Gluten Free Dairy Free Macaroni Salad

Name: Gluten Free, Dairy Free Macaroni Salad
Prep time: PT-25838048M
Cook time: PT-25838048M
Yield: 9 cups
Ingredients: 3 cups quinoa pasta; 4 stalks celery diced; 1 apple (diced,); 6 pickles sliced in half and diced; 1 red pepper diced; ½ cup + 2tbs avocado oil (dairy free mayo); 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

Have you ever thought about what you associate with seasons? By the time summer rolls around here in Canada, all I can think about is watermelon (like these slushies), dirty little foot prints (from playing out in the grass!) and barbeque side dishes like macaroni salad.

The downside of summertime for myself is that I’m dairy free now (read more about my tips to go dairy free here!).

This isn’t by choice or for health or ethical reasons, it’s because I get stabbing pains when I ingest dairy. Trust me, I was (read: still am not) impressed upon learning this! I mean, I didn’t consume a lot of dairy prior to figuring it out but I still liked a cheese omelet or some feta in my salad every so often! Which makes barbeque season somewhat difficult now!

The truth is, most party salads are loaded with unhealthy ingredients. Miracle whip, candied nuts, lots of dried fruit and those weird crispy things (wonton strips maybe?) that people put for crunch. Or, they’re some sort of marshmallow salad which truly just freaks the sh*t out of me.

Regardless, dairy free is pretty much on NO ONE’S radar.

You can’t have cheese?

What about feta? *sigh*

And so, I started bringing my own salads with me (along with all my other crap, like juice box alternatives, snacks for the girls etc). problem solved.

And then one day, I just freaking wanted macaroni salad.

I LOVE macaroni salad. It’s one of the items I don’t make often because I will eat the whole batch… seriously, all to myself.

And then I found this mayonnaise.

Typically, I’m not a crazy mayo person. It’s just not one of my sauces. But I do like it on some things (macaroni salads being one of them).

Not only is it dairy free, but it also doesn’t have a bunch of random gross ingredients in it either (*cough cough* canola oil)!

I fell in love.

Okay, not in love. But I was pretty freaking happy to find a jar at Costco none the less! Again, why I am loving the health food Costco craze…

The other substitution in this healthy pasta salad is the noodles!

You can easily use any noodles you wish but the quinoa ones are ideal to me:

They taste great and like “normal noodles”
They don’t get all mushy
They provide a protein source to the pasta salad

And so, the gluten free pasta salad came together.

This macaroni salad is beautifully allergy friendly. It’s easy to make, requires a bit of chilling in the fridge and I’m happy to say that even normal people (like my hubby who has the exact opposite nutritional habits as me) loved it and went back for seconds.

Bring this healthy salad to a party and take a breath knowing there will at least be something that you can eat (if you’re dairy free that is). Or, bring it to a party to take pity on someone you know who has allergies.

Or hoard it all to yourself if you’re so inclined. I don’t care – though warning, it makes like nine cups which is kind of a lot to eat yourself. I ate about five of the cups and most definitely didn’t want pasta salad for the rest of the summer.

You’ve been warned.

Ingredients In The Macaroni Salad

3 cups quinoa pasta
4 stalks celery diced
1 apple, diced,
6 pickles sliced in half and diced
1 red pepper diced
½ cup + 2tbs avocado oil, dairy free mayo
3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

How To Make The Pasta Salad

Cook the pasta according to directions. Drain, rinse and cool in the fridge.

Add in all the diced veggies and mix.

Whisk together the mayo and mustard and mix into the pasta.

Mix very, very well until everything is combined.

Let set in the fridge overnight or at least 6 hours,

Makes 9 cups

Don’t forget to pin this tasty, allergy friendly, macaroni salad!

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