Looking for a simple side dish with tons of flavor to throw together quickly this summer? Bow Tie Pasta Salad is a crowd-pleasing dish that brings zesty Italian flare, fresh ready-made ingredients, and cool, summery vibes to mealtime.
This Italian pasta salad sits alongside the cold pasta salad greats, like Greek pasta salad and spaghetti salad, and continues to be one of my most popular cold salad recipes. You really can't go wrong with the combo of farfalle noodles, Italian dressing, colorful vegetables, and mozzarella cheese--the perfect make-ahead dish for potluck gatherings!
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Why This Recipe Works
In the spirit of all things summer, cold pasta salads are one of the best picnic foods, right? A light and zesty side dish packed with flavor makes the perfect side at any cookout or barbeque.
With this recipe, we forgo the mayo, which is commonly found in many pasta salad dishes, and instead opt for a light, tangy vinaigrette dressing. It's perfect for serving during warmer times of the year. Mayonnaise-based sauces, like the one in tuna pasta salad, while equally delicious can lean on the richer side when it comes to a pasta salad, and we want to keep it light with this one!
This bow tie pasta salad can be made up to a day in advance and also makes fantastic leftovers. If you'd like the basil to stay bright green and vibrant looking, wait to add until the day you plan to serve it. If you find the pasta has absorbed too much of the Italian dressing come time to serve, feel free to add an extra drizzle and toss before serving.
Ingredients (and Substitutions)
- Pasta | Bow tie pasta (also known as farfalle) is easy to eat and great for pasta salads; however, feel free to sub in other types of pasta like tortellini, penne, or rotini.
- Tomatoes | Grape or cherry tomatoes are ideal for this recipe. For extra color, throw in some orange and yellow tomatoes as well.
- Mozzarella Cheese | You can use block or fresh mozzarella. We recommend using block mozzarella if you are making this pasta salad in advance. Fresh mozzarella is likely to break down and lose shape and quality of texture overnight due to acid in the dressing. Plus, marinated mozzarella is next-level delicious.
- Black Olives | This Italian pasta recipe calls for black olives. They add salty, savory flavor to the pasta salad. If you aren't a fan of black olives but like kalamata olives, those will also work in this recipe. If you altogether aren't a fan of olives, you can still add a vinegar-like touch by using marinated artichokes.
- Fresh Basil | This fresh herb adds great flavor and a lovely pop of color to this pasta salad. If you don't care for basil, feel free to sub in chopped parsley.
- Italian Dressing | We use store-bought Italian dressing for simplicity's sake, but you can most definitely make your own.
MORE INGREDIENTS TO TRY IN BOW TIE PASTA SALAD
If you want to ramp up this pasta salad and make it extra filling, consider including salami or pepperoni for a hit of protein and extra savoriness. Chopped English cucumbers will give this pasta salad added crunch and marinated artichoke hearts round out that vinegary flavor that makes this dish delicious.
How to Make Bow Tie Pasta Salad
A quick note on pasta before diving into the how-tos: It's so important in this dish not to overcook the pasta. "Mushy" is not the texture we are aiming for here. Al dente is. This will ensure it has a nice bite to it, or a little resistance when you bite into it. Think of it as a happy medium between uncooked, hard noodles and overcooked, squashy noodles.
Cook + Rinse the Pasta | For extra flavor, add a pour of salt to the water before bringing it to a roaring boil. Then, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse it under cool running water. Rinsing the pasta helps it to cool down faster and speed up the remaining preparations for your bow tie pasta salad.
Dress the Noodles | As soon as the pasta is lukewarm, add it to a large bowl and dress it with a portion of the Italian dressing. The warm pasta will absorb the dressing and add even more flavor to the noodles.
Cool Completely | Allow the pasta salad to cool completely before adding the remaining ingredients, particularly, the cheese. One of the best parts of this bow tie pasta salad is the bites of diced mozzarella cheese, especially after it has had ample time to marinate in the Italian dressing.
Add Ingredients, Toss, + Chill | Once the pasta has been cooked and cooled completely, the only small tasks that remain are to halve the grape tomatoes, dice the cheese into little squares, drain the olives, and chop the basil!
Chill | Chill the pasta salad for at least 2-3 hours. Pasta salad should always be served cold. That extra time in the refrigerator will allow flavors to mingle. If you've never had marinated cheese, get ready to have your taste buds rocked.
Pasta Salad Dressing
Homemade pasta salad dressing can easily be thrown together using our simple lemon vinaigrette recipe. The bright flavors will work beautifully with all your bow tie pasta salad ingredients.
If you want to make your own Italian pasta salad dressing for your bow tie noodles, here is what you'll need:
- ⅓ cup fresh, squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Generous pinch black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
Whisk Together Ingredients | In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, garlic, Dijon, salt, and pepper until combined.
Add Olive Oil | Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking all the while.
Dress Your Salad | Once the dressing is emulsified, you can stop whisking and use it to dress your pasta salad!
More Pasta Salads You'll LOVE!
Bow Tie Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked farfalle pasta
- ¾ cup creamy Italian dressing (such as Olive Garden Italian Dressing), separated
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 (8 ounce) block mozzarella cheese, cut into a ¼" dice
- 1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives, drained
- ¼ cup finely chopped, fresh basil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a roaring boil and cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cool running water until just warm to the touch.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl and toss with a ¼ cup of Italian dressing and a generous pinch of salt. Set aside and allow to cool completely while you prepare the vegetables.
- Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, olives, and basil to the bowl, along with the remaining ½ cup of Italian dressing. Toss to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Video
Nutrition
SOURCES: The Spruce Eats | What is Farfalle?
Courtney says
Easy to make and delicious! My family loved it.
Toni says
I love everything about this salad!! Thanks for the tips!
Mel says
Your pasta salad would be perfect for my children's lunchboxes (without the olives) and for my lunch (definitely WITH the olives!). I'll be making it for us this week as I've got all the ingredients at home.
Nicolas Hortense says
Nice one Kelly! This dish screams spring/summer vibes (:
meghna says
This pasta salad looks so colorful and delish. Perfect for summers, I am making it tonight. Thanks for the recipe.
Christina says
I made this for a work party, and everyone loved it! Thank you for the great recipe
Kelly Anthony says
Thank you, Christina! So glad your crowd enjoyed it 🙂
Jacqui Debono says
Had this for lunch today! Quick, easy and delicious and plenty left over for tomorrow too!
Emily says
This pasta salad is perfect for any picnic or potluck- so good!
Stine Mari says
Yesss I love marinated cheese! This bowtie pasta looks incredible, and so simple to make too!
Erika says
I love salads like this for potlucks or parties! It looks delicious.
Gunjan says
Anything pasta calls me. I love pasta salad so definitely making this.
Mikayla says
I LOVE the flavors you added to this salad, pasta salad is one of my favorite things to keep in the fridge for lunch, so it's perfect that this salad marinates and get better with some fridge time!
Mirlene says
Woohoo - back to basics! Love how simple yet amazing this pasta salad looks - just what I like to have from time to time during the week! Can't wait to make a big batch of this next week!
Renu says
I love pasta salads and this one looks so easy to make and at the same time delicious and loaded with flavours. Loved it
Shelley says
Such a picnic classic! So much flavor from such a few quick, simple ingredients - perfect! And even better that it can be made in advance, which is really helpful when I'm hosting a big party and have lots of recipes that need to get made - thanks for the tip about maybe adding a little extra dressing and the fresh basil before serving, too!
Analida Braeger says
Thanks for the tip on adding the dressing while the pasta is still warm to marinate and add more flavor. Thanks for sharing!
Pam Greer says
I love how easy this pasta salad is to put together. It's one of our favorites along with your bacon ranch pasta salad!
Denise says
This is a fresh and fantastic salad! I love the simplicity of it, and it has a lot of flavor!
Sally Humeniuk says
This looks so fresh and beautiful. Perfect salad to pair with anything and using pre-made dressing is perfect to have it ready in a snap. Great pictures, too!
Leanne says
Pasta salads are always a huge hit when we have family for dinner. And bowtie pasta just makes it extra elegant and special! Great recipe Kelly!
Jennifer says
Love that this uses the Olive Garden’s Italian dressing. That’s one of the only salads I actually really enjoy (because of it); so I bet this pasta salad has amazing flavor!
Kelly Anthony says
Thank you, Jennifer!!
Nicole says
Light, healthy, and look delicious!
Sara says
What a perfectly simple and delicious side dish option! I love the lighter feel this dish has - and knowing it's so easy to toss together is perfect!
SHANIKA says
This Pasta Salad looks so healthy and hearty! I love hoe easy it is to whip together! These perfect side or meal for sure!
Lathiya says
The pasta salad looks so vibrant and delicious. Haven't cooked pasta yet. This looks like a perfect recipe to start with.
Ben says
I love how light and flavorful this recipe is. I'm a big fan of versions of pasta salad like this that aren't weighed down with a lot of mayo and other heavy condiments.
Chef Dennis says
I'm really loving this Bowtie Pasta Salad Recipe! I love that you used Farfalle noodles and that delicious Italian dressing. Those colorful vegetables did the magic, too!
Julia Osgood says
I love bowtie pasta and pasta salads, so I’ll definitely give this a try. I hadn’t thought of using mozzarella cheese or a creamy Italian dressing. These are great combos for a pasta salad.
Paige says
This looks SO good and easy to make too...I love all the fresh ingredients you have going on!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Made this over the weekend for a houseful of people and everyone gobbled it. up! This recipe is so simple and so delicious that I'm sure it's going to become a regular part of our life. Thank you!
LaKita says
This pasta salad looks so colorful and delicious! Love the combination of ingredients used. This is the perfect side dish or lunch idea.
Debbie says
Oh Kelly I am so glad I found this recipe. I have a bottle of Olive Garden salad dressing that needs to be used in the Bowtie Pasta Salad. Simple ingredients and just beautiful!!
Natalie says
This looks really delicious. I have all the ingredients at my house now, I can't wait to give this a try. This will be perfect for a lunchbox too. Yum!
Jo says
One of my favorite salad recipe is pasta salad. I have been eating my Greek pasta salad all the while, I need to give your version a try. It looks so simple and delicious!
Veena Azmanov says
Awesome and colorful presentation and a super yummy Bowl of comfort meal. I love it.
Alisa Infanti says
I love simple salads like this and the mozzarella was amazing in this salad.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
I actually really love pasta salad, but I have never made it myself. This needs to change!! Bookmarked to make for later, thanks for the recipe 🙂
Laura says
this is perfect for a hot summer day! Even to bring to the beach , I love it!
Denay DeGuzman says
Bowtie pasta salad is a family favorite! Perfect for picnics, potlucks and summer dinners. I love this quick easy recipe!