Rainbow Antipasto Pasta Salad
Dec 14, 2023, Updated Oct 16, 2024
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Pasta salad is an easy and delicious staple side dish for barbeques or dinners--especially during the warmer months of the year. For this recipe, I’ve taken inspiration from everyone’s favourite starter: the antipasto platter! This rainbow antipasto pasta salad is packed with meat, cheese, and fresh veggies so no bite tastes the same, but every mouthful is delicious!
Love the bright flavours of Italian cuisine? You'll also enjoy these recipes for Mediterranean stuffed tomatoes and scallop pasta with cherry tomatoes.
It’s bright, it’s light, it's packed full of flavour...it’s my rainbow antipasto pasta salad! this colourful dish will certainly be a great accompaniment for your Christmas lunch (here in Australia) or summer barbeques (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere), but it can also be a stand alone meal.
Ingredients
This rainbow antipasto pasta salad is packed with meat, cheese, and veg, but there's a few ingredients I added that give it some kick and make it stand out. Let me tell you about these key ingredients.
- Garlic Confit: It wouldn’t be a Mediterranean inspired meal of mine if it didn’t involve some garlic confit! This time, we’re using it in the salad dressing. If you don't have garlic confit on hand and don't have time to make some, using fresh garlic works as well.
- Dijon Mustard: This adds a delightful hint of horseradish to the dressing.
- Salami: I’ve included salami in this, but this could also be swapped out for vegetarians. Or, if salami isn’t your thing, prosciutto or mortadella would also work!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Have extra basil pesto on hand? Try adding some to the dressing or using it place of the garlic confit dressing if you're in a hurry.
- Want to make it spicy? Add some red pepper flakes or spicy paprika to the dressing.
- Make this vegetarian by omitting the salami.
- Make this vegan by replacing the salami with a vegan protein source (like chickpeas) or roasted mushrooms, using agave nectar instead of honey in the dressing, and using vegan feta cheese.
How to Make Rainbow Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Cook the garlic confit for the dressing in the oven. Meanwhile, grab all the veggies and meat for the salad and chop them into bite-sized pieces for easy eating.
- Toss the salad ingredients together until they're well combined, then set aside. Mash the confit cloves into a paste, then whisk it with the reserved oil from the confit and the remaining dressing ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the package instructions, then drain it well and rinse under cold water. Let it cool slightly, then toss it with the salad and the dressing, and garnish with feta cheese.
- Serve the rainbow antipasto pasta salad warm or cold along with your other favourite dishes for a barbeque or warm-weather feast. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Pasta salad is a combination of cooked pasta, vegetables, cheese, and a dressing, and is typically served as a side dish. Antipasto, on the other hand, is an Italian appetizer that consists of cured meats, cheeses, olives, and vegetables served "charcuterie style" on a platter or as a salad, and sometimes accompanied with bread. The main difference is that antipasto does not include pasta.
You can use any type of pasta in this salad, but I prefer using a smaller, bite-sized shape such as orecchiette for this recipe.
Yes! This definitely keeps well. I would recommend dressing it just before serving though.
You can store the dressing in the fridge for up two weeks if it's sealed in an airtight container.
Serving Rainbow Antipasto Pasta Salad
This beautiful rainbow antipasto pasta salad would be an awesome side dish to accompany this chicken parma focaccia sandwich!
If you want to serve this with other warm-weather dishes (like at Christmas for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere), try it with my decadent brie potato bake, brown butter salmon, and these hot honey roasted carrots.
Expert Tips
- Try to chop all the ingredients roughly the same size to make the salad easy to eat. Likewise, use a smaller, bite-sized pasta shape that is similarly sized to the other ingredients.
- Short on time? Swap the garlic confit for 7 cloves of fresh minced garlic. You'll need less, since fresh garlic is much more pungent than the sweeter confit.
- Make the salad in advance if you'd like to serve it cold; simply refrigerate the ingredients and add the dressing right before serving.
- Add the feta right before serving the salad so the cheese doesn't fall apart.
Other Pasta Recipes You'll Love
Have questions or want to leave a review? Please do so below the recipe card! I always love answering your questions and hearing your feedback.
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Rainbow Antipasto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Garlic Confit Dressing
- 15 garlic cloves
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- flakey sea salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
For the Pasta Salad
- 18 ounces dried pasta, such as orchiette
- 3 ½ ounces artichoke hearts, chopped
- 3 ½ ounces green olives, pitted and crushed
- 7 ounces cherry tomatoes, sliced
- ½ cucumber, sliced
- 7 ounces roasted red peppers, sliced
- 3 ½ ounces semi sun dried tomatoes
- 7 ounces salami, sliced
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- fresh basil, sliced
- 3 ½ ounces feta, crumbled
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Instructions
Making the Garlic Confit Dressing
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 265°F (130°C).
- Peel Garlic: Separate all the cloves from the garlic bulbs and place them in a heatproof bowl. Cover them with boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain. The skins will become loose and easy to peel off.
- Bake Confit: Place the peeled garlic cloves into an ovenproof dish and cover with olive oil, making sure it's fully submerged in olive oil so it does not burn. Roast for 1 ½ to 2 hours. The oil will bubble slightly as it cooks.
- Mash: Separate the garlic cloves from the oil, then press the cloves with the back of a spoon until they turn into a paste.
- Whisk Dressing: Add the paste to a bowl with the reserved oil, and whisk it with the remaining dressing ingredients until it's well combined. Taste and ensure the dressing is to your liking, as it may require more sweetness or acidity.
Making the Pasta Salad
- Cook Pasta: Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, then cook the pasta following the cooking time on the packet. Drain and rinse the pasta under cold water and allow it to cool slightly.
- Assemble: Place all the ingredients into a large bowl except for the feta cheese. Pour in the dressing and mix well, then sprinkle the feta on top and gently mix through. Serve warm or cold.
Video
Notes
- Try to chop all the ingredients roughly the same size to make the salad easy to eat. Likewise, use a smaller, bite-sized pasta shape that is similarly sized to the other ingredients.
- Short on time? Swap the garlic confit for 7 cloves of fresh minced garlic. You'll need less, since fresh garlic is much more pungent than the sweeter confit.
- Make the salad in advance if you'd like to serve it cold; simply refrigerate the ingredients and add the dressing right before serving.
- Add the feta right before serving the salad so the cheese doesn't fall apart.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
There are few sides more refreshing and exciting than a beautiful pasta salad like this one! The addition of salami here is so appealing--and definitely would be one of my favourite ingredients. The garlic confit dressing sounds so simple to make, yet so tasty with the hints of Dijon and honey. This looks amazing, Daen!
I paired this with your focaccia recipe and it was absolutely delicious. In the end I was able to soak up the delicious juices of the pasta salad with foccaccia bread. IM IN LOVE!
That makes me so happy to hear! Such a delicious pairing!