Zesty Italian Pasta Salad is fresh, healthy, and colorful with rotini pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, onion, and mini mozzarella pearls! It's perfect for everything from a quick family dinner to a vegetarian potluck. This Easy Pasta Salad is veggie-packed and way better than the box.
Make it with my homemade Zesty Italian Dressing.
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad is the perfect balance of delicious and hearty pasta and healthy fresh veggies. In fact, this Cold Pasta Salad just might be the exact easy salad you've been looking for to make for everything from a fast vegetarian summer dinner or to take to a potluck. It's healthy and oh so delicious.
Sure you could make a box or pasta salad, or pick up some at the deli but if you want something healthier with more pizzaz... this is it! The colorful and vibrant vegetables, fresh mozzarella balls, fresh herbs, and homemade Zesty Italian Dressing bring this summer pasta salad to another level. It's a surprising, vibrant, and FRESH twist on the classic dish.
I firmly believe that everyone needs a recipe like this that they can pull out and make in the pinch and this is mine. This is the kind of recipe you bring to a party and everyone asks you for the recipe! It's that good!
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Share on XWhy You'll Love this Zesty Italian Pasta Salad...
- My Zesty Italian Pasta Salad is customizable. You can make it with the vegetables I included, or use your favorites- what you have on hand.
- It's equally as good at a picnic or a family weeknight dinner. You can serve it as a vegetarian main course or a side dish.
- It's easy to double or triple for a crowd.
- It stores well for leftovers.
- They are a ton of veggies in it to balance out the pasta making it a healthy pasta salad.
- It's a perfect hearty vegetarian meal!
Ingredients:
Here's an overview of the ingredients you'll need to make my Zesty Italian Pasta Salad but keep reading for amounts and the printable recipe.
- Pasta: You can use whatever type of short pasta you like for this but I prefer the rotini because that's what you expect with a classic pasta salad like this. Tri-color rotini is fun too. The dressing catches and holds in the pasta and I like that it's familiar. If you want to mix it up though bowtie, fusilli, penne, or macaroni are also great choices. I like to use protein-enriched pasta to get the most health benefits from my meals. You can also use whole grain pasta.
- Tomatoes: I like to use grape or cherry tomatoes, whichever is fresher. To prepare them to cut them in half.
- Yellow Pepper: To get lots of color into my healthy pasta salad I use a yellow bell pepper. Chop it into small bites to prepare it.
- Red Pepper: I also like to use chopped red pepper. Red bell pepper is full of color and vitamins.
- Cucumber: Fresh summer cucumber that's crisp is perfect for this dish. I like to cut mine into half moon thin slices.
- Red Onion: Use a small amount of red onion chopped in small pieces to give the dish some depth of flavor.
- Black Olives: Black olives are a classic addition to pasta salad, if they aren't your thing just leave them off. This dish is good with or without them.
- Fresh Mozzarella: I like to use mini fresh mozzarella pearls because of how they look. If you can't find them you can dice regular fresh mozzarella or even a block of regular mozzarella.
- Parmesan: Some grated parmesan gives this dish that classic flavor for an Italian Pasta Salad.
- Parsley: Fresh herbs bring this basic dish to life! I like to use fresh chopped parsley.
- Zesty Italian Dressing: You'll need a hearty dose of your favorite Zesty Italian Dressing. Use storebought OR really make your pasta salad sing with my homemade Zesty Italian Dressing that's made with my Italian Spice Mix, olive oil, red pepper flakes, white wine vinegar, lemon, and garlic.
Directions:
Keep reading for my complete printable recipe for Zesty Italian Pasta Salad.
- In a large pot of water, boil the pasta according to package directions using salted water. Once cooked, rinse and drain the pasta with cold water to cool it off.
- While the pasta is cooking prep and chop your tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, onion, and parsley.
- If you are making your dressing, follow my instructions for my Zesty Italian Dressing.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cooked and cooled pasta, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, onion, black olives, mozzarella pearls, parmesan, and parsley. Pour the Zesty Italian Dressing on top. Toss well.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- If serving later, add some extra dressing before serving because the pasta will soak it up.
Variations
I love this Zesty Italian Pasta Salad recipe, but here are a few fun variations. This recipe is customizable and can be tweaked to so many tastes and diets. It's also a good one to make to clear out whatever veggies you happen to have in the fridge.
- Mix Up the Vegetables: You can use so many different types of vegetables in this cold pasta salad. A few fun ones to add are broccoli, pepperoncini, or zucchini.
- Mix Up the Herbs: Add more fresh herbs to this like fresh basil!
- Add Beans: A great way to add some plant-based protein to this is to add white beans or garbanzo beans (chickpeas.)
- Add Meat: If you aren't vegetarian, you can add chopped salami, mini pepperoni, or even chicken.
- Make it a Tuna Pasta Salad: Add a can of drained tuna.
- Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free pasta.
- Make it Vegan & Dairy Free: Leave out the parmesan and mozzarella balls. Sub beans and nutritional yeast.
FAQ
Can I make Zesty Italian Pasta Salad ahead of time?
Yes! If you do make the Zesty Italian Pasta Salad ahead of time add some extra dressing before serving because the pasta can soak up all of the dressing and it can be a bit dried out. You can also only make it with half of the dressing and put the other half in just before serving.
How do I store it?
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.
How do I keep it from drying out?
There is not much you can do to prevent it from drying out but to bring it back to life add some extra dressing before serving.
What if I don't want to make my own dressing? What is an excellent store-bought Zesty Italian Dressing?
I get it. I'm busy too... I like this Zesty Italian Dressing for busy days. You can also always go with the classic Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing. If you are looking for that familiar flavor that comes from the box, that's where it is at!
This Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Recipe is Versatile and Delicious!
You seriously can't go wrong with this Zesty Italian Pasta Salad. It's so versatile and delicious making it a perfect meal for summer. I love making this for a family cookout or even a quick weeknight meal. I feel good with this healthy meal because it's packed with all sorts of yummy vegetables.
I know you will love it too. As always, I'd love to hear what you think.
I think this is a great dish served as a vegetarian main course or a side dish! Here are some fun ideas to round out your meal.
Serve it With:
- Portobello Mushroom Burger
- Pineapple Shrimp Skewers
- Salmon Foil Packets with Rainbow Veggies
- Easy BBQ Shrimp Skewers
- Black Bean Burgers
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Share on X
More Healthy Pasta Salad Recipes to Try:
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Bruschetta Pasta Salad
- Healthy Macaroni Salad
- Crab Pasta Salad
- Kale Caesar Pasta Salad
- Tex Mex Pasta Salad
- Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad
If you make this Zesty Italian Pasta Salad recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!
Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dry rotini pasta
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups cucumber, sliced
- ½ cup red onion, chopped
- ¼ cup black olives, sliced
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 1 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to package instructions using salted water. Once cooked, rinse the pasta with cold water to cool it off.
- While the pasta is cooking prep and chop your tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, onion, and parsley.
- If you are making your dressing, follow my instructions for my Zesty Italian Dressing.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cooked and cooled pasta, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, onion, black olives, mozzarella pearls, parmesan, parsley, and Zesty Italian Dressing.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for later:
Claire says
This was delicious! I made it for a family Sunday afternoon and saved the leftovers for lunch in the week.
So easy to make and full of flavor, we were really impressed. Going to try it again with some grilled chicken 🙂
Mimi says
Such a yummy dish, I need to give it a go, it be perfect to carry for lunch at work
Nadalie says
There's something about Italian pasta that makes it irresistible! This looks really AWESOME!
Stephanie Honikel says
Love Italian food. This salad looks mighty delicious. Can't wait to try!
Harmony, Momma To Go says
Perfect summer salad! I love loading up all the veggies. I need new dressing recipes, gotta try it! I think I would love this salad as is.
Natalie says
Look at all these colors, I am loving it already! Salads are almost all that I can eat during these hot days, thanks!
Amber Myers says
This looks like a delicious pasta salad. I am excited to try it out!