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    Home » Recipes » Budget Meals

    Marie's Pasta Salad Recipe

    Published: Feb 16, 2021

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    Marie's Pasta Salad Recipe

    Originally posted August 22, 2014. Updated 2/16/2021.

    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based pasta salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.

    After a lifetime of disliking any form of pasta salad, I created one of my own! The perfect balance of textures, flavours, and colours.

    So I have a weird confession to make: Although I'm not a picky eater by ANY means, I've always hated pasta salad.

    Early on, the pasta salads I'd been exposed to were gross - way too sweet, or salty, or the pasta was too firm, or the sauce was too bland.

    Up until very recently, I've completely avoided pasta salad since I was probably about 12 years old or so.

    Recently our friend Trevor (Who you may know as "Mr J" - and if you don't, you probably should!) brought a tub of deli macaroni salad to one of our potluck parties.

    My first - completely internal, as I was NOT raised by wolves! - instinct was "blech.. macaroni salad!" (Sorry, Trevor!)... until I noticed that it had cubed cheese in it.

    I'd never seen that before. Curiosity piqued, I tried a bite.. and it was actually pretty good!

    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based pasta salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.

    Flash forward a few weeks, to earlier this week.

    Marie's Pasta Salad

    My "stress cooking" reflex was triggered, and I was right in the mood for more of that pasta salad.

    I decided to make pasta salad for the first time in my life... loosely based on that deli one, but tweaked to be a bit more to my tastes.

    First off, I ditched the macaroni for Rotini, simply because it's more fun to eat it.

    I couldn't remember what all was in the salad, so I went with celery for crunch, red pepper for colour, and green onion because I love it.

    I based the dressing off of my awesome coleslaw, making sure to not let it get too sweet.

    Oh, it was GOOD. We went through the whole batch embarrassingly quickly.

    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based macaroni salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.

    A Few Notes on Making Pasta Salad

    1. For the best pasta salad, you want the pasta to actually cook to soft, not just al dente - I find that this allows the pasta to better absorb the flavours from the dressing.

    2. Aside from the pasta, this recipe is gluten free. To make a gluten free pasta salad, I recommend using brown rice pasta, and carefully watching it as it cooks - don't let it get to the point of falling apart!

    3. My husband thinks it would be even better with peas added to it. I think that triggers my "macaroni salad is gross" instinct, but who knows... I'm not exactly a connoisseur of pasta salad!

    If it sounds good to you, go for it!

    Enjoy!

    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based macaroni salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.

    More Pasta Recipes

    Looking for tasty ways to carb load? I've got you covered!

    Acorn Squash Tortellini with Nutmeg Cream Sauce
    Antipasto Salad
    Basic and Flavoured Pasta - Homemade!
    Chocolate Dessert Ravioli
    How to Make Store Bought Pasta Sauce Taste GOOD
    Pasta Alla Porters
    Spinach Pine Nut Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce
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    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based macaroni salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.

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    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.

    Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based pasta salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.

    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based pasta salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.
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    3.67 from 3 votes

    Marie’s Pasta Salad Recipe

    After a lifetime of disliking any form of macaroni salad, I created one of my own. The perfect balance of sour and sweet, textures, flavours, and colours.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time12 mins
    Chilling time2 hrs
    Total Time2 hrs 22 mins
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 10 People
    Calories: 507kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb Uncooked Rotini Pasta*
    • 3 Celery chopped
    • 5 Green Onions Thinly sliced
    • 1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
    • 8 oz Mild Cheddar Cheese Cubed
    • 1 ½ cups Mayonnaise
    • ⅓ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
    • 1 ¼ teaspoon Salt
    • ½ teaspoon Celery Seed
    • Ground Pepper

    Instructions

    • Cook pasta according to package directions, but adding a few minutes to the boil time. Drain, and rinse well with cold water until cool. Set aside.
    • In a large mixing bowl, combine celery, green onion, pepper, and cheese, tossing to mix well and break up any cheese cubes that are stuck to each other. Add cooled pasta, gently toss to combine.
    • In a separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except pepper. Pour over pasta salad, gently toss to completely coat. Season with pepper to taste.
    • Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

    Notes

    * This amount of dressing is perfect for Rotini, which has a lot more surface area than most pastas. If you’d like to use a different pasta, you’ll likely need less dressing. Start with about ⅔ of the dressing this makes, and add more if you like!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 659mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 735IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 187mg | Iron: 1mg

    A blue bowl overflowing with a rotini based pasta salad. Cubes of cheese, red peppers, celery slices, and green onion are all visible.

    More Salads!

    Looking for more salad recipes - whether as a side, main, or dessert (LOL!)? I’ve got you!

    Antipasto Salad
    Best Coleslaw Recipe Ever!
    Canadian Candy Bar Salad
    Cold Smoked Potato Salad
    "Extreme" Caesar Salad Recipe
    Gramma's Potato Salad
    Grilled Halloumi Salad with Peaches & Figs
    Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Salad
    Mango Salad
    No Tomato Quinoa Tabbouleh
    Rainbow Salad with Carrot Dressing
    Roasted Corn & Potato Salad
    Roasted Radish Salad
    Wild Rice & Edamame Salad

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    « Roasted Radish Salad
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    Marie Porter


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