Spooky Noodle Pasta Salad

For this week’s Wickedly Delicious Wednesday, we’re putting a fun and spooky spin on a classic pasta salad!

Ingredients

• Novelty Halloween Shaped Pasta Noodles
• 1 bag of cheese crumbles
• 2 small cans of sliced black olives
• 1 container of cherry or salad tomatoes
• 1 bag of mini pepperonis
• 1 packet of Italian dressing mix
• 1/4 cup of vinegar
• 3 tbsp of water
• 1/2 cup of oil

Instructions

1. Slice and quarter the tomatoes until they are bite sized. Set aside in a bowl, including any tomato juice that collects.
2. Boil the pasta as directed – don’t forget to salt the water! Since you’ll be using it for a pasta salad, it’s a good idea to leave it a little bit under-cooked since the noodles are going to end up in a dressing and will continue to soften a bit. When it’s finished, drain and rinse the pasta in cool water. Empty the pasta into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the tomatoes, the bag of cheese crumbles, both cans of black olives (rinsed!), and the bag of mini pepperonis to the mixing bowl with the pasta.
4. In a smaller bowl, mix the Italian dressing as directed. For this recipe, the dressing called for 1/4 cup of vinegar, 3 tbsp of water, and 1/2 cup of oil.
5. Once it’s thoroughly mixed, pour the dressing over the pasta salad and stir it all together.
6. Enjoy right away or chill and enjoy later!

Whenever I’m asked to bring something to a barbecue or other potluck-esque gathering, this simple pasta salad is my go to dish. It’s easy to make, big on flavor, and surprisingly light! You can make it with any kind of noodle (rotini and bowties are especially popular), but opting to make it with novelty Halloween shaped noodles adds a bit of frighteningly fun flair to this classic dish.

And when it comes time to assemble the pasta salad, make sure you stir it gently (use a spatula if you have one available!) so as to preserve the novelty shapes. For the pasta salad I made here, you can see there are spiderwebs, jack ‘o lanterns, and little ghosts throughout – they held together very well and made the perfect Spooky Noodle Pasta Salad!

🎃