Now, the pasta salad is a mainstay and expected part of pretty much any picnic or potluck. But have you ever walked into a party and seen one that’s PINK? Didn’t think so. This Pink Cadillac Pasta Salad is a showstopper in looks, sure, but you can’t beat that sweet and tangy dressing either.

What Ingredients Are In Pink Cadillac Pasta Salad?

It’s a lot of what you’d expect in a pasta salad and a few things you wouldn’t. You’ll need:

• Elbow macaroni. One pound.
• One red onion.
• Celery.
• Bell pepper. Your choice in color.
• Dill pickle relish.
• Mayonnaise.

And finally, the thing that makes this salad stand out — Catalina dressing.

Catalina dressing is what brings the color to this show stopping salad, but it also brings the flavor. Tangy yet sweet, it’s made creamy by the mayonnaise, but adds a layered flavor that you don’t usually get with a deli salad. It’s delicious!

How Do You Make Pink Cadillac Pasta Salad?

Pasta salad is pretty straightforward but we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve here!

To start, you’ll want to slice up your onion and then soak it in a bath of ice water. This tames that sharp bite a bit and is a trick I now use every time I make a salad with uncooked onion. Do that first so it can sit while you work on the rest.

Next, boil your macaroni according to the directions on the box or bag, and then drain it. But don’t rinse it, please! Just spread it out on a sheet pan to cool a bit while you chop up your veggies. This method means you don’t remove any of the starch from the pasta so your dressing sticks better but you still cool down the noodles a bit before mixing everything together.

Then, just slice your celery and your bell pepper. Stir together that relish, Catalina dressing, and mayo, and toss everything together. And you’ve got a pasta salad not quite like any other!