Gluten-Free Italian Pasta & Veggies Salad for Tailgating
- Katie Gallagher
- Dec 31, 2025
- 2 min read
This Gluten-Free Italian Pasta & Veggies Salad is perfect for tailgating and feeding a crowd! I developed it for our big Notre Dame family tailgates—especially for the Notre Dame Cross Country and Track team, where two of our kids have competed. It’s fresh, colorful, and filling enough to fuel runners and fans alike. Make it ahead, serve it cold, and watch it disappear!
A colorful, crowd-pleasing make-ahead salad—perfect for feeding your team and fans alike.
This pasta salad has become a game day essential for our Notre Dame tailgates. With all four of our kids either graduated from or currently attending ND, we’ve had plenty of practice hosting big tailgates! I started making this Gluten-Free Italian Pasta & Veggies Salad to feed our crew and the team, and it’s been a huge hit ever since.
Even better? This is the first time I’ve actually written it down!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Feeds a crowd – It makes enough for 50+ servings.
Completely gluten-free – Safe for those of us with Celiac disease.
Customizable – Leave out the salame for a vegetarian version.
Make-ahead magic – It tastes even better after a night in the fridge.
Travel-friendly – Perfect for packing up in big bowls or trays for tailgating or potlucks.
Instructions
Cook the Pasta Prepare the gluten-free fusilli according to package instructions. Rinse with cold water. Let cool. Tossing with the Olive Garden dressing when assembling will prevent sticking.
Chop the Veggies Dice the cucumbers, red onions, bell peppers, and grape tomatoes. Keep the pieces bite-sized and colorful for the best presentation.
Mix It All Together In Rubbermade TakeAlong containers, combine the pasta, chopped veggies, and diced salame. Pour in the Italian dressing and parsley flakes and mix until evenly coated. (Add the cheese cubes and a little more dressing just before serving only.)
Chill Overnight Cover and refrigerate overnight. This allows all the flavors to blend and soak into the pasta. I always save a bit of dressing and some extra cheese to stir in just before serving.
Serve Cold Right before serving, stir the salad well and add a splash more dressing if it seems a little dry. This is also when I toss in the reserved Colby Jack for that fresh cheesy bite.
Game Day Tips
Make it vegetarian: I always prepare a container without the salame so everyone can enjoy it.
Make it ahead: This salad actually tastes better after it chills overnight.
Pack it right: It travels well in large container, just bring a big serving spoon!
A Tailgate Tradition
Over the years, this salad has fed cross country runners, teammates, friends, and family at our tailgates. I love that it’s hearty enough to stand on its own but also pairs perfectly with pulled pork, brisket, ribs, or whatever else we’ve got on the table that day. The Jovial gluten-free pasta holds up beautifully—even after sitting in the cooler overnight—and the colors always look gorgeous together.
Whether you're cheering from the tailgating lot or your kitchen, I hope this recipe becomes part of your own game day memories.
Recipe Gluten-Free Italian Pasta & Veggies Salad for Tailgating
1
Costco is Your Friend!
For this recipe, I buy nearly everything at Costco. They don't always have the 32 oz. Colby Jack chunk though.
2
Make it Your Own
I've never written this recipe down before and I pretty much eyeball it every time. But this is what I do.
3
Vegetarian
I usually make one container without the salame to ensure I have GF pasta salad for anyone who's vegetarian.
4
Jovial Fusilli
Jovial really works best and holds up well for this salad. I make the whole thing the day before the tailgate.
Notes
1
Rinse and prepare the veggies. Dice the onions, cucumbers, and bell peppers (separated by colors- red, orange, yellow). Cut the grape tomatoes in half.
2
Prepare the meat and cheeses. Cut the GF salame into small slivers or pieces. Cube the Colby Jack (place the colby jack in a separate large Ziplock bag.
3
Bring 2 large pots of salted water to a rolling boil. Prepare 2 packages of GF Jovial Fusilli to al dente in each pot, according to directions. Tip: do not time both pots to be ready at the same time, stagger instead, to ensure you have room for draining and rinsing.
4
Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.
5
Line up 4 Rubbermaid TakeAlongs containers with lids under. (I believe i use the gallon size).
6
Add the equivalent of the following to each of the 4 containers:
- 12 oz. prepared Jovial GF Fusilli
- 8 oz. diced GF salami
- 3 diced bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow)
- 1 diced cucumber
- 8 oz. sliced grape tomatoes
- 1 diced red onion
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 10 oz. Olive Garden Italian Dressing
(reserve 8 oz. of cubed Colby Jack to add to each container just prior to serving)
Mix well. Cover tightly with lid and refrigerate until serving.
7
To serve, add the cubed Colby Jack and another few ounces of the Olive Garden Italian Dressing and mix well.
Instructions
4 x 12 oz. boxes of Jovial Fusilli prepared
2 16 oz. packages Kirkland Signature Reduced Sodium GF Dry Salame
2 lbs. Grape Tomatoes
12 mixed bell peppers
4 Organic English Cucumbers
2 lbs. Colby Jack cheese cubes
14 oz. Olive Garden Italian Dressing
4 diced red onions
Gluten-Free Italian Pasta & Veggies Salad for Tailgating
Gluten-Free Italian Pasta & Veggies Salad for Tailgating
Katie Gallagher
This Gluten-Free Italian Pasta & Veggies Salad is perfect for tailgating and feeding a crowd! I developed it for our big Notre Dame family tailgates—especially for the Notre Dame Cross Country and Track team, where two of our kids have competed. It’s fresh, colorful, and filling enough to fuel runners and fans alike. Make it ahead, serve it cold, and watch it disappear!
50 Servings
279 Calories / Serve
Prep Time
45 min
Cooking Time
10 min
Rest Time
0 min
Total Time
55 min
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