Italian Pasta Salad - A lightened-up version of the classic Summer pasta Salad loaded with cherry tomatoes, turkey pepperoni, mozzarella balls, and cucumbers. This pasta salad is also very Weight Watcher friendly!
If you enjoy other pasta salads please try BLT Pasta Salad with Ranch, Shrimp and Pea Orzo Pasta Salad, or One Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta.
Jump to:
Why You Will Like This Recipe
Pasta Salads are pretty much a blank canvas and you can add to them whatever your little heart desires! The hardest part about making them is probably boiling the noodles and doing all the prep work.
If you don't know how to boil noodles by now, there's probably plenty of youtube videos of that online. Don't like cucumber? Leave them out. Like olives? Add them to this dish. This is just what I really liked and those peperoncino peppers are really good! Just give them a try if you've never had them before.
Ingredients Needed for Italian Pasta Salad
- Pasta - I like to use a fun spiral-shaped pasta like cavatappi or malfada for pasta salads.
- Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- Cucumber, cut into quarters
- Mozzarella balls - Small mozzarella balls are best to use for this recipe. Saves time in having to dice the cheese yourself.
- Pepperoni - is a type of salami that is commonly used as a pizza topping. It is made from a combination of beef and pork, and is seasoned with various spices, including paprika, garlic, and fennel.
- Pepperoncini - is a type of chili pepper, also known as Tuscan peppers or sweet Italian peppers. Great for sandwiches or salads.
- Teaspoons Italian Dressing - is a flavorful and versatile salad dressing that is enjoyed by many people around the world.
- See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Italian Pasta Salad
Step 1 Fill a medium pot with water and bring the water to a boil. Add the dry pasta and cook the pasta until al dente. (About 8 minutes). Drain the pasta and set it aside.
Step 2 Cut the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and the cucumbers into tiny half-moon pieces.
Step 3 Add the pasta to the bowl along with the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, mozzarella, pepperoni, and Italian Dressing. Toss until well combined. Makes 4 servings.
Italian Pasta Salad Recipe FAQs
Peperoncino (Italian: [peperonˈtʃiːno]; plural peperoncini [-ni]; sometimes spelled pepperoncino or pepperoncini in English)[a] is the generic Italian name for hot chili peppers, specifically the cultivars of the species Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens.[2] The sweet pepper is called peperone (plural peperoni) in Italian.[3] (source: From wikipedia) \
In order to lighten up this classic Summer pasta salad I used lite Italian Dressing, zero point vegetables such as cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and pepperoni. Use Turkey pepperoni and fresh mozzarella balls. You could always buy the blocks of cheese and cut them up into tiny cubes if you prefer that instead of mozzarella balls, but tiny mozzarella balls are almost too cute to pass up and they are a must in this salad. Don't overdress your pasta salad and you can still have pasta salad as a side dish this Summer.
Always store leftovers in clean, food-grade containers. The type of container doesn’t really matter. Use zip lock, glass, plastic, whatever! Make sure to store any leftovers in an airtight container.
What else can you add to Italian Pasta Salad?
Black Olives, Bell Peppers, Parmesan Cheese
Pesto sauce instead of Italian Dressing ( but that would be more points
Red Onion too make the pasta more colorful
Looking for more pasta salad recipes? Try BLT Pasta Salad and Greek Orzo Salad with Mustard Dill Vinaigrette,
and Weight Watchers Caprese Pasta Salad
Other Recipes to Try
If you tried this Italian Pasta Salad orany other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Recipes Diaries.
Italian Pasta Salad - Weight Watchers
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 8 min
- Total Time: 18 min
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Easy
- Method: Boil
- Cuisine: American
Description
Italian Pasta Salad - A lightened-up version of the classic Summer pasta Salad loaded with cherry tomatoes, turkey pepperoni, mozzarella balls, and cucumbers.
Ingredients
- 8 Ounces pasta
- 1½ Cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1½ Cups cucumber
- 4 Ounces mozzarella balls
- 4 Ounces pepperoni
- ½ Cups pepperocini
- 4 oz Teaspoons Italian Dressing
Instructions
- Fill a medium pot with water and bring the water to a boil. Add the dry pasta and cook the pasta until al dente. (About 8 minutes). Drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and the cucumbers into tiny half-moon pieces.
- Add the pasta to the bowl along with the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, mozzarella, pepperoni, and Italian Dressing. Toss until well combined. Makes 4 servings.
Notes
WW Points: 5
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 4
- Fat: 21
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Unsaturated Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 17
- Fiber: 8
- Protein: 8
Jenna says
The serving size is correct. If you have the WW app you can plug in the recipe there. That way you can get a correct serving size if you come up with a different amount.
Beth Gard says
Hello! I just made this and wanted to confirm the serving size. Thanks!