This summer pasta salad is gluten-free, dairy free, easy to throw together and insanely delicious! It’s the perfect side dish for summer and goes great at a cookout or barbecue!
I think I’ve come up with the most perfect pasta salad. Truth be told, I make a lot of pasta salad. It’s my summer staple. Anytime we’re invited to a cookout or if we’re hosting one, my husband inevitably says,
“What are you making? Let me guess. It is f*cking pasta salad again?!”
Don’t let him fool you. We love pasta salad. And he normally eats most of it. Also don’t be deterred by the f word. We think it’s funny to jab each other and have been doing so for nearly ten years.
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This is an Italian style pasta salad, minus the Italian dressing. Trust me, fresh herbs and good olive oil are SO MUCH BETTER.
I like to make this the day before, or at least a few hours before serving it so that the flavors all marinate together. Trust me, this is so much better after it’s been sitting out a few hours.
And that’s another thing, don’t be afraid to not refrigerate for a couple of hours. It’s not going to go bad. Pasta gets hard in the fridge, so make sure you let it come to room temp before serving.
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Tips for making this pasta salad:
- Switch it up! If you don’t have castelvatrano olives, use whatever you like!
- You can use really any kind of cured meat in this, anything from salami to pepperoni to cappacolo!
- If you don’t have fresh herbs, use dried!
- If you want more of an onion flavor, add some red onions and omit the chives.
- Green pepper goes so well in this pasta salad!
- Use whatever fresh summer veggies you have on hand!
- Make this overnight and let all the flavors marinate.
- Take out the fridge 1-2 hours before serving so it’s soft and room temp! No one likes a super cold pasta salad.
Other resources:
- My favorite gluten-free pasta
- Caprese Shrimp Lentil Pasta
- My gluten-free bridal featuring one trillion pasta salads I made
![](https://ancestral-nutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_9003-1-250x250.jpg)
Summer Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 box gluten-free penne
- 1/2 cup chopped castelvatrano olives
- 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium cucumber, chopped
- 8 oz sopressata, salami or chorizo, chopped
- 1/2 cup brushetta (fresh Divina is my fave)
- 4 tbso fresh basil, chopped
- 4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp chives, chopped
- a hearty drizzle of olive oil
- a sprinkle of dried oregano
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop everything up.
- Add everything to a bowl and combine.
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