If there's one pasta salad you'll want to make over and over all summer, it will be this easy Antipasto Pasta Salad with tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette. Made with all your favourite snacky bits, mixed up in a beautiful dressing, this is the salad you'll want to take to every cook-out.
This salad is just made for summer eating. It's packed with all kinds of little morsels of savory goodness, from cherry tomatoes and olives, to capers and little piquant peppers. It's robust enough to stand up to a bit travelling, which makes it the perfect recipe for taking to BBQs or picnics, or even as part of a packed lunch out on the lake or to the beach.
If you're a fan of pasta salads, but want something packed with veggies, check out my Mediterranean Risoni Salad with Pesto (Orzo Salad. Plus if you're heading out to a BBQ or picnic, why not take one of these delicious dips along: Dill Pickle Hummus or this Whipped Tofu Feta!
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🫒Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this delicious Antipasti Pasta Salad.
- Short Pasta of Choice : I like to use penne or orecchiette, or my current favourite (pictured) casarecce.
- Fresh Herbs: I like to use fresh parsley as it's fresh and quite robust. If I was serving this salad immediately then fresh basil is also delicious.
- Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes for their sweetness and flavor.
- Semi-dried cherry tomatoes (or sun-dried tomatoes are also great).
- Mini pickled sweet peppers, the ones with a little kick of heat!
- Pitted olives (kalamata olives are my favourite, however green olives or any other black olives which tickle your fancy)
- Marinated artichoke hearts: I particularly love the ones in the oil with Italian seasoning.
- Plant-Based Deli meat of choice! I like vegan chorizo or pastrami slices from Squeaky Bean (UK) or pepperoni or salami from field roast or tofurky (USA) but choose your favourite!
- Capers: the ones that come in brine for a little extra salty kick.
- Spring onions (also known as scallions or green onions)
- Vegan Feta Cheese: crumbled up.
- Balsamic Vinegar: this adds a lovely sweet tang to the dressing and other salty flavors.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A decent dressing quality oil.
- Dijon Mustard: for the vinaigrette.
- A clove of garlic: also for the vinaigrette dressing.
- Flakey Sea Salt to taste.
See recipe card for quantities and the substitutions and variations section for alternative ideas.
👩🍳Instructions
Before you start, boil the pasta in plenty of water according to the package directions until al dente. Don't over cook the pasta!
1 & 2: Finely mince the garlic, then mix up the balsamic vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and dijon mustard.
3. Drain the cooked pasta and refresh under cold water. Add half the dressing and toss. Leave aside while you get on with the other ingredients.
4. Chop the spring onions, artichokes, and cherry tomatoes into small pieces. Crumble the feta cheese and chop the deli 'meat'.
5. Put the cooled pasta onto a large bowl, then add all the chopped ingredients and herbs. Toss with more dressing and sprinkle over some extra feta cheese. Serve.
Hint: Make sure to dress the pasta immediately after rinsing it in cool water. This allows some of the dressing to absorb into the pasta making every bite more delicious.
🌶️Substitutions & Variations
Here are some delicious alternatives you can make for this antipasto pasta salad recipe:
- Gluten-Free - choose your favorite gluten-free pasta. (Tip- some gluten-free pasta isn't great cold, so definitely do a test run and choose one that stays soft)
- Other Classic Antipasto ingredients - choose (vegan) hard salami, chunks of vegan parmesan cheese or fresh mozzarella.
- Other veggies - such as chopped red peppers or red onions, broccoli florets or celery. As long as they're chopped into bite-sized pieces you can get as creative as you like!
- Other dressings- homemade italian dressing is lovely, or replace the balsamic vinegar with red wine vinegar or lemon in my dressing recipe.
- A little spice- Add freshly cracked black pepper or a good shake of red pepper flakes to the dressing.
🔪Equipment
You'll need a large pot of salted water to cook the pasta in, as well as a colander to drain the pasta. Don't forget a good sharp knife for chopping all the ingredients as well as a large bowl for mixing.
🫙Storage
This salad is quite robust and as long as you store it in an airtight container in the fridge, it should be good for 3-5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Top tip
Share something here that you think is key to making this recipe well, such as: Don't overcook the burgers! Sear the outside and cook to a minimum internal temperature, but they should still be juicy for best results.
❓FAQ
Antipasto (antipasti is the plural) is the the first course of the meal in Italy. It's often small dishes or a platter of cured meats, pickles and olives, along with some fresh vegetables or bruschetta.
More Pasta
Love pasta? Try some of my other vegan pasta recipes.
Fresh Salads
Delicious salads bursting with flavor:
📖 Recipe
Antipasto Pasta Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 1 Serving Bowl
- 1 Jar to shake the salad dressing. Or a small bowl.
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
For the salad
- 500 g (1 lb) short pasta
- 50 g (⅕ cups) vegan deli meat
- 25 g (3 tablespoon) capers
- 100 g (1 cups) cherry tomatoes
- 100 g (½ cups) marinated artichokes
- 100 g (1 cups) Semi-dried tomatoes
- 100 g (¾ cups) pitted calamata olives
- 50 g (⅓ cups) mini sweet chilli peppers (or other herbs)
- 50 g (¼ cups) fresh parsley
- 100 g (⅔ cups) vegan feta cheese
Dressing
- 60 ml (⅙ cups) balsamic vinegar
- 30 ml apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 50 ml (⅕ cups) olive oil
- ½ tsp flakey sea salt
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions in plenty of salted water.500 g short pasta
- Prepare all the antipasti ingredients by chopping them into small bite sized pieces (if necessary). Crumble the vegan feta.50 g vegan deli meat, 100 g cherry tomatoes, 100 g marinated artichokes, 100 g vegan feta cheese, 100 g Semi-dried tomatoes
- Drain the pasta and rinse in cold water.
- While the pasta is still warm, toss it in half the dressing
- Finish the salad by tossing all the vegetables, herbs and antipasto ingredients into the salad and adding the rest of the dressing.25 g capers, 100 g pitted calamata olives, 50 g mini sweet chilli peppers, 50 g fresh parsley
- Scatter more herbs and vegan feta on top to serve.
Make the dressing:
- Finely chop or grate the garlic.1 clove garlic
- Add the garlic to a jar or bowl and add balsamic vinegar Leave to steep for a few minutes to remove the heat from the garlic.
- Mix up the rest of the dressing ingredients and taste. Add more salt or sugar to taste.
Notes
- Gluten-Free - choose your favorite gluten-free pasta. (Tip- some gluten-free pasta isn't great cold, so definitely do a test run and choose one that stays soft)
- Other Classic Antipasto ingredients - choose (vegan) hard salami, chunks of vegan parmesan cheese or fresh mozzarella.
- Other veggies - such as chopped red peppers or red onions, broccoli florets or celery. As long as they're chopped into bite-sized pieces you can get as creative as you like!
- Other dressings- homemade italian dressing is lovely, or replace the balsamic vinegar with red wine vinegar or lemon in my dressing recipe.
- A little spice- Add freshly cracked black pepper or a good shake of red pepper flakes to the dressing.
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