While the main ingredient is pasta, there’s also hard-boiled eggs, celery, sweet onion, pimentos, and bell pepper so there’s plenty of crunch and plenty of flavor.
While you can certainly use macaroni here, shells have a little more of a substantial chew and have a way of catching all that delicious dressing.
Speaking of the dressing, the creamy base is made up of both mayo and sour cream that’s seasoned by garlic powder and celery seed. A touch of granulated sugar and sweet relish add some sweetness; it’s more than you might be used to in a pasta salad but it’s balanced by apple cider vinegar and mustard.
The end result is a pasta salad that’s quick to make but totally chock-full of ingredients that play off each other beautifully. There’s sweet and tangy, crunchy and chewy, zesty and cool going on here, but most importantly, every nook and cranny is coated in comforting creaminess.
