I first tried this antipasto salad recipe at a church picnic. I felt like my taste buds were in heaven. Sorry, couldn’t resist the pun. The lady who makes also worked at the high school cafeteria where my daughter went to school. She included this on the weekly menu. Brittany begged me to ask for the recipe. When I did I was told, “Ok, I usually make a batch for 300 people so you’ll need to cut it down.” After some trial and error, I developed this recipe for the best antipasto salad recipe ever.
The Best Antipasto Salad Recipe Ever
She also shared The Secret to making this salad taste so fresh and delicious is an ice bath. After removing the pasta from the stove and draining it, place it in a large bowl. Place the bowl in a bed of ice until it has completely cooled. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and then place the salad into the fridge until ready to serve. Tip: If you want a gluten free meal, substitute gluten free noodles. If you need dairy free, use a dairy free cheese, chopped into cubes.
Printable Recipe:
- Ingredients:
- 3 cups uncooked tricolor spiral pasta OR gluten free pasta
- 4 ounces provolone cheese, cubed OR Cheese substitute for dairy free
- 4 ounces sliced pepperoni, quartered
- 4 ounces hard salami, cubed
- 1 medium green pepper, diced
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 (16 ounces) bottle Italian Salad dressing
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and rinse in cold water. Place the bowl of pasta in ice until completely cooled. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, cheese, pepperoni, salami, green pepper, celery, onion, and tomatoes. Pour dressing over the pasta and mix to coat. Refrigerate for several hours until thoroughly chilled.
This is great for a light lunch or served as a dinner side dish. If you want to get creative, you can swap out the salad dressing for blue cheese salad dressing. It will give the salad a whole different taste!
Do you have a favorite pasta salad recipe that is always a hit? What is your favorite summer salad recipe?
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Church ladies always have the best recipes … but they’re not always willing to share! LOL I love the part about making a recipe for 300 … I’ve had that kind of recipe before and wow is it tough to resize it. I usually end up with enough to feed 40. sigh
Loving the sound of this antipasto salad…it looks absolutely delish! I know my family would love this too.
Oh my goodness. This is one awesome antipasto salad. I have to try that ice water bath for the pasta. It sure made the pasta look firmer.
Oh this look so yummy! The pepperoni is a really nice touch.
This is my kind of pasta salad. Loaded with my favorite ingredients.
YUM!! All of your ingredients sound so good in the salad. We never get tired of pasta salad and adding a bit of cheese and meat to it makes it a great lunch or light dinner.
Love cold pasta salad in summer. I give my kids so school lunch too! Oh this is my kind of treat. Pepperoni, salami, cheese. Yum. !
I love pasta salads, they are so easy to make for lunch! You have a great combination of flavors here, great job!
My daughter love this kind of salad for her school lunches. I often prepare this for her minus the onion.
Mmmm, I just love antipasto. I actually love pretty much anything with both pasta and pepperoni, but this is one of my faves, especially in the summer!
This looks like a fresh and cool salad recipe. I like the fact that the pasta is drained and iced for that taste of freshness. Need to try it out soon.
What a nice salad, like the idea of adding cold cuts must be really tasty and perfectly well balanced. Pasta is always a nice addition to any menu.
I would totally use gluten free pasta and make this. It looks delicious!
I am always looking for gluten free/dairy free recipes to try. This is sure to be a big hit in my house. It looks delicious and easy to make.
This does sound really good! This should be a really tasty one for cookouts and tailgates in the fall!
I love pasta dishes, we frequently make them for family occasions. My daughter loves salami, I need to try adding that into my pasta salad.
Interesting choice of ingredients. I’ll have to give this a try, we’re always up for a good salad.
Pasta is my absolute weakness. If I could, I would eat pasta everyday. I’m definitely going to have to try this recipe. It looks so good! The more pasta the better!
Oh, we eat a lot of pasta salad in the summer but I never thought to put cheese cubes in it. I bet that is a great addition.
Now this sounds delicious, I love the different items it includes pasta and pepperoni are definitely a favourite.
I love pasta salad! I always make mine the same way: tricolored pasta, chunks of cheese, black olive slices, chunks of pepperoni, and zesty Italian dressing. If they kids weren’t here, I’d add cucumbers and tomatoes, but they hate those.
How nice that she gave you the recipe and the secret tip of soaking the pasta in an ice bath. So cool
I like how this salad combines the familiar pasta salad and antipasto flavours – great way to mix up two favourites! delicious!
I have never made antipasto salad actually. I always thought the kids wouldn’t like it. This one recipe for antipasto salad though leads me to believe they would LOVE it. Looks different and yummy!
Wonderful how easy it is to make this type of recipe gluten and dairy free if needed. Fresh pasta salad is always a winner around my house.
Yum – the ice bath is definitely the way to go when making cold pasta salads. I love that you were able to cut the recipe down from feeding 300 people. I’m crazy about antipasto salads and this one does look like a winner!
Whoever invented the antipasto salad is a genius. I think it’s one of the best salads there is. Yours looks incredible.