Mediterranean Pasta Salad for a Crowd
"A pasta salad loaded with veggies, great to take for a potluck or to serve at a big BBQ. Best to prepare a day ahead of time so it has time to absorb all the flavors"
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 16
- Yields:
-
4 quarts
- Serves:
- 30
ingredients
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- 12 ounces tri-color spiral pasta
- 1 (12 ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing
- 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans
- 3 roma tomatoes, seeded, large diced
- 1 small red onion, cut into strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 (7 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms
- 1 (13 3/4 ounce) can artichokes, quartered in brine
- 1 (13 ounce) can black olives
- 4 radishes, halved then sliced
- 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- flat leaf parsley
- salt and pepper
- red wine vinegar (optional)
directions
- Boil pasta in salted water until al dente.
- Prepare vegetables as listed.
- Drain and rinse all canned items.
- Combine pasta, cheese, canned items, and fresh vegetables in a very large mixing bowl.
- Add 3/4 of the bottle of salad dressing ( I use Bernstein's Restaurant Recipe Italian) and stir to combine.
- Add parsley for extra color, add a splash of red wine vinegar (optional) to "brighten" the flavor.
- The next day, add the remaining salad dressing before serving, and stir thoroughly.
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Reviews
-
A great recipe....we left out the mushrooms and used a green pepper instead of yellow and asiago cheese instead of parmesan -
This was amazing! The only change I made was adding Feta cheese. Got lots of compliments from the party. It fed a large group well, and everyone liked it so much, I probably should have made more! Thanks for sharing! -
Leah made this for her wedding reception BBQ. It was great to eat because of all the flavors and textures. There wasn't much left! It is now my favorite pasta salad.
Tweaks
-
A great recipe....we left out the mushrooms and used a green pepper instead of yellow and asiago cheese instead of parmesan
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
SuperSpike
Moses Lake, WA
Welcome to my page!
I live in Central Washington State with my husband and Golden Retriever, Hallie. I'm back in my hometown after earning my Bachelor's Degree, and I work at a Brokerage firm.
I've loved cooking my whole life, and really delved into it during high school when I got put in charge of cooking for my family of seven, who were all picky eaters or had dietary restrictions. I really like to experiment in the kitchen- its one place where my creativity can really flow. I rarely measure ingredients unless I'm baking- but I occasionally bust out the scales, spoons, and cups so I can post accurate recipes.
Nowadays I cook lightened versions of my favorites. I joined Weight Watchers in April 2007 and have lost 40 lbs on the program- it has really changed my life. I recently started working as a receptionist for Weight Watchers meetings on top of my full time job because I enjoy the program so much. WW has helped out my Hubby, too- He has lost around 30 lbs as well just by eating my lighter cooking :) I like the challenge of making healthy but delicious food.
My favorite TV Chef is Alton Brown- I own all of his cookbooks, and like how he has a reason for everything he does. Plus, I like to jerry-rig things and he's a sort of MacGyver in the kitchen.
My biggest challenge in cooking is making food that appeals to me while not disgusting my husband. He likes very simple, and somewhat bland foods. He hates garlic and onions, so I've really had to scale back there, though I won't give them up completely. I love to try new flavors and cuisines, while he would be happy eating Hamburger Helper.
I'm just getting in to baking bread. I've tried using my KitchenAid mixer and actually prefer doing it by hand- nothing better than hot bread fresh out of the oven!
I'm also a regular poster in the exercise/High activity forum since I started running earlier this year. My plan is to participate in all our local fun-runs.
