Salmon and Pasta Salad

Julesong's Note:

This salad makes a nice light meal in the summer. It's versatile, so feel free to fiddle with it and add your own ingredients! An adopted recipe.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• ½ cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise or 2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh basil , chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried, although fresh preferred)
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper (freshly ground tricolor pepper is nice)
• 2 cups uncooked macaroni , cooked according to package directions
• 1 (7 ½ ounce) can salmon
• 1 cup chopped celery (or fennel bulb)
• 1 red bell pepper , chopped
• ¼ cup red onion , diced (to taste)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.
3. In a separate bowl mix remaining ingredients, add it to the first mixture.
4. Toss to coat pasta.
5. Transfer to a container, and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
6. Before serving, make sure to gently stir it all up again well.
7. Note: other kinds of pasta can be used in place of macaroni, to make it interesting -- small spirals, orzo, penne, etc. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Reviews

[Gingerbear]

This is a wonderful pasta salad. The only thing that I added differently than the recipe calls for is dill weed and instead of plain yogurt I used fat-free sour cream since I had already had it on hand. I love dill and add it to almost any salad with seafood in it. I also doubled the servings. Even if i didn't add the dill weed, this dish still would have been absolutely wonderful. Thank you for a great recipe.

[Dustbunni]

I used this recipe as a stepping stone to build my own salmon salad. Thanks so much it really helped me get where I wanted to go. I left out the basil. I added: a can of black beans, rinsed and drained; 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed, 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed, and I used a 15 oz can of samon. I garnished with about 1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese. Of course, I had to use more of your delicious yogurt dressing. Thanks again for the recipe. It got me to the perfect summer supper.

[Chef #48136]

I just wanted to thank both reviewers for the dill suggestion... The last time I made this dish I added dill and it was definitely an improvement. Thanks for making my recipe better!