As we remain on the hunt for a new culinary columnist, I have the chef hat once more. I might not be a five-star chef, but I’m basically an expert on college-age struggle meals.
This pasta salad recipe is one of my go-tos when I have a busy week. It’s fantastic for meal-prepping, especially when you want something you can eat cold, so you don’t have to hunt down a microwave on campus.
Pasta Salad
This dish is made to my taste, but it is easily customizable. If you have any dietary restrictions or allergies, you can easily remove, add or swap ingredients in this recipe to make it accessible for you!
Ingredients:
Rainbow Rotini Pasta
Mozzarella balls
Salami
Onion
Pepperoncini
Italian dressing
Directions:
Bring water to boil then add a box of pasta. Cook based on package instructions.
Drain water, then add pasta to a large bowl.
Add mozzarella balls. I personally added an entire eight-ounce container because I believe there is no such thing as “too much cheese.”
Rip salami into small pieces, roughly the size of a quarter or smaller. I added eight medium-sized slices of salami into my pasta salad.
Dice an onion and add onion to the pasta to taste.
Make sure to remove the pepperoncini stems before adding the pepperoncini to the mix. I did not know the stems weren’t edible when I was making this, and I had to go back through and find them all to remove the stems.
I added ten pepperoncinis, but make sure to add these to your preferred spice level.
Measure the Italian dressing with your heart (or roughly 18 tablespoons).
It only took about an hour to put this dish together. It made six servings, establishing it as a relatively easy way to get a balanced meal throughout the week. If you’re always forgetting to eat protein and vegetables like me, this is the perfect dish for you.
If you think you can come up with a better dish, apply to become a reporter on SEANS! Who knows — you could be our next top chef.
Pasta Salad. Photo by Zee O’Donnell.