I love this simple pasta salad – it’s so easy to customize to whatever you’ve got in. Make a double batch of the Italian dressing so you can use it all week!
How long do you think it took this carbivore and her equally carb-loving family to devour this 8-person salad?
Let’s just say it didn’t last the day.
One lovely meal, then constant trips back to the fridge until there was one solitary slice of red onion left.
It’s my summer go-to meal – great to eat in its own right, or as a side dish as part of some meal-prep lunches.
The easy Italian dressing adds that lovely touch of zesty, salty, garlicky flavour to lift every single bite.
I make up a big batch of the dressing and store it in a jam-jar in the fridge so I can use it throughout the week.
What do we need?
- Pasta – Use large-ish pasta shapes. I like to use fusilli as the salad dressing clings to those little spirals beautifully
- Veggies – We’ve got crunch with the cucumber and red onion, juicy tang with the tomatoes (plus pretty colours) and freshness with the pea shoots and parsley. You can swap out the pea shoots with spinach, lambs lettuce, watercress or rocket if you like.
- Cheese – I’ve added some mini mozzarella balls to give a creamy bite that compliments the crunchy veggies. You can leave out if you want it dairy-free, or you could replace with feta, goats cheese or even cubes of cheddar.
How to make this pasta salad
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Cook the pasta as per the pack instructions. Drain and run under cold water to cool and prevent from sticking.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to a large serving bowl. Add in the tomatoes, mozzarella, cucumber, red onion, pea shoots and parsley.
Make the Italian style salad dressing by mixing together all of the dressing ingredients in a jug or jar until combined.
Drizzle over half of the dressing and toss everything together, then serve the pasta salad with the remaining dressing.
What to serve it with
Why not serve this tasty pasta salad as part of a picnic with:
- Creamy Potato Salad
- Tear-and-Share Sausage Rolls (or my vegetarian sausage rolls)
- Cheese and Tomato Tarts
- French-Pressed Sandwich Bites
- Cornish Pasties
Ingredient swaps
This pasta salad is super versatile – you can make lots of swaps, depending on what you have in.
- Swap out pea shoots for spinach, lambs lettuce, watercress or rocket if you like.
- Swap out the mozzarella with feta, goats cheese or cheddar.
- Add in sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, olives, and anchovies for a Mediterranean-style salad.
- Add cooked shredded chicken, crumbled crispy bacon, or little slices of salami/chorizo/coppa/prosciutto for a meaty addition.
I love hearing about other peoples food choices!
What would be your perfect picnic to go with this pasta salad?
Are you a one-course picnic person? or has it got to be like a giant buffet on a blanket? (yes to the giant buffet from me).
Looking for a picnic dessert too?
- Mason Jar No-Bake Cheesecakes
- Banana Bread Energy Balls
- Portable Apple Crumble and Custard
- Salted Caramel Millionaires Shortbread
- Chocolate Coconut Crunch
- Gooey Rolo-Stuffed Cookies
Watch how to make it
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Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 500 g (1.1 lbs) dried pasta shapes (I use fusilli for this recipe)
- 450 g (1 lb) cherry tomatoes sliced in half – I like to use rainbow tomatoes, but you can use regular
- 300 g (10.5 oz) mini mozzarella balls/pearls sliced in half
- 4 baby cucumbers or 1 regular cucumber, sliced
- 1 large red onion peeled and sliced
- 65 g (2 cups) fresh pea shoots (you can replace with lambs lettuce, watercress or mild rocket)
- 1 large bunch fresh parsley chopped
Italian Style Dressing:
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) white wine vinegar
- zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp Maldon salt flakes
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta as per the pack instructions. Drain and run under cold water to cool and prevent it from sticking.500 g (1.1 lbs) dried pasta shapes
- Whilst the pasta is cooking, make the Italian-style salad dressing by mixing together all of the dressing ingredients in a jug or jar until combined.120 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil, 45 ml (3 tbsp) white wine vinegar, zest and juice of ½ lemon, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp Maldon salt flakes, ¼ tsp black pepper, 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- Transfer the cooked pasta to a large serving bowl. Add in the tomatoes, mozzarella, cucumber, red onion, pea shoots, and parsley.450 g (1 lb) cherry tomatoes, 300 g (10.5 oz) mini mozzarella balls/pearls, 4 baby cucumbers, 1 large red onion, 65 g (2 cups) fresh pea shoots, 1 large bunch fresh parsley
- Drizzle over half of the dressing and toss everything together.
- Serve the pasta salad with the remaining dressing.
Video
Notes
Cover and refrigerate the remaining Italian dressing with the pasta salad so you can pour more on when it’s time to serve. Can I freeze it? No, unfortunately, the veggies won’t stand up to freezing and would become mushy upon defrosting. Ingredient swaps
- Swap out pea shoots for spinach, lambs lettuce, watercress or rocket if you like.
- Swap out the mozzarella with feta, goats cheese or cheddar.
- Add in sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, olives, and anchovies for a Mediterranean style salad.
- Add cooked shredded chicken, crumbled crispy bacon, or little slices of salami/chorizo/coppa/prosciutto for a meaty addition
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I added chicken and chorizo and this meal was delicious. The best salad I’ve ever made. Thank you so much Nicky😊
Hi I have been following kitchen sanctuary for a while now doing this recipe at the moment, notice the ebook which I subscribed to but never got the book can you advise how I get it.
My salads were always bland and lacked imagination until I found kitchen sanctuary, loved this addition to my new found love of salad, especially in the warmer months. I’ve also got to mention the fantastic new eBook, I’m working my through the aptly named Weeknight Family Dinner Favourites – everyone’s a winner in this house. Thank you!
Wow, thanks so much Dawn.
So pleased that you are loving our recipes and glad you’re loving the new ebook too 🙂
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Love the dressing on this salad, used rocket as I couldn’t get pea shoots. So tasty😋
I like a bit of rocket too, I love the peppery taste with that dressing. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Thanks
Chris & Nicky