Antipasto Pasta Salad for Summer

It was a scorcher outside.  While I sat in traffic for an hour on my way home from work, the car dashboard said it was 104 degrees.  No relief in sight until about October.  Too bad I can’t afford to move to Alaska during the summer.   Oh, but I digress.

At least I knew dinner was already made.  No cooking for me tonight after work!  No heating up the kitchen during 100+ degree temperatures.  The Antipasto Pasta Salad was waiting in the fridge for me to get home…unless hubby beat me to it.   I was hoping he would leave some for me.

This Antipasto Pasta Salad has loads of flavor.  It is even better if you make it a day ahead so the flavors have time to develop.  The nice thing about this salad is that it has no mayonnaise.  So it is great to take to a potluck or party.

It is made with shell pasta, genoa salami, pepperoni, and my favorite, asiago cheese, as well as black olives, red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, and green onions.  It makes for a very colorful dish.  This is adapted from the Antipasto Pasta Salad on AllRecipes.com.   However, instead of using the balsamic vinegar dressing in the recipe, I use the red wine vinaigrette on Allrecipes called Absolutely Fabulous Greek/House Dressing.” It is a long name but an outstanding vinaigrette.

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5 from 2 votes

Antipasto Pasta Salad for Summer

Antipasto Pasta Salad is a unique pasta salad with meats and vegetables found in the first course of an Italian meal, such as salami, asiago cheese, olives, artichokes, and peppers.

Course Sides

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Antipasto Pasta Salad, pasta salad

Prep Time 45 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 400kcal

Author Michele @ Flavor Mosaic

Ingredients

Pasta Salad

• 16 ounces small shell pasta
• 1/4 lb genoa salami chopped
• 1/4 lb pepperoni chopped
• 8 ounces Asiago Cheese cubed
• 1/2 cup black olives chopped
• 1/2 each red bell pepper orange bell pepper, and yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Red Wine Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan

Instructions

• Prepare the pasta per package directions and drain. Place drained pasta in a large bowl. Add all the pasta salad ingredients and toss.
• For the dressing, in a small bowl mix together all ingredients. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad in the large bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 786mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 382IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 252mg | Iron: 1mg

If you don’t have asiago cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, or feta may be substituted.