Lemony Italian Pasta Salad is a quintessential salad recipe to have this spring/summer combining Rigatoni pasta noodles, pepperoni, ham, grape tomatoes, red onions, quality black olives, green olives, sliced sweet peppers, Romano cheese, and a delicious homemade lemony Italian Salad Dressing.
Every Italian-American family has their own version of pasta salad, and there really is no specific recipe for a traditional Pasta Salad, only many variations, depending on on-hand ingredients in each Italian-American household. This is one of our flavorful and yummy versions.
One of the most important ingredients in the pasta noodles, I can not stress enough to you; cook pasta until it is al dente, firm to the teeth yet tender. Many Americans cook pasta until it is too soft. A minute or two less cooking time than the directions on a package will give you authentic Italian pasta.
Another key to making perfect pasta is to use a large cooking pot, better yet a pasta pot if you have one and plenty of salted water; this will stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom of each other and will also ensure every inch of pasta will be cooked through perfectly.
Using only the freshest ripe produce will also be a major key in your pasta salad. I normally recommend using produce from a well-known farmer’s market that stocks organic produce if possible.
Quality deli meats are also a must if you include pepperoni and ham in your Lemony Italian Pasta salad; better yet, I used leftover ham I cooked myself on Easter in my recipe today. If you do not have leftover ham, I would definitely recommend using Boar’s Head Deli meats if you can find them in your area.
Lemony Italian Pasta Salad
- 1 Pound of Rigatoni, cooked al dente
- 6-8 ounces Boars Head Pepperoni slices
- 1/2 cup of diced homemade leftover ham, or Boar’s Head Brand
- 1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 small red salad onion, thinly sliced
- 15-20 quality deli black olives, drained
- 10-15 quality stuffed green olives, drained
- 5 sweet peppers (mini sweet peppers), sliced
- 1/4 of a cup of quality Romano Cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 recipe for Lemony Italian Dressing
- extra Romano cheese, for serving
Directions
- Cook 1 pound of Rigatoni pasta in a large pasta pot filled with salted boiling water till al-dente – about 10 minutes.
- Drain and rinse pasta in cold tap water, drain the pasta of excess water.
- Place Rigatoni pasta In a large glass serving bowl, add sliced pepperoni, ham, grape tomatoes, thinly sliced red salad onions, deli black olives, green stuffed olives, sliced sweet peppers, Romano cheese, fresh chopped Italian parsley, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. Toss all the ingredients gently but thoroughly.
- Use the desired amount of Lemony Italian Salad Dressing and toss salad again to coat evenly.
- Cover Lemony Italian Pasta Salad, place in refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.
- Serve with extra Romano cheese, if desired.

Lemony Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound Rigatoni , cooked al dente
- 6 ounces Pepperoni slices
- 6 ounces Ham diced
- 1- pint Grape Tomatoes halved
- 1 small Red Onion thinly sliced
- 15 Black olives halved or whole
- 10 Stuffed Green olives
- 5 mini Sweet Peppers, sliced
- ¼ cup Romano Cheese
- 2 tablespoon Flat-leaf Parsley chopped
- Kosher salt o own taste
- Course ground pepper to own taste
- 1 recipe Lemony Italian Dressing See link in blog post
- Extra cheese for serving if desired
Instructions
- Cook 1 pound of Rigatoni pasta in a large pasta pot filled salted boiling water till al-dente – about 10 minutes.
- Drain and rinse pasta in cold tap water, drain the pasta of excess water.
- Place Rigatoni pasta In a large glass serving bowl, add sliced pepperoni, ham, grape tomatoes, thinly sliced red salad onions, deli black olives, green stuffed olives, sliced sweet peppers, Romano cheese, fresh chopped Italian parsley, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. Toss all the ingredients gently, but thoroughly.
- Use the desired amount of Lemony Italian Salad Dressing and toss salad again to evenly coat. Cover Lemony Italian Pasta Salad, place in refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with extra Romano cheese, if desired.
Nutrition
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11 Comments
Dan
April 28, 2015 at 11:19 pmThis one went directly from my eyes to my heart! I LOVE this recipe!
hmccallum
April 25, 2020 at 11:14 amThank you so much Dan! I really appreciate the feedback.
debi
April 28, 2015 at 6:35 pmThis was awesome! And, nice and easy to make a great meal! I loved it. Pinned for later too!
hmccallum
April 25, 2020 at 11:16 amThank you, Debi! So thrilled to hear this.
Linda
April 28, 2015 at 2:02 pmOMGosh Heidy! Your lovely salad brought a much-needed smile to my face on this rainy dreary day. I love that you chose to use large pieces of veggies which really adds color and depth. I also loved your Lemony Italian Dressing which pairs perfectly with the pasta and veggies. Well done my friend! 🙂 Delish!!!
hmccallum
April 25, 2020 at 11:17 amThank you, so much, Linda
Skinny Kitchen (@skinnykitchen)
April 28, 2015 at 12:19 pmThis recipe was great and we really enjoyed it. I will be saving to make again.
Heidy L. McCallum
April 28, 2015 at 12:55 pmThank you so much, Nancy, it was fabulous. Let me know if you do get a chance to try out the recipe for Lemony Italian Pasta Salad, I would love to see how you add a Skinny Spin to it.
Patty
April 28, 2015 at 12:01 pmThis was a great pasta and we loved the dressing. I will be making it again.
dishofdailylife
April 14, 2015 at 4:21 pmI love salads like this, Heidy!! Looks delicious! Pinning!
Heidy L. McCallum
April 28, 2015 at 11:06 amThank you so much Michelle!