We love how dang EASY this Gluten-free Italian Pasta Salad is! If you want an easy summer side or main dish that is delicious without a lot of work – you’ve found it. Such a flavorful dish that comes together quickly. Perfect to take to a summer potluck or bbq, or for just an easy lunch or dinner option.
It packs and travels beautifully. For more make-ahead ideas, check out my roundup of Whole30 cold lunches.
Why We Love This Gluten-free Italian Pasta Salad
First, we love how quick and easy it is to make! Simply boil some pasta, dice some veggies, and toss with dressing. WOOT for easy nourishing options!
Second, this salad is allergen-friendly. Not only is it gluten-free, it’s also dairy-free, nut-free, with Paleo, vegan, and Keto options. So nice to have a dish that works for whoever is coming to your bbq!
Third, it stays good in the fridge for up to a week. Make a batch at the beginning of the week and eat it for lunch through out – perfect for meal prep! Or, if you are going to or hosting an event, make it ahead of time for less stress the day-of.
Finally, we love how incredibly flavorful this dish is. I’ll say it – I don’t love pasta. It just doesn’t excite me. I also don’t love olives or pepperoncini that are in this salad. But, the combination of flavors in this dish is spot on perfection!
Ingredients
- Pasta – Choose a pasta that works for your dietary needs. Need a Paleo and grain-free pasta? Use a cassava flour pasta such as Jovial Cassava Flour Pasta. Just need a gluten-free pasta? We love Banza pasta, which you can find at Walmart. It is made from chickpeas and has an added 11g of protein per serving. I also recommend Banza if you are making this pasta salad vegan, as it will add a plant-based protein boost.
- Tomatoes – You can use 1 cup diced tomatoes of your choice or 10 oz grape or cherry tomatoes. I prefer my tomatoes diced, but you do you!
- Cucumber
- Green bell pepper – Can sub another bell pepper of a different color, if desired.
- Olives – Sliced black olives like these ones.
- Pepperocini – Don’t skip the flavor of these peppers in your salad! I don’t love them on their own, but they are perfect in this salad. I get mine in a jar in the salad aisle of most grocery stores, like these at Walmart.
- Fresh basil – I use dried herbs whenever I can for budget reasons. But, this is a time when the fresh herbs are a must!
- Red onion
- Deli meat – Use 1 pound combination of ham, prosciutto, salami, or pepperoni. I love using Applegate Ham, pepperoni, or salami. Need a plant-based or vegan option? Use two cans of drained and rinsed chickpeas instead!
- Dressing – Save money by making your own EASY Italian Dressing (recipe below). Or, if you want a store-bought version, Primal Kitchen has one that is Paleo and Whole30 compatible.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
- While pasta is cooking, chop the veggies. I prefer my veggies chopped small, chopped salad style. Add all the ingredients except the pasta and dressing to a large bowl.
- Make dressing if using the homemade dressing.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and cool. Once cool, add pasta to the large bowl. Add dressing and stir until well combined.
- Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Other Salads You Will Love
Need more whole-food salads? Here are some of our favorites, all of which are gluten-free + dairy-free!
- Street Corn Pasta Salad
- Whole30 Broccoli Salad
- Whole30 Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Paleo + Gluten-free Italian Pasta Salad
- Chipotle Copycat Whole30 Salad Bowl
- Easy Whole30 Kale Salad
Gluten-free Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounces gluten-free pasta we love Banza pasta, cooked and cooled
- 2 large roma tomatoes finely diced (about 1 cup diced); or 6 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium cucumber finely chopped, about 1 1/2-2 cups
- 1 medium green bell pepper stem and seeds removed and finely chopped, about 1 cup
- 0.5 ounces fresh basil finely chopped, about 8-10 leaves
- 2.25 ounces black sliced olives
- 1/2 medium red onion finely chopped or thinly sliced, about 1 cup
- 1 cup jarred sliced peperoncini chopped
- 1/2 pound pepperoni finely chopped, see notes
- 1/2 pound deli ham finely chopped, see notes
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
- While pasta is cooking, chop the veggies. I prefer my veggies chopped small, chopped salad style. Add all the ingredients except the pasta and dressing to a large bowl.
- Make dressing if using the homemade dressing.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and cool. Once cool, add pasta to the large bowl. Add dressing and stir until well combined. Add additional dressing to taste, if desired.
- Keep cold in the fridge until ready to serve. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
Nutrition
Whole30 Italian Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium jar, such as a mason jar. Whisk to combine and serve. Yup, that's it! I told you it was easy ; ).
How much dressing do you use for this? I know it says to add additional to taste, but how much did you start with? Thank you!
So sorry, somehow that got taken out. It is a half-cup dressing, and then you can always add more to taste, but usually half a cup is plenty for me. If you use the homemade version, you will only need half a batch, or you’ll just have leftovers. Enjoy!
Delicious and easy as always – he dressing is great for everything too!
So glad you enjoyed it—and yes, that dressing really is a total all-purpose winner! Thanks so much for the kind review!
Anyone make this with gluten free pasta? How was it after being chilled. My experience is gf pasta gets hard when chilled and generally falls apart the next day. If you had a better experience I would love to know what gluten free pasta you used because this looks delicious. Thanks!
Great question! I’ve only used Banza, as that works well for us and is high in protein. But, I asked this question on Instagram and here’s some of the community recommendations: Jovial, Barilla, Rumo, and Trader Joe’s. Regardless of what pasta you use, be sure to cook it only to al dente – which will help immensely with it holding it’s shape over the week. Enjoy!
The only kind of gf pasta I use is Ronzoni. And I’ve never had any issues with it falling apart the next day.
Thanks for weighing in on a pasta you love and that has worked well! Great to know.
Made this recipe last weekend. My husband LOVED it. Used the rest for lunches during the week. Just made again today for his lunches. He works from home and I could hear him at the table saying…man this pasta is so good! Haha! So I say it’s a hit!
YES! This is such a great one to make and eat from throughout the week. Perfect for lunches and meal prep. Wonderful that it was such a hit with your hubby! Thank you for the review.
If I could give more than five stars I absolutely would! I made this for the first time recently, and it was delicious! My whole family absolutely loved it. I used turkey, pepperoni, and ham for the meat. If I made it again, I wouldn’t change a thing.
That’s the kind of review that makes my day—thank you! So glad your whole family enjoyed it, and that meat combo sounds perfect. Really appreciate you taking the time to share!
How much fresh basil?
Great catch, thanks for asking that! 8-10 leaves, finely chopped. I added that to the recipe. Enjoy!
This pastas salad is a family favorite! Everyone loves it and it’s sooo easy to make!
YESSS that this was a quick family favorite! Agreed, super simple to make and glad it was enjoyed by all. Thank you for the review!
This was amazing! I love pasta salad, but haven’t made it in forever. Delicious! This is coming with us to a 4th of July party this week.
YAY! I’m glad you tried and loved this one. Such a great make and take dish to any event. I hope everyone there loves it too. Thank you!
My husband loves pasta salad, I’m not as big of a fan. However, after trying this recipe I am now! It was absolutely perfect I made it just like the recipe including the homemade dressing and it was absolutely perfect. It reminds me of supreme pizza which before my diagnosis was a fav of mine, I went back for seconds!! Thank you for such simple and delicious recipes. This is going to be on repeat this summer.
WAHOO! I’m so glad that this one won you over, even as a non-pasta salad lover. Hooray that it’s an easy one you want on repeat! Thank you so much for the review.
Thank you for this great recipe Autumn! I made it for a family get-together and it did not disappoint!
I’m so glad it was a hit! It’s awesome when there’s an easy dish that works for a crowd. Thank you for the review!