Indulge in the Mediterranean charm of this Italian Pasta Salad, a vibrant and flavorful dish that captures the essence of Italy in every bite. Cold Penne pasta combined with fragrant basil leaves, mozzarella, tomatoes, and more. This is a simple dinner that everyone will love.

If you love pasta as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorite recipes like my Baked Feta Broccoli Pasta with Lemon, Caprese Pasta Salad, or my Butter Parmesan Pasta.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Bursting with sun-kissed cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, rich green olives, and fragrant basil leaves, each forkful offers you a taste of Italy. The pasta, dressed in a zesty Italian vinaigrette infused with extra virgin olive oil, oregano, and a hint of garlic, delivers a refreshing and satisfying meal.

Whether enjoyed as a light lunch or a side dish at gatherings, this Italian Pasta Salad is sure to be a hit with whoever you serve it to! Especially if you're having a party, this is a great dish as it makes a lot of servings. This easy Italian Pasta Salad is an easy and delicious recipe.

Tips for Italian Pasta Salad

• Make sure your noodles are cooked and cooled before making this salad. You can even prep and cook them the night before and store in an airtight container in the fridge. That makes this salad really easy to prep the next day.

• You can even prep the dressing the day before as well. Just don't store it in the fridge as it will congeal. You can leave it out overnight if you'll be prepping this the next day. If storing for a longer period of time, store in the fridge – as this is a great dressing for lots of stuff!

• If you can't get the Organic Prairie Summer Sausage (1. you're missing out as it's amazing), but 2. you can use Italian Dry Salami in its place. I prefer the summer sausage as it's thicker so you can cut into small chunks that have more bang when eating it in a bite.

• You don't have to put all the dressing on the entire salad. When I make this I like to prepare everything, and then leave the basil and dressing off. When I want to make a bowl, I'll prepare a bowl of the salad, dress it, add fresh basil and salt and pepper at that time. Because it's just Delaney and me, whenever I make this we will eat this salad all week long so this makes it stay fresh longer.

Why go organic?

You may be wondering why I push organic ingredients for everything, even savory and healthy dishes. Organic ingredients go beyond just health and wellness, and contribute so much to the taste and flavor of a recipe. So, if you think that you're making something healthy and buying fruits, veggies, or meats so maybe you don't need to spend the extra to go organic here – let me sway your thinking.

Organic ingredients are made in a more pure way, therefore using no additives, no GMOs, and minimal ingredients. This really allows the true ingredients to shine – and because of that their flavor shines through. Therefore, organic ingredients are more flavorful than their non organic counterparts. So, just because it's already a healthy recipe, or you're already buying good for you ingredients – it doesn't mean you can skip organic! Trust me here, and make the switch. Your body and your taste buds will thank you!

So, I highly recommend that you buy the best organic ingredients for this recipe! You can also shop my Amazon Storefront for all my favorite organic ingredients here. Tip – hover over each ingredient to see the name. And if you want to learn more about organic foods and the difference, read my post here on Food Labels and What They Mean.