Salami Pasta Salad

Summertime meals might mean a weekend barbecue, a family gathering, or simply some satisfying food. One of the most versatile dishes you can make is a pasta salad. Its a terrific side with anything grilled, and perfect for a potluck.

Pasta salads have many variations, and this one is for the salami lovers out there! Filled with chunks of salami, fresh veggies, and cheese, its a fantastic side but also a terrific light lunch the next day. (assuming you are lucky enough to have leftovers)

You can also vary the ingredients to suit your needs, which makes it the best kind of recipe to have on hand!

🥘 Ingredients Needed

🔪How to Make this Salami Pasta Salad

The only thing you need to cook for this salad is the pasta. I use radiatore pasta, but have also use rotini when radiatore is not available. The dressing is creamy, so I like the "ruffles" that help trap that flavor onto the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare your other ingredients. Chop the veggies and salami into nice bite-sized chunks.

Speaking of salami, try to find a good-quality salami for this. I like the kind that's sold in about a 7 ounce size, in a tube shaped casing. My favorite is labeled dry salami, but I've also used soprassata with success. Just find one with a flavor you like.

When the pasta has cooked per the package directions to "firm", remove and drain, then rinse or immerse in with cool water to stop the cooking. Allow to drain fully.

To a large mixing bowl, add the mayo, Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese. Mix these well to make the dressing.

Add the cooked and cooled pasta to the bowl.

Now add the rest of the salad ingredients to the bowl: salami, bell pepper, zucchini, green onions, black olives, and fresh mozzarella.

Stir the salad well to bring the dressing up from the bottom and evenly distribute it on all the ingredients.

Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least one hour to allow the flavors to develop.

Serving Suggestions

Once you try this Salami Pasta Salad, you'll find all kinds of ways to serve it! Here are a few of my favorites:

Definitely with anything grilled! Burgers or bratwurst, but also a nice pork tenderloin or barbecue chicken. They all benefit by having a terrific side!

Air fryer foods are a great match as well. You can make the pasta salad early in the day, then make some air fryer chicken wings or ham and cheese sliders. Or you can make some honey sriracha chicken wings in either the oven or air fryer. What a wonderful meal!

And, when I'm feeding just the two us, there are always lots of this pasta salad left over. But with all the salami and cheese in it, this pasta salad makes a terrific light lunch for the next couple of days!

📖 Variations

The beauty of a pasta salad is how easy it is to adapt to your personal preference. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Salami - as I stated earlier, I've used dry salami and soprassata in this salad and enjoyed it every time. Find a salami with flavors you like. Or, to make it vegetarian, you can skip the salami altogether.
• Veggies - I love the zucchini in this, but cucumber would be yummy too. I also think yellow bell pepper would be good, but wouldn't have quite the same pop of color as the red.
• Cheese - I initially made this with just 4 ounces of mozzarella, until my cheese loving family starting adding in extra cheese to their portions. Any mild cheese will work here. 😁

Storage

Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days. Pasta tends to absorb the dressing with time, so you might want to add a splash of Italian dressing to help freshen it up, as needed.

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