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Antipasto Pasta Salad

Pasta Shells, salami, pepperoni, olives, bell peppers and cheese all combine in an amazing dressing to create this amazing Antipasto Pasta Salad!

Bowl full of Antipasto pasta salad with fresh basil sprig

Look at all the amazing ingredients in this salad! This salad is over the top on the flavor scale! (You know the “flavor scale”…the one where you take a bite and you drool simultaneously! (It’s not impossible, and I may, or may not, have mastered it!)

Salami, Olives, and peppers

Pepperoni, Hard Salami, Diced Mild Peppers, Slice Black Olives, Provolone Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Fresh Basil, Pasta and my favorite dressing… Kraft Sun Dried Tomato with a splash of Balsamic Vinegar! WOW-ZAAAA! Let’s do this!

Diced Antipasto Ingredients

How To Make Antipasto Pasta Salad

Place a large pot, filled halfway with water, on to boil! You’ll want to cook your pasta shells Al Dente (fancy word for just enough to retain a firm texture…a memo my skin did not get!) they should be semi-cool and well-drained.

TIP: I like the small shell pasta. It just fits, size-wise, with everything else in this salad. This is a salad where you want as many ingredients to hop on that fork as possible!

Dice your meat and cheese into bite-sized cubes. I purchase my salami, pepperoni, and provolone from the deli and ask them to slice it thick on number 2 or 3.

This way you’ll have nice chunks of meat and not flimsy little slices that stick together. Once you have it all diced, just throw it in a large bowl. This is a one-bowl salad! Hooray!

Tomatoes

Roma tomatoes work best for this salad and I seed them. The flavor and ease of using Roma Tomatoes can’t be beat. I love how easy they are to seed so that you don’t end up with a watery tomato seed salad! (Not a huge fan of tomato water!) 

After you have your tomatoes all seeded, you can dice them into small cubes. Dice your mild peppers, making sure to remove the seeds. Dump it in your bowl. (Dump? There’s a delicate cooking term!) Now add your can of sliced olives, chopped basil, and fresh Parmesan Cheese.

Your bowl should be looking pretty colorful by now! Time to add in your drained pasta, salad dressing, and balsamic vinegar. Mix it all together and chill for several hours!

When ready to serve, you may want to add a little more dressing. The Al Dente Pasta will soak up a lot of that dressing, so don’t be afraid to give it another hit right before serving.

Antipasto Pasta Salad

Such a beautiful salad! I really love taking this salad to potlucks or family picnics. It makes a big bowl full! Perfect for big gatherings. You can also keep the salad in the refrigerator and have it for lunch or a “midnight snack”! It’s just so yummy! (I’m a tad obsessed with this salad!) 

If you really want to make this salad even more show-stopping, and money isn’t an object, add in a 1/2 cup of diced Asiago Cheese! Holly Molly! (I may be licking my lips right now?) 

Antipasto Pasta Salad for blog

It really is a meal! It’s packed with meat, cheese, veggies, pasta and then that amazing dressing! So good! If you love Antipasto Salads, you need to give this one a try! The printable is right below, so you can add it to your collection.

Thanks for stopping by…we are going to have a FANTASTIC week here at the Nest! Be sure to check back for more amazing ideas to make your Nest Happy and Delicious!

Photo of Norine with her signature
Bowl full of Antipasto pasta salad with fresh basil sprig

Antipasto Pasta Salad

An Outstanding Antipasto Pasta Salad! All the wonderful rich flavors of regular Antipasto, pasta, meats, cheese and homemade dressing in one great summer time pasta salad! Great for feeding a crowd!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Calories 396 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bag small pasta shells
  • 1 cup diced hard salami
  • 1 cup diced pepperoni
  • 1 cup diced Provolone Cheese
  • 1 cup shredded or grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/2 cup diced Asiago cheese optional
  • 3/4 cup sliced black olives
  • 3/4 cup diced Roma Tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup diced mild yellow red or orange peppers
  • 1 tablespoon diced fresh basil optional
  • 1 1/2 cups Kraft Sun Dried Tomato dressing can substitute any Italian dressing
  • 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Fill a large pot half way full with water and bring to boil. Add small pasta shells. Cook Pasta till Al Dente. Drain, rinse, and cool.
  • In a large bowl add your diced meats, cheeses, olives, tomatoes, peppers, basil and cooled pasta.
  • In a glass liquid measuring cup add the Balsamic Vinegar to the Sun Dried Tomato dressing. Pour over all the salad ingredients. Mix till well blended and everything is coated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and Chill for at least 3 hours.
  • You may need to add additional dressing right before serving as the Al Dente Pasta will soak up a lot of the dressing while chilling.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 396kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 16gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 1186mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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