As soon as summer rolls around, the barbeque comes out, and burgers and hotdogs are consumed a few times a week for dinner. We avoid turning on the oven so, although fries would be delicious with our burgers and hot dogs, we prefer something that doesn’t need to be baked. So, pasta salad has become one of our favourite sides to make.
My Grandma, who’s recipe box inspired this blog, did not like pasta. I was surprised to learn this as unlike my Grandma I love pasta. To be honest I love all carbohydrates, but it never occurred to me that people might not like to eat pasta. I used to ask for a pasta dish for every birthday meal. My mom, father and brother also love pasta. Basically, what I am trying to say is that this recipe did not come from my grandma’s recipe box but from my mom.
I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I am sure this will not be the last time I mention it. Mom has this amazing ability to whip up something without a recipe and it always tastes great. I however have less experience and prefer to follow a recipe. This has meant that every time Mom starts to make something I am constantly asking her to write it down. I became more and more insistent when I had first moved out, and now that we have our blog, we are constantly reminding each other to write things down.
When we set out to share this recipe there were a few test runs, not that any of us complained, I sure didn’t because again I love pasta. We now have a recipe we adore and hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does! It is simple, delicious, and perfect to bring to a barbeque or picnic. Let us know if you give it a try!
3 cups dried fusilli
¾ cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp ranch dressing
2 tbsp sweet relish
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp prepared mustard
2 tsp sugar
1 cup or two stalks diced celery
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup or 1 medium shredded carrots
⅓ cup or ½ of a small sweet onion finely chopped
First we wanted to briefly talk about fusilli. Mom and I thought there were different types of fusilli, like spaghetti or spaghettini. Perhaps there is but both of the noodles in the photo said fusilli on the package. So just be aware that they are not all made equal. We prefer the smaller size but used the larger for this recipe. Either one will taste good you just may need to add more or less sauce.
Our first step is to cook the pasta as per the package instructions. Set aside to cool.
Tip from Jane: If you are worried about sauce to pasta and vegetable ratio, you can always make the sauce in a separate bowl. You can always add more sauce but you can’t take it away.
In a large bowl combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl whisking them together.
Add the red pepper, onion, celery, and grated carrot. Sometimes if we want less dishes we will grate the carrot directly into the bowl.
Add your cooled pasta stirring everything together until evenly coated. We prefer to make our pasta salad a head of time so that way the flavours have a chance to marry. You can eat it right away if you like. Enjoy!
Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried fusilli
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp ranch dressing
- 2 tbsp sweet relish
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp prepared mustard
- 1 cup or two stalks diced celery
- 1 cup chopped red pepper
- 1 cup or 1 medium shredded carrots
- ⅓ cup or ½ of a small sweet onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta as per the instructions. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl whisking them together.
- Add the red pepper, onion, celery, and grated carrot. Sometimes if we want less dishes we will grate the carrot directly into the bowl.
- Add your cooled pasta stirring everything together until evenly coated. We prefer to make our pasta salad a head of time so that way the flavours have a chance to marry. You can eat it right away if you like. Enjoy!
- Tip from Jane: If you are worried about sauce to pasta and vegetable ratio, you can always make the sauce in a separate bowl. You can always add more sauce but you can't take it away
