GRADUATION PASTA SALAD

Graduation Pasta Salad image

We served this at our twin daughters' graduation open house. Since that time, it is our most requested pasta salad. My daughters will make batches of this to take back to college to share with their friends. Scale back the salt and MSG if it suits your tastes or needs, but in this recipe the amounts listed blend in very nicely.

Provided by duboo

Categories Salad Pasta Salad Rotini Pasta Salad Recipes

Time 9h33m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 12

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Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package tri-color rotini pasta
3 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
2 ½ tablespoons canola oil
¾ cup mayonnaise
2 ½ tablespoons seasoned salt (such as LAWRY'S®)
1 ¼ teaspoons flavor enhancer (such as Accent®)
2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 (5 ounce) jar sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
1 (3 ounce) can chopped black olives
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup chopped green onions

Steps:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook rotini pasta at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse; transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk lemon juice and canola oil together in a small bowl. Stir in mayonnaise, seasoned salt, and flavor enhancer. Pour over pasta and toss to coat.
Refrigerate pasta mixture, tossing occasionally, until flavors combine, 8 hours to overnight.
Bring pasta mixture to room temperature, about 1 hour. Stir in cucumbers, tomatoes, green olives, black olives, green bell pepper, and green onions; toss to distribute evenly.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 452.9 calories, Carbohydrate 50 g, Cholesterol 7.8 mg, Fat 24.9 g, Fiber 3.4 g, Protein 8.9 g, SaturatedFat 3.4 g, Sodium 1539 mg, Sugar 4.3 g