Halloween Pasta Salad

This Halloween Pasta Salad is super festive to serve at your next Halloween party or gathering. Skull shaped mozzarella, colorful cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, your favorite pasta and a parmesan balsamic vinaigrette makes this a super tasty recipe.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 28

Resting/Cooling Time 38

Total Time 1 26

Servings people

Calories 207kcal

Author Mara

Ingredients

8 ounces medium pasta shell of your choice I used zucca or mini pumpkin shaped
12 ounces cherry tomatoes
.5 ounces basil

Parmesan Balsamic Vinaigrette

½ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
chili flakes, salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

Mozzarella Shaped Skulls

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. While oven is preheating, put several sheets of paper towel on a large plate. Then, spread out the mozzarella balls and place several more sheets of paper towel on top of the mozzarella. Finally, place a large book or cast iron skillet on top, to act as a weight and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
Once oven is pre-heated, take a small ceramic baking pan and add in 8 pieces of mozzarella to the pan. Bake in the oven for about 6-7 minutes.
Remove pan when the cheese if softened and some of the liquid is released/slightly melted but not completely melted or cooked! Place pan on a cooling rack.
Using a spoon(s) or mini tongs, carefully pick up one piece of mozzarella at a time and add it to the mold. Then, using the back of one spoon press down on the mozzarella for 20-30 seconds until it molds more to skull. Repeat with remaining mozzarella. If the mozzarella isn't taking to the mold. Put back mozzarella back into the pan and place back into the oven for a few more minutes and try again. Once all the mozzarella is pressed in the molds, place the molds in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Pop mozzarella skulls out of the mold and into a bowl or airtight container if storing for later. Keep in the fridge. Rinse and dry our molds and pan and repeat steps 2-5 until you have used all your mozzarella. (I had to do this a total of 3 times = 24 mozzarella skulls total)

Halloween Pasta Salad

Cook pasta al-dente according to package directions. Once cooked al dente, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to cool pasta.
In a jar, add in all dressing ingredients and twist on lid. Shake for 30 seconds - 1 minute until dressing is combined and emulsified.
Wash and slice tomatoes, as well as wash and chop or pull basil if serving right away.
Toss cooled pasta salad with dressing, mozzarella skulls, tomatoes and let it sit in the fridge for 5 minutes for flavors to marinate. Toss again, add basil, taste and adjust seasoning as need. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Season the pasta water well - The water should be salty to impart flavor on the pasta plus it keeps pasta from sticking together.

Don’t overcook the pasta - Use the package directions of the pasta you choose as a guide and cook al dente. If done, drain the pasta and move onto our next tip.

Rinse the cooked pasta under cold water before tossing with the dressing. If you’ve ever made pasta salad that turned sticky, not rinsing the pasta before tossing with the dressing could be the reason. The cooked pasta is coated in starches. By removing the starches, the salad won’t turn sticky or clump as much. Rinsing the pasta will also keep the pasta from continuing to cook.

Check the seasoning!: The flavor of pasta salad changes when cold. Make sure to toss the pasta salad after refrigerating to evenly redistribute dressing. Taste and re-season as needed before serving.

Are these molds safe to put in the oven? While these molds are primarily used for ice they can also be used for candy making, sugar, mousse and ice cream. I reached out to the seller/manufacturer and confirmed that these molds were safe to be in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius which equals roughly 356 degrees Fahrenheit. However, because some peoples ovens can run hot, etc. I decided it was better for me to add in a step of having the mozzarella softened in a baking pan then added to the mold.

Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. Please calculate your own nutritional information if you want it exact to what you make and use my calculations as a guide only.

Nutrition