Servings: 8-12 (Makes 10 cups) 1x
Scale
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 8 ounces (~2 ½ cup) uncooked pasta, such as fusilli or rotini (use gluten free, if needed)
- 1 pint (10-11 ounces) cherry tomatoes, halved (~2 cups)
- 1 small zucchini, diced small (~1 ½ cups)
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced small (~1 cup)
- ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced (~1 cup)
- ⅓ cup sliced peperoncini peppers
- ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls, halved
- 2 ounces hard salami, cut into matchsticks (~¾ to 1 cup)
For the Italian Dressing:
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon pure honey
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook it to al dente (this usually takes 9 to 11 minutes, depending on the type of pasta). Remove pasta from heat, drain, rinse, and set aside to cool. The pasta can be made up to 1 day ahead and chilled in the refrigerator.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the veggies and make the dressing.
- To make the dressing: In a small bowl or jar, combine the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Italian seasoning, honey, salt, and black pepper. Whisk to combine well. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled pasta, tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, peperoncini, basil, parsley, mozzarella, and salami.
- Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad ingredients. Gently toss to combine.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
I like this high-protein high-fiber pasta, which comes in several shapes.
For gluten-free pasta salad, use any favorite gluten-free pasta in place of the regular pasta.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 265
- Fat: 16 g
- (Sat Fat: 4 g)
- Sodium: 304 mg
- Carbohydrate: 21 g
- (Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 3 g)
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg