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This post was created in partnership with Stonyfield and Wayfair. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Greek yogurt adds creaminess to the dressing in this fun spin on a party favorite.
This month's Supper Club theme was Food on a Stick. It was a challenging theme for some, but it was so much fun to see what everyone came up with.
I had seen the idea of pasta salad on a stick floating around on the internet before and thought I'd make something similar, but jazz it up with a super tasty homemade salad dressing.
One of my favorite local restaurants makes a killer creamy balsamic vinaigrette, and since I already know how well balsamic goes with pasta salad I figured I'd try my hand at making one of my own.
To make the vinaigrette nice and creamy, I used one of my kitchen arsenal staples: Stonyfield Organic Nonfat Greek Yogurt. It added a nice viscosity to the dressing, as well as a bit of extra tanginess. Plus, it's always nice to add richness without any additional fat.
When it came to serving this salad, I used this gorgeous platter from Wayfair. Have you ever shopped there? My head was practically spinning when I was looking through their selection of dishes to pick something for this salad post. There are just so.many.options.
I was trying to be practical with my choices - picking things that would be useful for a variety of dishes, not just salad. The platter came as part of a set that also came with a serving bowl with the same handles - perfect for party food like these pasta salad skewers!
I used a wet erase marker to write directly on the platter, and it worked beautifully! I love this idea for serving snacky foods.
I also grabbed a set of pasta bowls, since I don't have any wide bowls like this in my tiny kitchen yet. It worked perfectly for some of the leftover skewer components that I threw together the next day for lunch with a drizzle of the vinaigrette over top.
The dishes are all versatile, welcome additions to my kitchen. I love that you can sort by material, pattern, shape, etc. on the Wayfair site. I thought it best for my purposes to find dishes that were both dishwasher and microwave safe, and it was simple to search for dishes that met that specific criteria.
This pasta salad was great both on and off the stick. The recipe makes a LOT of skewers, so feel free to use a smaller package of tortellini if you want to scale it down a bit. I liked having the extra pasta and toppings leftover to make lunch the next day.
Make sure to toss the pasta in plenty of olive oil once it's drained so that it doesn't stick together until it cools enough for you to assemble the skewers. Nobody wants a gummy mess of pasta!
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Pasta Salad Skewers with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 skewers 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Greek yogurt adds creaminess to the dressing in this fun spin on a party favorite.
Ingredients
For the skewers:
- 1 (20-ounce) package refrigerated tortellini (I used a 3 cheese variety)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used orange, yellow and red)
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes (I used a mix of red and orange)
- 1 (6-ounce) can small pitted black olives, rinsed and drained
- 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
For the vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- â…› teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt (I used Stonyfield)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- â…› teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Cook tortellini according to package instructions (mine took 7-9 minutes). Drain well, return to the pot (off the heat) and toss with a generous amount of oil. Let the pasta cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick together, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Make the vinaigrette: In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except oil. Once combined, slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking as you go, until the dressing emulsifies and comes together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Make the skewers: Thread each skewer with the tortellini, bell peppers, tomatoes, olives and basil leaves. I like to alternate colors of peppers and tomatoes, to keep each skewer colorful. I used 2 tortellini per skewer, but feel free to use as much or as little of each ingredient as you want.
- Skewers can be made in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Drizzle dressing over skewers, right before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Feel free to use a smaller package of tortellini and only 2 bell peppers if you're making this for a smaller crowd.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 263
- Sugar: 5.3 g
- Sodium: 205.5 mg
- Fat: 18.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.6 g
- Fiber: 2.1 g
- Protein: 5.8 g
- Cholesterol: 12.6 mg
Keywords: tortellini pasta salad, pasta salad skewers, vinaigrette
Lori H
Who doesn't love food on a stick?? I love your idea of using the dry erase marker on the platter!
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
RIGHT?! I definitely got some funny looks when that theme was drawn for this year (it's one of the ones I submitted) but it ended up being SO much fun!!
Christine Pittman
What a fun, creative way to serve up pasta salad. The platter and bowls are both so pretty.
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks so much! And seriously - I couldn't believe how many options Wayfair had!!
Joanne (eats well with others)
Aww so cute! Why does all food taste better on a stick?!
Heather @FrenchPress
SO fun! and I love that creamy balsamic dressing idea
FoodieGirlChicago
Love this as a way to serve pasta salad at a party! The creamy balsamic sounds delicious!
Brittany
This looks so fun and colorful! I love the idea of pasta on a stick, maybe my kids would eat more of it if I presented it this way. Thanks for sharing!
Manila Spoon
I love your creamy balsamic vinaigrette - that sure adds a lot of flavor to the pasta skewers! Yummy comfort food!
Dee Dee Eberle
On a stick, off a stick--this looks fantastic. That creamy balsamic is calling my name for sure!!
Kellen
These are super easy and super delicious! I made them for a backyard party and everyone loved them (especially a 3 1/2 year old!) The dressing is really, really good and I can see it being my go to balsamic.
Ashley
I'm so glad these were a hit, Kellen! This one always goes over well with kids - who doesn't like food on a stick!?
Diana Lennon
I made this Creamy Balsamic dressing--delicious! And easy too! It really perked up my salad.... yummy!
Ashley
I'm so glad this was a hit for you, Diana! It's one of our favorites 🙂