This used to be made at a little drive-in dairy bar in our town, but it’s been closed for a while, and my kids missed it. For some reason, I recalled that the ingredients were listed on a board at the drive-in, so I made an effort to prepare it as they did. Finally, it’s accurate, so I decided to share it. Although it can be chilled, we prefer this at room temperature.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (12 ounce) package tri-color rotini pasta
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup finely diced sweet onion
- 1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste (Optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook rotini pasta at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water to cool.
- Whisk sugar, salt, and hot water in a large salad bowl until sugar has dissolved. Stir vinegar, vegetable oil, and oregano into sugar mixture to make a dressing. Mix tomato, red bell pepper, and onion in the dressing. Gently fold rotini into dressing and vegetables, mix in Cheddar cheese, and season with black pepper.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 338 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 41 g |
| Cholesterol | 29 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 469 mg |
| Sugars | 9 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It is absolutely amazing!!!
My family loved this! Perfect summer side dish with grilled meat.
Made this for a family dinner get together, everyone loved it. Used chunks of 5 different cheeses instead of the shredded and cut some grape tomatoes up rather than a whole tomato(stuff I had on hand), the rest the same. Tripled the recipe. Very good 🙂
A really good pasta salad with a lovely fresh flavor to it, which we all enjoyed quite a bit. I did use olive oil instead of vegetable oil, as well as diced grape tomatoes instead of one large tomato as they’re both what I had on hand. I also shredded my own sharp cheddar instead of using pre-shredded as well, but it was still sharp cheddar so that’s not a drastic difference. It was pretty easy to make and enjoyed by all, and I will definitely be making it again!
This was good. Next time I may try it without the cheese, or with significantly less cheese, just based on my personal preference. I used grape tomatoes in lieu of a tomato. Thanks for sharing your recipe,ISLANDGIRLEJFAN!