- 1 box of penne pasta (or similarly shaped pasta; use gluten-free if needed)
- 1 envelope of Good Seasons Zesty Italian Salad Dressing (and ingredients to make*)
- 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded Italian blend cheese
- 1 small head of curly lettuce (about 5 ounces**)
- 4 ounces of hard salami from the deli, sliced thick***
- Cherry or grape tomatoes, optional (I use a pint box)
Italian Hoagie Salad
Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Rinse with cold water, and then set aside to cool.
- Rinse the lettuce, dry well, and chop into bite-size pieces. Halve the tomatoes, if using, and cut the salami into small pieces.
- Add the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salami, and Italian dressing to the pasta and mix well. (I start with ½ cup of the dressing and drizzle a little more prior to serving.)
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
Notes
*The Good Seasons Zesty Italian packet calls for vinegar, olive oil, and water. I recommend using red wine vinegar for this recipe. Balsamic vinegar would be my second choice.
**Baby spinach or baby kale are nice options if you’d like to make this salad for lunches throughout the week as they won’t wilt as readily as leaf lettuce.
***Dicing a thick slice of salami works well, although more recently I like to have the meat chipped at the deli counter. Then I roughly chop before mixing with the other ingredients. This way, a small amount of salami goes a long way in providing tremendous flavor in the salad.