French Macaroni Salad

Submitted by Jan in Lanark

"I went through many of the recipes posted and didn't see one quite like this- a french type dressing rather than the usual mayo base. Should be made ahead of time- my sister in law shared this one with me and we love it. I often use tri-colured pasta to make it even prettier.Of course, you can vary the types and amounts of vegetables used."

 

• Ready In: 27mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 cups macaroni
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 green onions or 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1⁄2 green peppers or 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded

• Dressing

• 2⁄3 cup white sugar
• 1⁄2 cup oil
• 1⁄3 cup ketchup
• 1⁄4 cup vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika

directions

1. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until al denté.
2. Mix macaroni and vegetables.
3. Mix dressing and pour over salad.
4. Refrigerate a day ahead if possible, stir and serve.

Reviews

[mom24boys]

I only gave 4 stars, not because there was something wrong, but because I reserve a 5 star review for those recipes that are a real knock-out. This salad was a great change from the mayo-type or Italian-type. It had a lovely freshness and really showcased the garden-fresh veggies. I followed the recipe fairly closely. Here are the particulars: I used elbow macaroni (only cuz that is what I had but after tasting it, I think it is the right size and texture for this recipe). For tomatoes I used some heirlooms - a yellow, 2 purple Roma and a large red type. I think it could have had more and I also think momofallboys (aren't we boy-moms special?) is right: grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half would be excellent. I used 2 green onions but I think a red onion would be even better! I used 1/2c cucumber as called for but wished for more when eating. I think about 1c would be a good balance. For the dressing, I cut the sugar to 1/2c figuring I could add more later if needed but it was just right. I'm thinking the addition of some diced cooked chicken would make this a welcome one-dish summer meal on a hot day.

 

[momofallboys]

This was excellent! I loved the different dressing. I also loved the fact that you make it a day ahead of time and the dressing doesn't soak into the pasta making the salad too dry. This always seems to happen with mayo based dressings. A word to the wise, this dressing is very oily - doesn't work well with paper plates. I can't wait to make it again. Next time I am going to use bigger chunks of cucumbers and add some broccoli and cheese - maybe I'll try grape tomatoes next time... Thanks so much for posting this recipe - very versatile!

 

[Jazze22]

This was a different salad and was easy to make. It was a little tart for my taste but I liked that it didn't have mayo. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[lea_petra]

Personally I loved it. My husband hated it. He thought it was too sweet. Next time I will cut the sugar down and see what he thinks. It's great to find a pasta salad without mayo, something we rarely have in our house.

 

[Fluffy]

We loved this macaroni salad. It was a nice change from the usual mayo based salad. I made it just as stated except I used a red onion. Thanks