Mediterranean pasta salad with antipasti

Our Mediterranean pasta salad tastes like pure summer. Aromatic antipasti, flavorful Parmesan, and roasted pine nuts meet perfectly cooked pasta. This Mediterranean pasta salad is ready in just 20 minutes, with a refreshing dressing and no mayonnaise.

We love to serve pasta with lots of vegetables, like in this Mediterranean pasta salad recipe. For a quick version, we use ready-made antipasti such as artichokes, peppers, tomatoes, and olives. This summery salad is completely mayonnaise-free. Instead, a quick dressing provides the Mediterranean flavor, using the oil from the antipasti. This is complemented by aromatic tomato purée and a splash of balsamic vinegar. This keeps the salad moist and Mediterranean, even in the summer heat and when grilling is hot.

Ingredients for our Mediterranean pasta salad

Short pasta shapes like fusilli or penne hold the dressing well in their ridges, which we prefer to long pasta for pasta salad. This also makes the Mediterranean pasta salad easier to eat with just a fork at parties. Instead of regular pasta, try whole-wheat or spelt pasta. Gluten-free whole-grain rice, lentil, and chickpea pasta are also suitable for this vegetable salad.

Besides the pasta, aromatic antipasti are the star of our Mediterranean recipe. Pickled peppers, eggplants, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives add aroma, acidity, and spice. You can find some of them in the refrigerated section or among the canned goods in the international food aisles. Sun-dried tomatoes add a particularly rich flavor.

Fresh vegetables like zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, or mushrooms are a great alternative if you don't want to buy antipasti in jars. Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, toss them with olive oil, and bake for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) using conventional oven settings (top and bottom heat). You can also use up leftover vegetables from your last barbecue! Our homemade pickled garlic is also excellent in a Mediterranean pasta salad!

Cheese is always a good addition to salad, and for this recipe we've opted for savory Parmesan. Alternatively, feta or another Mediterranean cheese would be delicious. Toasted pine nuts add a delicate, buttery texture. Herbs like basil or oregano give the pasta salad a fresh touch and also add a beautiful visual accent.

Fancy a fresh Italian salad without any carbs? Take a look at our recipe – you can easily make a fantastic salad with antipasti without pasta!

Mediterranean pasta salad: Our best tips

For a particularly flavorful salad, let the pasta steam briefly without rinsing it, then mix it while still lukewarm with about two-thirds of the dressing. This allows it to absorb the flavor well. Gently fold in the remaining dressing just before serving.

Incidentally, the pasta salad tastes excellent not only cold, but also lukewarm!

Briefly toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until fragrant. This makes them significantly more aromatic than when unroasted, but be careful: they brown very quickly.

The oil from the antipasti already adds a lot of flavor to the dressing. If you prefer a stronger flavor, grate in a clove of garlic or add some chili. Both go well with the Mediterranean aromas.

For the dressing, it's best to use light balsamic vinegar, i.e., white balsamic. Dark balsamic vinegar will turn the pasta brownish along with the tomato purée. This doesn't affect the taste, but it looks less appetizing in the salad.

Even more pasta salads without mayo: While our Mediterranean pasta salad is made with soft grilled vegetables, our Italian pasta salad highlights crisp, fresh ingredients like tomatoes, basil leaves, and mozzarella. In contrast, our pasta salad with pesto is dominated by the intense flavors of basil, garlic, and pine nuts from the green pesto dressing. So you're sure to find something for everyone!

Prepare and store Mediterranean pasta salad

This Mediterranean-style pasta salad can be prepared in 20 minutes. All you have to do is cook the pasta, slice the antipasti, and mix them with the quick dressing. That's it!

If you want to prepare the Mediterranean pasta salad in advance, reserve some fresh herbs and pine nuts, and add the dressing just before serving. This will keep everything fresh and crisp. If the salad has absorbed all the dressing, add a little more tomato purée and oil to prevent it from becoming too dry!

This homemade Mediterranean pasta salad without mayonnaise will keep in the refrigerator, well covered, for a maximum of 2 to 3 days. We recommend removing the fresh herbs, as they are the first part of the salad to darken and become inedible.

And how about our Mediterranean potato salad next time?

• 300g of pasta
• 300g antipasti / grilled vegetables (e.g. pickled peppers, tomatoes, artichokes, olives, eggplants, etc.)
• 30 g pine nuts
• 1 handful of fresh herbs (e.g. basil, oregano)
• Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water according to the package instructions. Drain the water and place the pasta in a salad bowl. 300 g pasta.
• While the pasta cooks, cut the antipasti/grilled vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Toast the pine nuts in a pan. Shave the Parmesan cheese. Finely chop the herbs. 300 g antipasti/grilled vegetables, 30 g pine nuts, 50 g Parmesan cheese, 1 handful of fresh herbs.
• Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Add two-thirds to the still-warm pasta and mix in the remaining dressing along with the other ingredients. Serve lukewarm or cold. 4 tbsp oil from the marinated antipasti, 200g passata, 3 tbsp light balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp dried Italian herbs, ½ tsp salt, 1 pinch of pepper.

Coleslaw brings a lot of variety to the table with just a few ingredients. It's perfect for barbecues, on burgers, or as a side dish to many savory meals. With our coleslaw recipe, this American classic is easy to make at home. Homemade coleslaw is one of those uncomplicated salad recipes that we love to prepare for barbecues. (Preferably search for "homemade" online on Google.)

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• 300g of pasta
• 30 g pine nuts
• 4 tablespoons of oil from the marinated antipasti (alternatively, olive oil)
• 200 g Passata (strained tomatoes)
• 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 pot
• 1 Pfanne
• 1 salad bowl with salad servers
• 300g of pasta
• 30 g pine nuts
• 200 g Passata (strained tomatoes)
• 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
• ½ tsp salt

Thank you so much for cooking with us! :) How did you like the recipe?