Lakeside Grinder Pasta Salad

I don’t know about you, but nothing hits better on the lake or at a cookout than a darn good pasta salad. It’s cold, creamy, and filling! Honestly, this pasta salad is hardy enough to eat as the main course, but it works really well as a side, too. This pasta salad has cold cuts, veggies, pepperoncini peppers, and that delicious mayo/vinegar dressing that you find on a Grinder sub – making it the most delicious pasta salad (IMO!!). Highly recommend eating it in a solo cup on a hot summer day!

I recently took this grinder pasta salad to a neighborhood cookout and our friends couldn’t stop raving about it!

About the recipe:

My husband and I LOVE a good grinder sub. Zach loves to take them to his poker nights and they are always the first thing to go! Grinder subs layer cold cuts, provolone cheese, parmesan cheese and a delicious creamy onion and lettuce salad. The warm sub combined with the cold salad on top, chef’s kiss! With all that to say, I thought a pasta salad version would be easier to take as a side to a cookout or out on the lake (where we spend a lot of our time on the weekends in the summer) but would be hardy enough to keep us (and our kiddos) full! I grabbed inspiration from a couple different recipes I found to fit our taste!

Some items you’ll need:

This recipe is so easy, you won’t need much besides and big bowl to mix it all in! I really love these bowls from amazon, it makes mixing everything together so easy plus they are dishwasher safe, non-toxic, and won’t leak microplastics into your food, and these serving spoons!

Lakeside Grinder Pasta Salad

All the delicious flavors of an Italian grinder sandwich, in pasta salad form! Pepperoni, provolone, pepperoncini peppers, red onion, tomatoes, and pasta are all tossed in a creamy Parmesan-garlic dressing for the most incredible and easy pasta salad.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8

Course: Side Dish

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Ingredients

• 16 oz Rotini Pasta

For the grinder salad dressing

• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes more or less depending on spice level

For the grinder pasta salad

• 4 oz. shredded iceberg lettuce about 2-3 cups
• 4 oz ham
• 4 oz pepperoni
• 4 oz salami
• 4 oz provolone cheese
• 1 pint grape tomatoes halved
• 1 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
• 1/2 red onion, finely sliced

Method

 

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta per package directions. Once done, drain and rinse with cold water to cool pasta, then drain again.

To make grinder dressing

1. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

To assemble grinder pasta salad

1. Slice the ham, pepperoni, and salami into 1/4 inch slices. Cut the provolone into thin slices or small cubes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pasta with all salad ingredients
3. Pour dressing over the salad and toss everything together until evenly coated

Bring this pasta salad to your next potluck this summer and you will for sure be asked for the recipe!! It’s delicious, filling, and can easily feed a crowd! If it’s a hit – be sure to tag me on instagram!!

If you try this recipe, tell me in the comments what you think! Or, try some of my other recipes here!

ENJOY!!!!!