The Best Pasta Salad Recipe (I’m not kidding people ask for the recipe)

This is not your average pasta salad. Spicy shallots and lemongrass salsa added with the acidity of lemon and apple cider vinegar and the creaminess of mayonnaise make it super delicious. I like to think of this as a throw-whatever-you-have-in-your-fridge type of pasta salad so free to omit or substitute any ingredients; these just happen to be the ingredients I had and thought tasted especially delicious together! My secret ingredient is Trader Joe’s Indonesian Salsa - a tasty and fiery combination of shallots, lemongrass, garlic, and cherry peppers. If you’re not into spicy dishes, add less or omit the hot sauce and Indonesian salsa. Bring it the next BBQ you go to and wow your friends and family with a flavorful twist on a classic dish. 

Ingredients

1 box of elbow noodles, cooked and rinsed

1 large zucchini, spiralized and chopped or diced if you don’t have a spiralizer

1 small red onion, diced

½ jar of Trader Joe’s grilled artichoke hearts

Dressing

1 cup mayo (I use low fat)

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 tsp Dill Tarragon mustard (the only mustard I had - dijon would be good as well)

1 tsp pickle or banana pepper juice from the jar

2 Tbsp pickle relish (or chopped up pickles if you have)

2 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes

2 Tbsp lemon juice (or juice from one small lemon)

1 Tbsp hot sauce (I use Cholula)

4 Tbsp Sambal Matah Indonesian Salsa from Trader Joes 

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp oregano

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

What To Do

Mix dressing ingredients together then combine with pasta, zucchini, and red onion. Enjoy!