This recipe was taken from a website Teacher and I started several years ago. When we started it we had high hopes of posting all of our favorite family recipes there, but since we never had time to do so we let the website expire and I’ve been posting recipes here instead. Maybe someday we’ll start up The Peach Apple Book again…
When I was a kid Seashell Salad was my favorite pasta salad, and now it’s my girls’ favorite pasta salad too. Like most of the things I make it’s really easy and doesn’t take many ingredients.
Our family recipe for Seashell Pasta Salad calls for:
- 1 package seashell macaroni – the medium size
- 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- Peas*
- Cheddar cheese – we usually use medium but you can use whatever you like best
*My mom uses a small can of tender baby peas but I can’t stand canned peas so we use frozen peas. I guesstimate the amount then microwave them, run them under cold water until cool, then add them to the seashells little by little until it looks good to me.
1. Cook the macaroni according to directions, drain, and run under cold water to cool. Drain again and put into a large bowl.
2. Add the celery, onion, and peas* see note above.
3. Cut the cheese I heard you snicker! into cubes – I prefer larger cubes but Teacher prefers smaller ones, so we usually make them smaller for him.
To make the dressing for Seashell Pasta Salad you’ll need:
- Miracle Whip
- Sour cream
- Mustard
- Milk
- Sugar
This is where it gets tricky because I don’t have measurements, I just keep adding and tasting until it tastes good. There is no wrong way to do this; as long as it tastes good to you you’re golden!
1. Mix some Miracle Whip with some sour cream – use a ratio that’s almost half and half but is a little heavier on the Miracle Whip.
2. Add a squirt of mustard and a dash of sugar.
3. Stir in a small amount of milk to help thin the dressing.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix the dressing into the pasta/cheese/pea mixture. The pasta soaks up the dressing like crazy so I either make extra dressing and set some aside to add just before serving, or I’ll wait until just before serving to mix it in.
My mom’s recipe says to serve chilled but I prefer it a just a little cooler than room temperature. Mmmm, I’m getting hungry for some seashell pasta salad now – I wonder if we have any sour cream in the fridge?
I hope your family loves this recipe as much as mine does!
