Antipasto pasta salad is a combination of all your favourite appetizers in one bowl. This simple salad requires minimal cooking and tastes delicious for days.
Summer is the season of pasta salads, and this antipasto pasta salad is the perfect summer barbecue appetizer or meal prep dish.
The flavours are a combination of sweet, salty and savoury giving your palette the perfect awakening and satisfaction.
I promise you that this antipasto pasta salad will wow your guests at your next summer party.
Preparing Antipasto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Deli
Genoa Salami: A dry cured meat typically made from pork or sometimes pork and beef. This salami has a relatively mild almost tangy flavour and chewy texture.
Coppa di Parma: This pork cured meat is made from the neck of a pig that is often used for charcuterie.
Prosciutto: This uncooked meat is dry-cured and usually sliced very thinly. This ham is made of the backside or leg of the pig and is a very delicate meat often framed by a layer of delicate fat.
Mozzarella: Mozzarella is a stretched curd cheese. Though there are many varieties, for this recipe I use pizza mozzarella. It has a mild flavour and melts into a stringy texture.Â
Parmesan: Grated parmesan cheese is perfect for this recipe, and I don’t mean freshly grated. The relatively inexpensive pre-grated type is just right here. The flavour is perfect and I always find it a bit of a waste to use the freshly grated stuff in a sauce where it just melts away. Save the expensive fresh stuff for topping your pasta.
Pantry
Gemelli Noodles: A short twisty noodle that holds flavours well thanks to its twisted shape. It’s a great noodle for pasta salad and casseroles as it keeps its shape well.
Roasted red peppers: Marinated roasted red peppers are peppers that have been fire-roasted and preserved in a jar using a marinade. They are sweet and slightly tangy and add a freshness to any meal.
Marinated artichokes: Artichokes are a variety of thistles where the edible part is the bud before the flower blooms. The heart of the artichoke is edible as well as the bottoms of the leaves. The choke and out leaves are not. Artichokes are a bit of work to prepare which is why we’re using marinated artichokes for this recipe. They are prepped and jarred and ready to eat.
Sun-dried tomatoes: Sun-dried tomatoes are tomatoes that have been dehydrated in low temperatures. We use sun-dried tomatoes that have been packed in oil as we also use the oil to add even more flavour to the sauce.
G&K Italian dressing and sub sauce: A simple combination of oil, vinegar and herbs this semi-creamy dressing is the perfect balance of acid to bring like to any dish.
Produce
Basil: Basil, also called sweet basil, is an annual herb that is grown for its fragrant leaves. It is part of the mint family and is native to Asia. It is used in cooking all over the world for its slightly sweet and very distinct flavour.
How to Make Antipasto Pasta Salad
A little bit of chopping goes a long way with this easy pasta salad. And luckily that’s the only skill you need for this dish.
Step 1: Cook the pasta
Fill a pot with water and set it to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook them according to the package instructions.
Step 2: Chop the Ingredients
Start by chopping the jarred ingredients.Â
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Chop everything into ¼-inch pieces and place them on a paper towel-lined plate. This will help remove any excess liquid.
Then chop the cured meats into similar size pieces.
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TIP: You can use any cured meats that you like or have on hand.
Step 3: Make the Dressing
If you don’t have G&K Italian Dressing on hand this is the time to make some.
Step 4: Finish the salad
Once the noodles are cooked, strain them in a colander and rinse the noodles with cold water to bring them to room temperature. Add the noodles and all the other ingredients to a large bowl and gently toss until all the ingredients are well distributed.
 
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Substitutions
Mozzarella: What we’re looking for here is a relatively gentle flavour and stable texture. Bocconcini and a mild cheddar will be great.
Cured Meats: This is where you can play around with what you have on hand or whatever your favourites are. You can add pepperoni for a sharper flavour or use only prosciutto to keep it light and salty. There is no wrong choice here!
Serving Antipasto Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is a complete meal. Serve is as an appetizer or make it as part of your meal prep for the perfect lunch to go.Â
Frequently Asked Questions
How to make a vegetarian antipasto salad?
Firstly, you have to skip the meat. But I’m sure you already knew that. You can replace the meat with marinated tofu and to add some additional flavours add marinated vegetables typically called antipasto calabrese. It’s that easy!
Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.Â
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Antipasto Pasta Salad Recipe
Equipment
- Knife
- Medium pot
- Colander
Ingredients
- 500 g Fusili/Gemmelli
- 50 g Genoa Salami note 1
- 50 g Coppa di Parma note 1
- 50 g Prosciutto note 1
- 2 Roasted red peppers
- 170 ml Marinated Artichokes
- 105 ml Sun-dried tomatoes
- 250 g mozzarella
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 6-7 fresh basil leaves
- â…“ cup G&K Italian dressing and sub sauce
Instructions
- Fill a medium pot with water and set to boil.
- While you’re waiting for the water to boil begin chopping the ingredients. Start with the artichokes, roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes. Chop everything into a ¼-inch dice and once chopped place it all on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess liquid.2 Roasted red peppers, 170 ml Marinated Artichokes, 105 ml Sun-dried tomatoes
- The water should be boiling by now so you can add the noodles and cook according to the package instructions.500 g Fusili/Gemmelli
- Next, dice your favourite cured meats and mozzarella cheese into ¼-inch pieces and julienne the fresh basil.50 g Genoa Salami, 50 g Coppa di Parma, 50 g Prosciutto, 250 g mozzarella, 6-7 fresh basil leaves
- Finally, make the G&K Italian dressing and sub sauce if you don’t already have some on hand.1/3 cup G&K Italian dressing and sub sauce
- The noodles should be cooked by now. Strain them in a colander and rinse with cold water to cool them to room temperature.
- Add the noodles, diced roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, cured meats and mozzarella cheese to a large bowl. Finally, add the parmesan, basil and G&K Italian dressing and toss everything to combine well.¼ cup parmesan cheese
