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Firecracker Pasta Salad

(5 stars based on 21 reviews)

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This colorful Firecracker Pasta Salad is packed with eye-pleasing colors and is perfectly simple to make.

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Firecracker Pasta Salad

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Ingredients:

2 packages (9 ounces each) BUITONI Refrigerated Three Cheese Tortellini, prepared according to package directions, chilled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup pitted and halved ripe olives
1/2 cup (1.5 ounces) BUITONI Refrigerated Freshly Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup (.75 ounce) BUITONI Refrigerated Freshly Shredded Romano Cheese

Directions:

HEAT oil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Pour into large bowl; cool. Whisk in vinegar.

ADD prepared pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, bell pepper, olives, Parmesan cheese and Romano cheese; toss well to coat. Refrigerate or serve immediately.

Review This Recipe

Everyone loves it

Sherry Kirker from TN

Started making this a couple of years ago and now everytime I go to family dinners or work dinners, everyone asks for this. The dressing in this is just enough and perfect. I do add some cut up baby carrots, but other than that, it is perfect the way it is. No need for any fancy or heavy dressings. Perfect.
Fresh and Tasty Salad

Kendra from Crawford, WV

There are so many ideas for options in this salad. Nice for taking to a picnic as it has no mayo. This time I'm trying it with dried pasta cooked to aldente.
Missy

Missy from

This salad is so good, crisp and fresh. Everytime I make it, people rave and have seconds. I substitute fresh squeezed lemon for the vinegar since some of my family members don't like vinegar. I've also made this with a farfalle pasta rather than the tortellini and had just as many raves.
Everyone loves it!

Laura from Sammamish, WA, USA

This was super easy to make! We had company coming and I had a difficult and time consuming main course, so I made this in the morning and refrigerated it during the day. Everyone loved it and I saw many people help themselves to seconds! I will make this again in a heartbeat!
average flavor

taruna bolding from

This dish is pretty to look at, but not a stand-out in the flavor department. It would probably be better to dress it with a bottled dressing of your choice, rather than the dressing in the recipe.
Great Summer Recipe

Joan Duenas from Harker Heights, TX

This is a great recipe for summer time. It's healthy too. I was looking for something to prepare after everyone was burned out on meat. Excellent with homemade French Bread and It's even better the next day.
Perfect summer meal

Jennifer from Sparks, NV

This salad is easy, delicious and a perfect meal to beat the summer heat. I did not have red wine vinegar in the house, so I used balsamic. Fabulous!! I will be making this for our neighborhood 4th of July block party.
Firecracker Pasta Salad

Dee Wade from Costa Mesa, CA

This has to be a great summer favorite recipe. Love the mixing of vegetables and pasta. Great Dish!
A Quick and Easy Dish!

Sandy from Torrington CT

I made this for a Father's Day get together. It was both colorful and delicous. A real "crowd pleaser" which kept them coming back for seconds. It's a great replacement for the traditional "garden salad."
Always a hit!

Amy from Louisville, KY

This pasta salad is delicious, and easy to make. It also looks very nice, since it is so colorful. I use red and yellow bell peppers instead of green, for a milder flavor.
Firecracker Pasta Salad

Laurie Warfel from

Very good, different flavors blend very nicely.
"MADE A FEW CHANGES"

grandma_ho from

I too found this some what dry, so I went to work and added more olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomatoes, broccoli and olives. I also used a 3 cheese blend and I add some red onion, Seasoned Salt, just a pinch and Lawry's Season Pepper. I serve it with grilled chicken and hot crusty bread, which is great for dipping in the sauce from the salad. I've made this several times and now I make it about an hour ahead and put in frig, shake it up (while refrigerated) a couple of times before serving. It's a great summer time dish.
Great

Leah from

This was my first time making pasta salad and I am happy with the outcome. when i make it again i will make more dressing because it was little dry and more broccolli to drown out the pasta. I steemed the broccolli for about a minute or less and added the green peppers for about 30 seconds - Great!. I used kalamata olives-delicious! my boyfrined who is very picky really liked this diner.
Excellent

Christine from New Jersey

I've made this several times and it's always a hit. I steamed the broccoli a bit before including it so it didn't taste so "green." I also added extra garlic and vinegar to the mix to make it less dry. Kalamata olives work the best in this recipe because they add extra salt and moisture.
It was just OK

Carrie from California

I made this for a family gathering, and it turned out a bit dry. I would suggest tossing pasta with a little oil & vinegar or Italian dressing right before serving. I doubt I'll make it again since I have so many other good pasta salad recipes.
"AWESOME"

grandma_ho from

I saw this & it looked and sounded good, I read the reviews, so I decided to try it. I halved the recipe except for the tomatoes, broccoli and I put 1 cup of black olives. I also gave it a couple of extra shakes of the red wine vinegar. I forgot to get the bell pepper, but it didn't matter. This was soooooo good. So quick & easy to fix. I served with a hot crusty loaf of bread. "YUM"
Disappointed

Maggie Ayala from Virginia Beach, VA

I was not very impressed with this salad, it was dry, lacked flavor. I will not make it again.
Jan from NJ

Janet Graham from

This recipe is a keeper. I have made it several times and everyone loves it. When I was pressed for time, I substituted 1 c. of Italian dressing for the olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic. It not only was faster, the taste was most satisfactory. Hope others will enjoy it as much!
Good pasta salad!!!!

colleen from Lima, Ohio

Took this to a beach-style cookout, and it was the hit of the party. I always add just a "bit -more" of some ingredients, so I did nearly double-up on the olive oil, vinegar, and garlic cloves, and it was delicious. Will make this again!!!
Great for parties!

Stephanee Eastman from Utah

I love this salad and I have made it 3 times so far. It has been a hit with my family and at parties lots of people ask for the recipe. You can't go wrong with this one!
Raves and Applause!

Sharon from Adirondack Mtns., NY

I am no domestic goddess, but I felt like one after the rave reviews I recieved from co-workers at a company picnic. Everyone asked for the recipe. I am back to get the recipe again for an upcoming party. Easy and fun. Tastes like you spent the day in the kitchen.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe

Servings Per Recipe: 8

Calories: 310
Calories from Fat: 130
Total Fat: 14g (22% of DV)
Saturated Fat: 4.5g (24% of DV)
Cholesterol: 30mg (10% of DV)
Sodium: 450mg (19% of DV)
Carbohydrates: 35g (12% of DV)
Dietary Fiber: 3g (14% of DV)
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 13g
Vitamin A: 20% of DV
Vitamin C: 60% of DV
Calcium: 15% of DV
Iron: 10% of DV

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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