Description
A festive and flavorful Christmas Pasta Salad featuring roasted cinnamon-spiced sweet potatoes, holiday-shaped pasta, crisp apples, creamy white cheddar, dried cranberries, crunchy walnuts, and peppery arugula, all tossed in a tangy maple-balsamic dressing. Perfect for holiday gatherings or as a vibrant side dish.
Ingredients
Scale
Salad
- 2 sweet potatoes, diced and roasted
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 8 oz cooked pasta, Christmas shapes
- 1 Honey Crisp apple, diced
- 6 oz white cheddar cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
- 2 handfuls baby arugula
Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray a sheet pan with non-stick spray and set aside for roasting sweet potatoes.
- Prepare Sweet Potatoes: Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into bite-sized chunks. Toss them in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to evenly coat.
- Roast Sweet Potatoes: Spread the cinnamon-coated sweet potatoes evenly on the prepared sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 35 minutes until tender and slightly caramelized. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Cook Pasta: Boil the Christmas-shaped pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and let cool completely to avoid wilting the salad ingredients.
- Make Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, maple syrup, and salt until emulsified and smooth. Set aside.
- Assemble Salad: In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled roasted sweet potatoes, cooked and cooled pasta, diced apple, cubed white cheddar, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, finely diced red onion, and baby arugula.
- Toss Salad with Dressing: Pour the prepared dressing over the salad ingredients and gently toss until everything is well coated and combined.
- Serve: Serve the Christmas Pasta Salad immediately for best texture and flavor. Enjoy your festive dish!
Notes
- Roast sweet potatoes until just tender to avoid a mushy salad.
- Use Christmas-shaped or festive pasta to enhance the holiday theme.
- Let the pasta cool completely before mixing with other ingredients to prevent wilting of greens.
- Feel free to substitute walnuts with pecans for a different nutty flavor.
- The salad can be prepared ahead by roasting sweet potatoes and making the dressing in advance; toss everything together just before serving.
- For a tangier dressing, add a splash more balsamic vinegar according to taste.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 300 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
