Grinder Pasta Salad
Cool, fresh, and full of flavor, this Grinder Pasta Salad is everything you love about a sub sandwich in one easy bowl. It’s perfect for summer nights, family dinners, or bringing to a potluck. Everyone loves a good pasta salad, and everyone loves an Italian Grinder. Put them together and you’ve got one fantastic salad that really delivers.
This salad tastes like the classic Italian grinder. It’s full of meats, cheese, crisp lettuce, and a zippy dressing. PLUS we’ve got pasta in the mix. Which just takes it up a notch, right?
It’s cool and refreshing with just the right amount of tang. You can make it ahead for dinner, serve it as a light main dish, or bring it to a party and watch it disappear fast.
What You Need To Make Italian Grinder Pasta Salad
Grab everything ahead of time to make this salad come together quickly. Nothing is more frustrating than going to make a recipe and discovering you don’t have the correct ingredients.
- mayonnaise
- red wine vinegar
- olive oil
- garlic
- Italian seasoning
- salt
- red pepper flakes
- black pepper
- rotini pasta
- salami
- pepperoni
- ham
- provolone cheese
- cherry tomatoes
- shredded lettuce
- pepperoncini peppers
- black olives (optional)
Change It Up
Use any pasta shape you like bowtie, penne, or shells all work well. But it’s important to know that any pasta you have on hand will work. Even a mix of weird shapes is great, this is great way to use up odds and ends if you have them.
Special pasta like banza bean pasta or gluten free pasta may not hold up to being soaked in a dressing and refrigerated. If you’re going to use it for a crowd or potluck be sure to test it first.
Swap in your favorite deli meats or cheeses to make it your own. Anything you like will taste great in this salad.
To Store This Salad
This salad can be made up to 24 hours and stored in an airtight container or salad bowl. After that, the pasta and veggies may start to get a little too soft or it may get soggy. For the best results, stir in the shredded lettuce right before serving, that way the lettuce will be fresh and crisp.
Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge. This is to keep the salad from making the entire fridge smell like your salad, rather than the other way around.
Grinder Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp fresh black pepper
For the salad:
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- ½ cup salami slices, cut into strips
- ½ cup pepperoni slices, cut into strips
- ½ cup ham slices, cut into strips
- 8 oz provolone cheese, cubed
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ head lettuce, shredded
- ½ cup pepperoncini peppers, chopped
- ¼ cup black olives (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper until smooth
- Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
- Cook the rotini pasta according to package instructions until al dente
- Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water to cool completely
- In a large bowl combine the cooled pasta, salami, pepperoni, ham, provolone cheese, cherry tomatoes, chopped pepperoncini peppers, and black olives
- Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and toss until evenly coated
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve
- Right before serving fold in the shredded lettuce to keep it crisp
This is a lot like my Italian Pasta Salad that I throw together when I have a lot of veggies from the garden. Main differences? I use more veggies with no lettuce and my dressing is a pesto, not mayo based Italian seasoning.