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Flavorful Vegetarian Italian Pasta Salad Jar is loaded with fresh veggies, savory olives, and delicious mozzarella pearls. Everything gets dressed in a light, homemade Italian vinaigrette for a wonderful explosion of flavors. Assembled in a jar, it makes the perfect grab-n-go lunch or dinner that’s easy to customize.
This Italian pasta salad is the ultimate make-ahead for lunch or dinner! It’s hearty with lots of color and texture, and everything can be prepped in a jar for easy storage and a convenient grab-n-go option.
You’ll find everything you could ever want in this salad recipe! There’s a variety of fresh, crisp veggies, juicy cherry tomatoes, tender bowtie pasta, creamy balls of mozzarella cheese, and plenty of savory elements from the olives and banana peppers. Take one bite and you’ll be hooked!
Why you should make this recipe
- Super tasty: This Italian pasta salad is loaded with bold flavors, freshness, and lots of different textures. It’s a crowd pleaser and you’re sure to love it!
- Simple to make: This recipe is quick and easy to put together, and you can have 6 salad jars ready in under 30 minutes.
- Great for meal prep: Storing salad in a glass jar keeps it fresher for longer, and having everything packed together in a jar makes for easy, ready-to-go lunches. Prep this recipe on Sunday and have 6 salads to enjoy throughout the week.
- Versatile: Serve this as a hearty side dish or go all-out with your portion and have it as a main. Alternatively, toss it together in one large bowl for taking to parties and potlucks.
Ingredients needed
This easy Italian pasta salad recipe is all about the delicious mix-ins. We’re packing in fresh veggies, plus lots of fun additions like banana peppers and mozzarella balls! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Pasta: Any short pasta will work! Great options include bowtie (farfalle) fusilli, penne, or rotini.
- Veggies: We’re loading this with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, spinach (or arugula), and red onion.
- Mix-ins: To add major flavor and texture, you’ll mix in Kalamata olives, banana peppers, and mozzarella pearls for creamy, savory goodness.
- For the dressing: Mix olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, honey, dried oregano, dried basil, salt and pepper for a light Italian dressing.
How to make this recipe
- First, Boil the pasta: First, cook the pasta. Follow the cooking instructions according to the package directions. Do not overcook the pasta.
- Next, drain & rinse the noodles: Then, you will drain the pasta and rinse it in cold water until the pasta is fully cooled. Set aside.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl add all the dressing ingredients. Set aside. You may make the dressing a day ahead.
- Finally, assemble the salad: Set up 6 Quart size mason jars. Divide the dressing evenly into the 6 jars. Next, add cucumbers, onions, mozzarella, tomato, pasta, olives, banana peppers, and spinach accordingly.
- Store & serve: Next, cover the jars and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days. When you’re ready to serve, shake a couple of times, remove from the fridge pour over a bowl and serve.
Expert Tips
- Layering the salad: It’s important to layer the ingredients in a way that they don’t get soggy. Add the dressing at the bottom, followed by crunchy veggies, cheese, pasta, and greens at the top.
- Dressing: The homemade vinaigrette is super easy to mix up and adds the perfect tang, but feel free to swap it out with about 1 cup of your favorite bottled Italian dressing.
- Dietary restrictions: Make this salad dairy-free and vegan by omitting the cheese. Also, if you woild like a gluten-free version, you can use gluten-free pasta.
Frequently asked questions
Use any pasta of your choice to make this pasta salad recipe. We recommend a short pasta, like farfalle (or bowtie), fusilli, rotini or cavatappi. Spiral-shaped pasta are perfectly designed for pasta salad because all the curves catch the dressing.
To keep your pasta salad from becoming soggy, cook the pasta just until al dente (Italian for “to the tooth,” meaning your noodles should be firm, chewy, and fork-tender).
Yes, you should definitely rinse your pasta if you are making a cold pasta salad. Rinse the pasta with cold water to stop it from cooking further even after you have drained it. Also, removing the starchy liquid on the noodles will keep them from becoming sticky and mushy.
Storage recommendations
Store the pasta salad in a 16-ounce to 32-ounce mason jar or meal prep container for up to about 5 days. Because it’s difficult to create the layers in a meal prep container, we recommend storing the dressing separately and adding it right before serving, if using something other than a jar for storage. Simply pour the salad out from the jar into a bowl or onto a plate to enjoy it, or mix it upright in your meal prep container.
More salad recipes
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
- Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Italian Kale Salad Jar
- Vegetarian Cobb Salad Jar
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Vegetarian Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb bowtie pasta, or pasta of choice
- 2/3 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
- 1/3 cup sliced Kalamata olives
- 5 ounces cherry tomatoes , sliced
- 1 cup sliced banana peppers
- 8 ounces mozzarella pearls
- 2 cups chopped spinach or arugula
- 1 cup finely diced red onion
Dressing:
- ⅔ cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, or rice Vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
- First, cook the pasta. Follow the cooking instructions according to the package directions. Do not overcook the pasta.
- Then, you will drain the pasta and rinse it in cold water until the pasta is fully cooled. Set aside.
- In a small bowl add all the dressing ingredients. Set aside. You may make the dressing a day ahead.
- Set up 6 Quart size mason jars.
- Divide the dressing evenly into the 6 jars. Next add cucumbers, onions, mozzarella, tomato, pasta, olives, banana peppers, and spinach accordingly.
- Cover the jars and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- When ready to serve, shake a couple of times, remove from the fridge and pour over a bowl and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is so good