish for any summer BBQ picnic, work potluck, or passing party dish.

Pasta salad being served into small bowls.

Tips and Tricks for Success

For the best results, don’t skip these steps!

After cooking your pasta, make sure you run it under cool water. This stops the cooking process so you don’t end up with mushy pasta.
Add the dressing in three stages, not all at once. This way, your pasta and other ingredients will better absorb the flavor of the dressing instead of the dressing sitting on top of all the ingredients. You’ll get more flavor and a better texture by adding the dressing this way.
Black or green olives will work if that’s all you have, but we highly recommend Castelvetrano olives. They have a meaty texture and a much milder and buttery flavor than other types of olives, which works really well with the other ingredients.
Don’t skip the chill time! The two thirty-minute chill times are essential for maximum flavor and texture.
Add the mozzarella pearls last to help them stay creamy and intact. If you add them with the other ingredients, they’ll get gummy and start to fall apart as they’re mixed in and absorb too much dressing. If you’re making this at home as meal prep, add the mozzarella pearls just before eating each time.

Pasta salad on a table with serving utensils and a jar of Italian vinaigrette.

Prepping Ahead and Storing Instructions

Prepping Ahead

This pasta salad is one of the best make-ahead dishes for a party, as you can prep the entire salad up to 24 hours ahead or the individual ingredients for quicker assembly.

To prep ingredients, dice the red onion, bell pepper, and celery and store them in individual containers for up to two days. If you’re making a homemade vinaigrette, you can make this two days in advance as well.

To prep the pasta salad ahead of time, make it as directed up to the second chill time. At this point, you can keep the pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Just before serving, add the mozzarella pearls, the final third of the vinaigrette, and remaining salt, pepper, and parmesan.

Storing

Store leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. As the salad sits, the pasta will absorb even more vinaigrette, which could start to dry out the dish. In that case, just drizzle a little extra over top just before serving.

Variations

This pasta salad is perfect as is, if we do say so ourselves. But here are some of our favorite ways to change it up, use what you have on hand, and add a little variety to suit your tastes!

Swap the salami for another protein, such as pepperoni, chopped prosciutto, diced grilled chicken, or even chopped ham.
Swap the mozzarella pearls for cubes or provolone, Swiss, or crumbled feta.
Use a different pasta. The corkscrew shape of cavatappi is ideal for catching all the flavors with its long, hollow shape, but you can easily swap it for a pasta you have on hand. Penne, rotini, fusilli, or orecchiette work well.
To add volume and an extra nutritional boost, add more veggies like diced cucumber, roasted red peppers, pepperoncini peppers, or marinated artichoke hearts. You can also toss in a handful of fresh greens like arugula or baby spinach just before serving.
Make it vegetarian by skipping the meat and adding extra beans, like white cannellini beans, garbanzo beans, or just extra kidney beans.

What to Serve with Pasta Salad

If you’re in charge of the menu, serve this pasta salad along with some of our other favorite potluck and warm-weather dishes:

More Delicious Non-Leafy Salad Recipes You Will Love

Hungry for more?

Subscribe to never miss a recipe.