Muffaletta Pasta Salad.

Have you ever had a muffuletta sandwich? It’s kind of ridiculous. A round loaf of sesame seed bread is loaded with multiple layers of deli meats and cheeses as well as a flavorful, Sicilian olive salad. It’s totally decadent and over the top, so it’s no wonder it originated in New Orleans! This sandwich is often attributed to Central Grocery & Deli in the historic French Quarter, but there are interesting oral histories about how this Sicilian style of bread and sandwich came to be made and sold here. Regardless of who originated this sandwich over 100 years ago, it’s still wildly popular to this day.

Now, in my humble opinion, the best part about this sandwich is the briny and delightfully tangy olive salad. It’s almost a cross between an olive salad and an Italian giardiniera, as it features cauliflower, carrots, celery, and peppers in addition to the olives. That’s what really seals the deal for me. I also love the bread (which is vegan by the way) because of the heavy dusting of sesame seeds on top. Who doesn’t love sesame seeds?

THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS PASTA SALAD

One day, I was walking around a local grocery store here in New Orleans, right down the street from my house. I saw some pre-packaged pasta salad, and upon closer inspection, I noticed it said ‘Muffuletta Pasta Salad.’ I gasped, as I frequently do throughout the day, and immediately called my mother asking her if she had ever heard of this. She said yes and I gasped again.

From that moment, I knew that I wanted to make a veganized, muffuletta-inspired Olive Pasta Salad for all of you. So here you are! Now, I know what you might be thinking- there’s no meat? Yes. You are correct. There is no meat and it simply doesn’t matter. I have upped all of the herbs and spices to the max, so the overall flavor is definitely still there. Instead of using a pre-made jar of olive salad (which is widely available in New Orleans, but not very accessible in other places), I’ve used a variety of olives from my local grocery store’s olive bar. I cut them into slices, along with some pickled cauliflower and carrots. Finally, capers, pepperoncini, and a zippy vinaigrette make it truly excellent.

All of the ingredients in a bowl.

ASSEMBLING THE PASTA SALAD

Aside from the olive salad ingredients, I bulk up this muffuletta-inspired pasta salad with a few different herbs, vegetables, and vegan cheeses. For sweetness and color, I love roasted red peppers. Chopped celery and red onion add amazing crunch. Then for herbaceous flavor, I add a good amount of fresh parsley, dill, and oregano. And for the cheese, we’re using vegan parmesan shreds and a smoked provolone. You could use whatever kind of vegan cheese you like, but a smoked variety works particularly nice with this salad. I wanted the dressing to be bright and flavorful to really hammer home that olive salad kick, so I made a red wine vinaigrette fortified with some tamari, garlic and nutritional yeast.

While you prepare the ingredients and whisk together the vinaigrette, all you have to do is boil some pasta. Using pasta is such a fun variation on the Sicilian bread from the traditional recipe, which can also be hard to find. Once it’s cooked to perfection, simply combine it with the remaining ingredients and enjoy. Of course, to finish this dish perfectly- a hefty sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

I hope you love this Olive Pasta Salad, and happy Mardi Gras!

-Timothy

P.S. If you are looking for some other delicious New Orleans recipes to try, check out my cookbook and these other blog recipes:

Red Beans and Rice

Gumbo

Dirty Rice

olive pasta salad in a bowl
5 from 4 reviews

Olive Pasta Salad

Servings: 6 people
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Author: Timothy Pakron
A veganized version of a muffuletta pasta salad. A pickled cauliflower, carrot, capers, and pepperoncini coated with a zippy vinaigrette for the ultimate experience.
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Ingredients

Pasta

  • 16 ounces pennoni or penne pasta
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Olive salad

  • ½ cup sliced garlic stuffed green olives
  • ½ cup sliced kalamata olives
  • ½ cup sliced castlevetrano olives
  • ⅓ cup chopped pickled carrots
  • ⅓ cup chopped pickled cauliflower
  • ⅓ cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
  • 1 cup sliced celery hearts
  • ½ cup chopped roasted red peppers
  • ¼ cup Peruvian pickled cherry peppers, plus some to garnish (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • ⅓ fresh chopped dill, plus some to garnish
  • ⅓ cup fresh chopped parsley, plus some to garnish
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano, plus some to garnish
  • ⅓ cup diced red onion
  • ¼ cup shredded vegan parmesan cheese
  • 4 ounces chopped vegan smoked provolone cheese

Vinaigrette

  • ⅓ cup quality olive oil, Italian or Greek, cold pressed
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons tamari
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • ⅓ cup sesame seeds, toasted

Instructions 

  • Fill a large pasta pot with water, add a healthy sprinkling of sea salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta noodles and boil until al dente. (While the pasta boils, you can start preparing the olive salad ingredients or making the vinaigrette.) Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse it with cold water. Return back to the pot and drizzle with a good amount of olive oil. Toss and set aside.
  • Chop and gather all of the olive salad ingredients and add them to the pot of cooked pasta.
  • Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan or skillet over medium heat, moving them around so they don’t burn. Toast for just a few minutes, until they smell fragrant and are just barely golden. Add them to the pot of pasta and olive salad.
  • Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients together into a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and pour over the pasta mixture. Stir everything until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
  • To serve, divide pasta into bowls and garnish with reserved fresh herbs.

Notes

For the pasta, I found some fancy noodles that look like oversize penne. You could use the normal penne pasta shape. Or the squiggly kind. Or even bow tie pasta- whatever you are feeling. Just don’t use spaghetti noodles, that would be a little weird. You’re looking for something bite-sized, no need to overthink it!
For the olives and pickled vegetables, you have two options: The olive bar(!) or the pickled section of your grocery store. If you haven’t noticed, olive bars have a large assortment of ingredients other than just olives, so check them out. If you can find some Peruvian peppers, they make a great garnish.
For the cheese I recommend using smoked gouda or provolone variety. If you can’t find those, go with a regular provolone or sliced mozzarella cheese, as long as they are vegan. If they aren’t vegan the recipe won’t work. 😉
To make this salad extra pretty when serving, make sure to grab any tidbits from the bottom of the bowl and sprinkle them on top. Or set some of the chopped ingredients aside until ready to serve. Basically, you want to see all of the ingredients on top of the salad so each person knows what they’re eating and it also looks super appetizing.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 652kcal, Carbohydrates: 74g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 18g, Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 1545mg, Potassium: 541mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 5397IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 241mg, Iron: 4mg

Food styling, photography, and recipe by Timothy Pakron
Text by Timothy Pakron and Hannah Kearing