This Italian antipasto pasta salad is made with fusilli pasta, chunks of Italian cold cuts, provolone cheese, pickled giardiniera vegetables, tangy green olives, and pepperoncini to rival those found at any Italian deli.
Attention All Meat Lovers!
THIS is the pasta salad you’ve been waiting for. The inspiration for this recipe is my antipasto salad, which in turn was inspired by my fave Italian deli case, and it’s brimming with flavor.
“Antipasto” is known as the first course of the Italian meal and often includes olives, pickled vegetables, cured meats, and / or low-moisture white Italian cheeses. Here, I toss it all in a bowl with pasta, drizzle it with a simple dressing, and enjoy each of the tangy bits of bites in every forkful. It’s a fabulously easy salad that won’t go limp over time and delivers a filling bite with plenty of tang.
The only cooking involved is boiling the noodles, and you can throw the other salad components together quickly, while those cook. It’s perfect for parties, potlucks, and weekend eats.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- This is a flexible pasta salad recipe that works with just about any combo of cold cuts, cheeses, and veggies, so use what you have on hand or whatever you prefer in your antipasto salad.
- I think this pasta salad tastes best after it’s had 30ish minutes to chill in the fridge. If cooked the pasta until al dente as suggested, it will soften a little bit as it soaks up the dressing and become super flavorful.
- For a tangier dressing, add extra pepperoncini brine.
The “Antipasto” Ingredients in This Pasta Salad
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
The Meats and Cheeses
- Mortadella — An Italian cured cold cut with large and small chunks of pork fat studded with pistachios.
- Salami — Choose any salami you prefer, including Genoa, cotto, Finocchiona, or hard salami.
- Smoked pastrami — This meat is totally optional, but my favorite deli adds it to their recipe and I really enjoy the flavors.
- Provolone cheese — You can also try a low-moisture mozzarella sold in a block.
The Vegetables
- Mild giardiniera — An Italian medley of chopped, pickled cauliflower, carrots, peppers, celery, and chile peppers. If you like the heat, try the spicy version.
- Pepperoncini — Chop the pepperoncini and reserve the brine for the dressing.
- Green olives — Slice the flavorful pitted (pimento-free) olives.
How to Make Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Cook your pasta, then rinse. I never rinse pasta when making a dish like spaghetti and meatballs, because the extra starch helps the sauce cling to the noodles. However, you don’t want that excess starch making your pasta salad gummy or clumpy, so a quick rinse under cold water is needed.
- Chop the meats and cheese into bite-size pieces. The goal of this salad is to get more than one taste in each bite so make the chunks the perfect fork-to-mouth size.
- Toss and let the flavors marry. I think this pasta salad does best when the dressing infuses into the meats so a little downtime before eating is a good thing.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Italian Antipasto Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 1 pound fusilli pasta
- 10 ounces mortadella , cut into about 3 ½ cups large dice
- 8 ounces salami , cut into about 1 ½ cups large dice
- 6 ounces smoked pastrami , cut into about 1 ¼ cups large dice
- 10 ounces provolone cheese , cut into about 2 ½ cups large dice
- 16 ounces mild giardiniera , drained and roughly chopped
- 6 ounces pitted green olives , about 1 ½ cups sliced or halved
- 6 ounces pepperoncini , chopped with brine reserved
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons reserved pepperoncini brine
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water, until al denté and still a bit firm. Give it a quick rinse under cool water, and then drain.
- In a large bowl, add the pasta, mortadella, salami, pastrami, provolone, giardiniera, pepperoncini, and green olives.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the pepperoncini brine, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil then season with the black pepper and drizzle over the meats and cheese. Toss well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour for the flavors to mingle before serving. Add more pepperoncini brine for a tangier bite.
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredient Swaps
- Omit the green olives or try mild Castelvetrano green olives.
- Replace the smoked pastrami with chunks of smoked ham.
- Use another short and study pasta, like bow tie, penne, or macaroni (or use a gluten-free variety).
- Swap the balsamic dressing with Italian dressing.
- Add marinated or cooked artichokes.
What to Serve with Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Chicken Piccata
- Mediterranean Shrimp Salad
- Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmesan
- Chicken Caprese
- Chicken Milanese
More Italian-Inspired Pasta Salad Recipes to Try
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Rate & Comment