Creamy Pasta Salad Dressing Recipe
Hey, what’s up? Pasta salad isn’t as well-respected as pasta or salad, and it’s bullshit. Of course, with a little care, anyone can make a world-class-tasting pasta salad. So today I’m going to show you how to make a really good creamy pasta salad dressing recipe. We are going to make three different types, all of which are very well-tested and taste great. So to cook some pasta for this salad, I’ve got my saucepan three-quarters full, and into that, I’m going to measure 2,000 grams, or roughly 2 quarts of water. Salt, in my mind, is 45.
The first step to a great pasta salad requires that the pasta itself is well seasoned with salt, and I’ve found that the 2.25 grams of salt-to-water ratio is just right. Now I’m going to put this pot on the boil, and the first creamy pasta salad dressing recipe I’m going to make is the classic creamy macaroni salad. This one wasn’t easy to figure out either; this is the most abused and least understood pasta salad in my opinion, and after three tries, I’m finally very happy with the results. Grams or half a pound of elbow macaroni, and I’m going to set a timer for 11 minutes.
That’s three minutes longer than the package instructions, and that’s because, in my tests, overcooked pasta holds dressings and sauces much better than al dente. After 11 minutes, I’ll come back and give this macaroni a taste, and at this point, it should be the opposite of al dente, very un dent,basically. So cook it to where it’s very tender but not falling apart. Now I’m going to drain off this pasta, but first, I’m going to save a few scoops of pasta water to help me thin this creamy pasta salad dressing recipe in just under a minute.
When the pasta is well drained, I’m going to hit it with 25 grams of white distilled vinegar and a little bit of olive oil. I’ll do this squeezer in all three salads in this video except the noodles will stick together until they’re all slippery, and then I’ll put the noodles in a mixing bowl to cool them down.
I want them to come back to room temperature before adding any dressing, and after 20 minutes, this macaroni has cooled. Now, in this bowl, goes 30 grams of finely minced shallots, which I rinsed in cold water after chopping. For these shallots, the smaller, the better, and if you don’t have a shallot, try red onion, which also works. After that, 60 grams of finely chopped celery. Again, cut them as small as possible.
I really like the texture of raw celery, but too big a chunk, and suddenly it’s pungent and stringy, so chop it back. 30 grams of thinly sliced scallions, and 100 grams of frozen peas. Yes, it’s total whoopie, but at the end of the day, it’s essential to a quality mac salad. Next is 100 grams of crisp-cut bacon. To get this crispy, I put three-quarters of a pound of thinly sliced bacon on a wire rack and then a sheet tray, and then loaded it into a 350f or 176c oven and roasted it for about 30 minutes to render that fat.
Once the bacon is rendered, thickened, and crispy, it’s ready to be removed and cooled. If done correctly, the bacon should be firm and crispy. This looks perfect. Next, I’ll cut it into small bacon bits for the side, and it looks and tastes great. That goes into 100 grams of salad.
For the creamy pasta salad dressing recipe, I’ve created a creamy and tangy miracle whip ranch hybrid that’s versatile and delicious. To make it, combine a large egg, 50 grams of sour cream, 25 grams of Dijon mustard, 15 grams of sugar, 10 grams of lemon juice, 5 grams of Worcestershire sauce, 5 grams of salt, and half a clove of garlic in a high-sided container. Use an immersion blender to combine these ingredients.
Then, slowly stream in 300 grams of neutral oil, like light-colored olive oil (not extra virgin, as it becomes bitter). Blend until the mixture is lightly emulsified and creamy. When the dressing is thick, add a splash of pasta water to distribute it evenly throughout the creamy pasta salad dressing recipe.
This helps the noodles absorb more dressing. Aim for a good amount of dressing without overwhelming the salad. I think it needs a little more sauce, so I’ll add about 300 grams total. Next, add five grams of chopped fresh dill, and 20-30 cranks of black pepper, and adjust the salt to taste. Remember, cold foods require more salt, so taste and adjust accordingly.
I’m going to give this creamy pasta salad dressing recipe one more stir to assemble it, and then to prove this salad is worthy of your respect, I’m going to plate it as if it were fancy pasta or a restaurant-style salad. We’re going to dress this up with some more fresh dill, a few cracked black peppercorns, and a little extra virgin olive oil.
This is a grown-up macaroni salad, guys. You can eat it by the pool or by the grill. Whatever you want, let’s taste this thing. It is known and developed; it’s creamy, kind of salty, and has lots of interesting textures. I didn’t think it could be done. The creamy pasta salad was not something I liked. It’s always been kind of a dump.
For the creamy pasta salad dressing recipe, start with 2,000 grams of water and 45 grams of salt, and bring it to a boil. When it comes to temperature, I think it’s a good time to thank Butcher Box. Butcher box delivers high-quality, carefully sourced meat and seafood to your door. The beef is 100 percent grass-fed, the chicken is organic free-range, and all seafood is sustainably wild-caught.
I find that when I eat properly sourced meats and seafood that are super nutrient-dense, I eat less and feel better, probably because of the omega-3s. You’ve got a bunch of them in there, and scientists say they’re great for your body. Oh yeah, the box I got came with two free lobster tails and two free rib eyes.
Did you say yes right now? When you click the link in my description and buy your first box, Butcher Box will send you two free lobster tails and two free 100% grass-fed ribeye as a thank you. When you click on the link in my description, you’ll find five curated boxes to choose from. I personally like beef and chicken, so that’s what I got, or you can choose a custom box to get exactly what you like.
Delivery is free, you can cancel at any time, and the box will contain free lobster and rib eyes. Did I mention that anyway? All the grass-fed meat I ate from Butcher Box last week was delicious, and I want to thank them. Next up is a creamy pasta salad dressing recipe, and the perfect shape for that is a shell.
The peaks on the outside are going to hold a ton of chunky rustic pesto, with the cavities on the inside. As a bonus, the things we’re going to mix in as garnishes are the same size, but we’ll add them later. Cook for 12 minutes, which is the correct cooking time on the box. After about three minutes, we want soft pasta, not sticky pasta. Within 12 minutes, the pasta will be dry.
Then, mix in 25g of white distilled vinegar and a squeeze of extra virgin olive oil, as before, and invert it into a medium bowl to cool. I like to blow on this just a little bit to get the cooling started. However, very hot pasta tends to cook quite a bit more, and then we run the risk of it being mushy. After about 20 minutes, the shells are cooled and ready to be turned into a creamy pasta salad dressing recipe. First, add 300 grams of pesto.
I tend to overcook creamy pasta salad dressing recipes, which can make it mushy. After about 20 minutes, the shells are cooled and ready to be turned into pasta salad. First, add 300 grams of pesto. I’m very generous with pesto in pasta salads. To make this pesto in a food processor, start with 100 grams of lightly toasted and then cooled pine nuts. Any nut will work here for a nut-based sauce.
Next, add 100 grams of basil – sweet and green is best. Include 20 grams of picked parsley, with the stalks removed, and 30 grams of shallot. I minced and rinsed the shallot as we did for the first creamy pasta salad dressing recipe because it would break down quickly in the food processor.
Finally, add 100 grams of grated Parmesan cheese. Followed by 225 grams of cold extra virgin olive oil, it is in the refrigerator for about 25 minutes. This cool oil helps keep this pesto green as the food processor heats up due to the friction, and finally, five grams of salt and 30 grams of lemon juice.
The lid is on, and I’m going to spin it on high speed for 20 to 30 seconds, or until everything is well broken up. We are starting. It’s definitely not the most traditional pesto to make, but it’s a perfect dressing for a creamy pasta salad dressing recipe, and it’s super easy to make, too. I keep it in the fridge as often as weeknight chicken or salmon.
Start the pasta in the pesto first before adding any garnishes. The stuff I’m going to mix in is pretty soft and fragile, and the constant folding will break them once everything is nicely coated and bright green. 200 grams halved mozzarella pearls and 200 grams halved cherry tomatoes.
These are the sun-gold tomatoes in my garden, and they’re probably the easiest and tastiest tomatoes on earth. A fun trick to quickly cut a lot of these little BBS in half is to use a deli container to halve.
You can probably do 15 to 20 tomatoes at a time this way, and it’s really quick. Once the tomatoes are done, we’re going to throw in a pinch of Parmesan cheese, and then using a paddle-style utensil, we’re going to gently fold everything together, and it looks great. Pesto is a very fun variation on the pasta salad theme, and I think this style in particular blurs the line between a pasta dish and a proper salad.
To finish it off, we’ll hit some more pesto on top and then some grated Parmesan, and now all that’s left to do is flavor it. This is a good-tasting creamy pasta salad dressing recipe; it is salty, round, and very herbal. From all that basil, pine nuts come with some interesting secrets; I don’t splurge on them, so that’s, uh, stick around. Just a total pro pasta salad, guys, and if you twist my arm and force me to grade this thing, I’m going to say a 9.7 out of 10.
Wow wonderful blog layout How long have you been blogging for you make blogging look easy The overall look of your site is great as well as the content
Thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate the compliment. I’ve been blogging for a while now, and it’s been a rewarding journey. I’m glad you find the layout and content appealing. If you ever have any questions or need tips on blogging, feel free to ask!
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