Macaroni Pasta Salad Recipe Ft. Barilla Pasta

I’ve been really wishing for summer weather as the days here in Toronto have been super cold (where did that snow come from?!). Hey Mother Nature, I thought it was supposed to be Spring already!! Despite the snow, I’ve been trying to stay positive and make my favourite summer dish: pasta salad! All of those delicious flavours always work out so well and are a perfect addition to any BBQ or potluck get together. Ever since I was young, I’ve always gravitated toward pasta salads and this macaroni pasta salad is no different! Made from corn and rice, this gluten-free pasta from Barilla doesn’t taste much different than regular durum wheat semolina.

Since I wanted something fresh and out-of-the-box, I made a macaroni pasta salad and the results were fantastic! Seriously though… look at that beauty!!

Barilla Macaroni Pasta Salad

I received some boxes of Barilla pasta and was excited to use it since I’ve heard so many great things about the brand! In general, I usually just buy whatever’s convenient without searching or going out of my way for a particular brand, but I feel like I’m now a convert! The Barilla pasta brand is known as Italy’s #1 brand of pasta and has a rich history starting in 1877!

Since we are a two-person household, a whole box of pasta is way too much for the two of us and I invited some friends over for a potluck party. We tried the gluten-free macaroni pasta from Barilla and we were all pleasantly surprised at how similar the taste was from regular durum semolina pasta!

I’m not much of a chef in the kitchen so I was super glad that this macaroni pasta recipe was super easy to make! The simple ingredient list also made it really easy to find all of the ingredients used. I found all of my ingredients at my local Loblaws supermarket.

Although not quite as small, I grabbed some Campari tomatoes since they were on sale and looked much fresher than the grape tomatoes that were on selection. Aren’t they so pretty?!

Although gluten-free, the method of preparing the pasta is the same. Boil, season with salt, drain!

If you’re crunched on time or like to multi-task as I do, use this time to do a bit of prep! To help save time, chop up your tomatoes, cheese and basil while you’re waiting for the water to boil and pasta to cook. Don’t forget to take a few breaks in between to stir the pot and make sure the pasta doesn’t stick! This makes sure that your pasta cooks evenly because who wants crunchy macaroni pasta salad?!

When all of your ingredients are prepared, drain and cool down your pasta on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil so they don’t stick together.

SO. MUCH. PASTA!!

My favourite part comes next: putting all of the ingredients together! I decided to add a bit more cheese and basil than asked for because they just photograph so nicely! Look at all those colours!

yaaaasss!!

Let me know if you try out this recipe and share it on social media #ShareTheTable!

Macaroni Pasta Salad Recipe