Confetti Pasta Salad is an excellent, and strategic, cold salad to serve on Labor Day. Why strategic? Because if you make it the day before (it gets better with “age”), you’ll do no “labor” on Labor Day {grin}!
With Labor Day right around the corner, picnics, grilling, barbecues and family gatherings are ramping up across the country as the end of summer draws near and our focus shifts to “back-to-school”. Confetti Pasta Salad – creamy, crunchy and deliciously refreshing – is a welcome addition to any summer picnic and family barbecue menu.
Plus, since it is easy to make ahead of time, this salad is a great accompaniment to your next potluck get-together and tastes even better the next day. Refrigerate overnight to meld the flavors together with the dressing.
Confetti Pasta Salad satisfies any craving for carbs plus, enhanced with a fresh mix of the summer’s best vegetables, you won’t feel too guilty about enjoying my version of this classic American salad. With fresh produce in abundance, what better way to enjoy a salad than with pasta as the main ingredient?
Adding chunks of cheese punches up the protein factor and with the added bonus of black olives and juicy bits of tomatoes, this salad has the sweet/salty combination that satisfies on many levels.
Serve it as a side dish to fried chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, barbecued ribs, grilled London broil and much more. I have several recipes that come to mind:
- Grilled London Broil
- Blue Jack Turkey Sliders with Bacon Jalapeno Chutney
- Grilled Balsamic Chicken Breast Tenders
- Rubbed, Roasted and Grilled Barbecue Pork Back Ribs
- Doctored Hamburgers
- BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Spicy Coleslaw
Here’s the recipe:
Confetti Pasta Salad
Creamy and delicious, this salad is even better if made ahead and refrigerated overnight.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup half-and-half
- 1/4 cup favorite bottled Italian dressing
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
For the salad:
- 12 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked per package instructions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (about 1/4 of a large bell pepper)
- 1/2 cup yellow mini tomatoes (about 7), quartered
- 1/2 cup red cherry or grape tomatoes (about 7 to 9), quartered
- 1/2 cup chopped orange pepper (about 1/4 of large pepper)
- 1 cup medium black olives, cut in half
- 1/2 cup red onion, peeled and finely chopped (about 1/3 of a red onion)
- 4 ounce block of medium cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- In small mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, half-and-half, Italian dressing and Dijon mustard.
- Taste dressing and adjust seasonings (salt and pepper), if needed.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the salad:
- Add salt to a large sauce pot filled with water and bring to a boil.
- Add macaroni noodles and cook per package instructions.
- Remove from heat, drain, rinse with cold water, drain again and set aside to cool.
- In large mixing bowl, add peppers, tomatoes, red onion, black olives, cubed cheese and stir to combine.
- Add cooled macaroni to veggies and stir to combine.
- Add about 1/2 of the prepared dressing and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.
- When ready to serve, add more dressing (macaroni will absorb the dressing and it will appear dry).
- Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve.
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(other recipes for picnics, barbecues and grilling)
- 12 Ingredient Dry Spice Rub for Pork
- Bacon Jalapeno Chutney
- Creamy Petite Pea Salad with Bacon and Cashews in Tomato Cups
- Dorothy’s Stuffed Mushrooms
- Easy Homemade Barbecue Sauce
- Easy Luau Bites
- Easy Red Wine Marinade for Beef
- Fiesta Coleslaw
- Fiesta Skillet Corn Pudding
- Firecracker Pie Crust Stars
- Mexican Corn Salad
- Tri-colored Roasted Potato Salad
- Velvety Mushroom Crap Dip
- Watermelon Cake with Fresh Whipped Cream
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