California Pasta Salad
Not only does this salad travel well to get-togethers such as picnics or tailgate parties, but people absolutely love it when it gets there. —Jeanette Krembas, Laguna Niguel, California
Ingredients
- 1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 1-inch pieces
- 3 large tomatoes, diced
- 2 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 large cucumber, diced
- 1 medium green pepper, diced
- 1 sweet red pepper, diced
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained
- DRESSING:
- 1 bottle (16 ounces) Italian salad dressing
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Reviews
Very easy and crowd pleasing.
I made this for a company BBQ and everyone loved it! I'm not fond of bottled dressings, so I substituted 1-1/2 cups white balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup olive oil, as well as 1 tsp. salt and I doubled the garlic powder. I spiral cut the zucchini for an interesting look. I will be making this again, for sure :)
I used only 1/2 bottle of dressing to start. I waited till the next day to add a little more to see how much was absorbed by the pasta. I did add 1 tea of garlic salt to the dressing mixture.
Great, classic pasta salad for a potluck. It does need some tweaking on seasonings. I like to add a bit of garlic and or onion salt.
Begging to be personally tweaked ,one whole-bottled dressing ? Is too much
I've made this pasta ?? dish twice now an it's a big hit !'
I made this without the olives and added more fresh grated parm. This is a really tasty spaghetti salad. Has a little more flavor than the standard. Also, I found the poppy seeds unnecessary. They didn't add any flavor. I'm going to make this again for the next potluck. Easy to double or cut in half.
This pasta salad was so fresh tasting. I love make ahead recipes. I made grilled chicken to go with it. Everyone loved it.
Made this exactly as written and took it to a potluck luncheon. It was disappointing to say the least! It was soggy and tasteless. It didn't look particularly appetizing, people took small portions and I sadly noticed a fair amount left on plates to be dumped in the garbage. My usual offerings have always been popular at potlucks. Can't say I was impressed.
Nice recipe