Italian Chop Pasta Salad. – Half Baked Harvest

Homemade Italian Chop Pasta Salad. Creamy Italian dressing tossed together with pasta, assorted deli meats, plenty of sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella, cubes of provolone cheese, and shaved parmesan. YUM! This easy salad will surely become a staple in your kitchen this spring and summer! It comes together quickly and with very little effort. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch. Or serve it up at your next spring/summer party, it’s always delicious.

As we head deeper into spring and inch closer to Easter, I’ve really been trying to up my salad game. I’ve created fresh chopped salads, pasta salads, and yummy chicken salads, too. And we are loving them!

This is my Italian chopped salad, but made with pasta to make it that much better. This is so delicious!

OK, let me back up a little to my very first Italian salad experience. My aunt Katie brought an Italian pasta salad to a family party back in Cleveland. That salad inspired me to create the salad I’m sharing today.

The salad had everything a classic Italian chop salad usually has. So assorted deli meats, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, tomatoes, olives, and then, of course, a creamy Italian dressing. It was so good!

When I remembered that night, I instantly recognized that I should recreate that salad. It sounded so yummy, and I knew it would be really great for Easter this weekend! It’s totally something my Nonnie would have served at her Easter dinner too, so I love all the family connections.

Here are the details

Step 1: make the dressing

This dressing is full of so many delicious ingredients. First, olive oil, and then either balsamic or red wine vinegar. Even though balsamic is more traditionally used in Greek cooking, I love how the vinegar works in this Italian-style dressing too.

Then, lemon juice and a bit of tahini. I use the tahini to make the dressing creamy. If you’re opposed to tahini, I would try mayo. That will be great too!

Finish with a drizzle of honey, a shallot, garlic, dried oregano and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 2: cook the pasta and toss the salad

Next, boil off your favorite shortcut pasta. Add the steaming pasta to a big bowl. Then, while it’s still hot, toss the pasta with the dressing.

Tossing the pasta with the dressing while it’s still hot helps intensify the flavors. Make sure the dressing coats each noodle.

Step 3: everything goes in

The final step is to toss all the remaining ingredients in: thinly sliced salami, cubes of pepperoni, mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan cheese. I love to add cherry tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes, too. I think the mix of fresh and dried really adds something special—a great variety of texture and flavor.

Now, salty olives – these are a must, followed by red bell peppers, pepperoncini, and fresh basil.

If you have them or can easily find them, I will sometimes add arugula sprouts too!

Now do you see why I love this salad? It’s a great chopped Italian salad, only made better with fresh pasta!

I’m excited for you all to make this—it’s a yummy one! Plus, it’s really easy to mix together, so we, of course, love that, too!