A Different Pasta Salad

There’s quite a number of different pasta salads. From a humble macaroni salad to the more gourmet pasta salads. I think just calling it “pasta salad” makes it more gourmet and if you get technical, macaroni salad is actually pasta salad. But I digress.

This taco pasta salad is pure genius and I can guarantee you that you’ll be a real hero to the taco lovers in your family when you serve it. So I’d make double the recipe because it’ll disappear quickly.

The Best Cheese To Use

This recipe calls for good old cheddar. It’s easy to come by and as always I suggest shredding your own from the block. Since when you shred it yourself, it has none of the drying and anti-caking agents that are in the packets of the commercially shedded kind. Plus, I think it tastes better. It certainly has a better texture.

But what “flavor” cheddar is best? You’ll get more bang for your buck tastewise if you use an extra-sharp variety. That’s my opinion on the subject because a milder variety would get lost with the strong flavor of the seasoning so you’d be better off with something bold.

Seasonings And Additions

I like the taste of my own homemade taco seasoning. However, an envelope of the store bought will work just fine. If you do make up some of my recipe for the taco seasoning, leave out the cornstarch.

You can beef up (so to speak) this taco pasta salad by adding a pound of browned ground beef, chicken or turkey. That will make it a great cold meal for a hot day. If you do choose to add meat, the taco seasoning can be added to the meat when it’s browning.

The Recipe

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Taco Pasta Salad

If you love tacos...

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Course: Main/Side, Salad

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: mexican salads, summer pasta salads, taco pasta salad

Servings: 6

Calories: 246kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
• 2 tbs homemade taco seasoning or 1 packet store-bought
• 3 cups shredded lettuce
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 tbs jalapeño peppers diced (optional)
• 1/2 cup Catalina salad dressing
• Corn chips

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and rinse in cold water and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle taco seasoning over pasta and toss to coat.
• Add the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onion, green pepper and dressing; toss to coat. Serve with corn/tortilla chips.
• Adding some diced cooked chicken will make this a complete main dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 407mg | Potassium: 392mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1141IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 1mg

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Simple but classic macaroni salad. Just like the old-time diners served.

Sometimes you just have to get back to basics. Does anyone make real macaroni salad anymore? Personally I like some fancier pasta salads, but it’s all you see anymore with everything from goat cheese to truffles.

I don’t want “frou frou” all the time to be honest and no matter how fancy some of these “pasta salads” get…and I gotta love the name change like it’s moved uptown LOL…plain old every-day non-gourmet macaroni salad still has it’s snobbish cousins beat by a mile.

An American classic

There’s nothing at all fancy in this–just good old pantry ingredients. And whatever you do–no fancy-schmantzy mustard. This classic uses good old American yellow mustard like the stuff you get at the ballpark. That’s the reason the dressing tastes so good!

You can even eliminate the julienne carrots. I just put them in because a) I had them in the fridge and wanted to use them and b) it gave the salad a little more color and crunch.

Just enjoy the heck out of this salad with a nice juicy burger, hot dog or some fried shrimp. Nothing could be better!

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Classic Macaroni Salad

Simple but classic macaroni salad. Just like the old-time diners served.Simple but classic macaroni salad. Just like the old-time diners served.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Total Time23 minutes mins

Course: salads

Cuisine: American

Keyword: macaroni salad

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 501kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked
• 2 stalks celery finely diced
• 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
• 1/2 cup julienne matchstick carrots
• Dressing:
• 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

• Cook elbows per package directions. Drain and rinse; place in a large bowl and set aside until cool.
• Add the celery red onion and matchstick carrots to the cooked elbows; mix well.
• In a small bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients.
• Add dressing to elbows and gently mix to coat all the macaroni.
• Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
• Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 752mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1812IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Copyright © Judith Hannemann aka The Midnight Baker 2015. All Rights Reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without The Midnight Baker’s express consent.

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Loaded Pasta Salad

This pasta salad has everything but the kitchen sink! It’s really a meal in itself.

Pasta Salad For Summer

What better way to usher in summer than a fine, chilled pasta salad?

This salad combines a bit of everything. In fact, it could be a complete meal if you wanted it to be, but it’s great served as a side.

It’s really a complete meal!

I incorporated the general theme of a classic macaroni salad along with a hack of an Amish broccoli salad. The combination really is great here.

If you want the salad more pungent and oniony, then add about 2-3 tbs of chopped onion.

This is also a good way to use up leftover cooked macaroni and broccoli! But any leftover veggie will do here, so make it totally your own!

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The Recipe

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Loaded Pasta Salad

This pasta salad has everything but the kitchen sink! It’s really a meal in itself.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: salads

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pasta salad recipe

Servings: 6

Calories: 475kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked pasta of any shape I used med. shells
• 2 cups steamed baby broccoli florets
• 4 slices bacon diced
• 1/2 cup diced 1/4-inch sharp cheddar cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Dressing:
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsp ranch seasoning mix
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

• Mix dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
• Combine all other ingredients and mix well.
• Chill for at least 2 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 621mg | Potassium: 213mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 213IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Loaded Pasta Salad

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Here’s a pasta salad with a bright lemon herb twist and the crunch of toasted almonds.

The recent heat wave had turned my attention to lighter foods–especially salads that could double as meals.

I always have plenty of pasta in all shapes, but the thought of the usual pasta salad didn’t excite me much.

I had a nice bag of fresh green beans in the crisper and thought they’d combine so nicely together–especially with some flavorful Romano cheese mixed in.

A different and tasty pasta salad

The dressing I kept pretty simple. I preferred a vinaigrette instead of the usual mayonnaise-y dressings. I had lemons so thought that would be a good idea and also thought that some tarragon would be a nice addition with it’s slight minty taste.

This salad was superb with the chicken I served; a perfect accompaniment. I also topped it with some toasted almonds I had left over and that was really the finishing touch!

Pasta & Green Bean Salad with Lemon Tarragon Dressing

• 1 lb fresh green beans
• 8 oz medium shells pasta (uncooked)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
• salt/pepper to taste
• bowl of very cold or ice water
• Dressing:
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• juice of one (1) medium lemon
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
• 2 tbs water
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Cook shells per package directions; drain and cool.


Remove stems and strings from green beans. Cut beans in half. Steam or microwave beans for 2 minutes. Place immediately in ice water and let stand 5 minutes; drain.


Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor. Place in a covered container and refrigerate about 2 hours.


In a large bowl, mix pasta, green beans, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Chill about 2 hours.


When ready to serve, add desired amount of dressing and toss to coat. Top with toasted almonds.


Serves 4-6 depending on appetite.

Pasta & Green Bean Salad

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Here’s a hearty pasta salad you can call a complete meal. Tasty grilled chicken and a delicate dill-flavored ranch dressing will have them coming back for seconds.

This recipe came about in the most roundabout way I could have ever imagined.

First off, I like dill.  I buy a plant last month, transplant it and because of the cold weather, it croaked.  I don’t use dill much even though I do like it, so I just resigned myself to buying it when I needed it.  Well, I needed it for some of my Grilled Salmon with Blue Cheese, so I bought some…at an OUTRAGEOUS price I might add.

Next, I like cucumbers, particularly the European kind and they were on sale buy one get one.  However, I almost always end up having to throw at least half of it out.  I’m on a mission here NOT to waste food!

A dilly of a salad!

So what I did was throw an extra chicken breast on the grill the other night for this because I really had a taste for some dill-flavored chicken.  The two go so well together.  HINT: next time you make chicken soup, throw a few sprigs of dill in with the stock.  You’ll love it!

And since dill and cucumbers are made for each other, I decided to add some hunks of cukes as well.  And the result was delicious and hearty…you call this one a meal.

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Dilly Ranch Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

Here’s a hearty pasta salad you can call a complete meal. Tasty grilled chicken and a delicate dill-flavored ranch dressing will have them coming back for seconds.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Chicken, salads

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, pasta salad recipe

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 650kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 8 oz large grilled chicken breast
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 8 oz uncooked rotini or pasta shape of your choice
• salt & pepper to taste
• additional dill sprigs for garnish
• 1 tbs olive oil

DRESSING

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbs finely chopped dill
• 1 tbs ranch dressing mix the stuff in the envelope
• 2-3 tbs milk

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss; set aside.
• Slice cucumber in 1/2-inch slices, then quarter. Slice chicken breast about 1/8-inch thick. Add to pasta and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix all dressing ingredients, starting with 2 tbs of milk. If you desire a thinner dressing, add the additional 1 tbs milk. Stir well and add to the pasta mixture. Toss gently, coating all ingredients with dressing.
• Chill for about 1 hour. Makes 4-6 servings

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Calories: 650kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 646mg | Potassium: 264mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 106IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

Dilly Ranch Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

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This is a salad the eats like a meal!

I like my mac/pasta salads loaded.  In addition to the obligatory celery and onion (I use red onion), I just love some black olives, roasted red bell peppers and jalapenos in mine.

Classic Pasta Salad

Classic Pasta Salad

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