Pepperoni & Pineapple Pasta Salad
Looking for a dish to bring to a summer gathering? Can't decide between something meat and something sweet? Why not go for both & make a Pepperoni & Pineapple Pasta Salad!
This dish combines Penne Pasta made from Chickpeas, topped with Pepperoni, Sliced Pineapple, and shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
In prior cooking efforts that used Pineapple, I've gone with canned pineapple chunks, but for this one, I wanted to slice up and use an actual pineapple. I'd always been a bit intimated to slice one up, but my girlfriend, quite the chef herself, showed me how to slice one up like a pro!
If you'd prefer to keep this dish plant based, you can always substitute plant based pepperoni in place of the meat based type. That's actually what I do when I make this dish.
Interested in a dish to pair this with? Why not continue with pineapple theme and try this with my Hawaiian Barbecue Pita Pizza recipe!
Does this have to be served immediately after cooking? Or can this dish be kept & keep warm for a short while to serve after cooking?
This dish is best served after cooking. Otherwise, it can be reheated in a microwave in about 30 seconds & be ready to go!
Can any of this be prepped ahead of time? (say, the night before a long run or other type of event)?
The Pineapple can be sliced into chunks ahead of time & stored in the refrigerator. Then pulled out and added with the pasta & pepperoni
Did you make the dish?
Let me know in the comments how it went!
- 1 Box Chickpea Penne Pasta
- 1 Package Pepperoni
- 1 Pineapple
- 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Balsalmic Vinegar
- .25 cup Parmesian Cheese
- .5 cup Croutons
- Stock Pot
- Strainer
- Chefs Knife
- Cutting Board
- Large Bowl (for mixing)
- Using a Chefs Knife, begin by slicing the top and bottom ends of the pineapple off
- Next, stand the pineapple up top-to-bottom
- From the top down, slice the outer layers off
- With the remaining piece of the pineapple, you should see a circle on the top center. Position your knife just outside this center circle and cut straight down. Repeat for each side
- Using the pieces you sliced off in the above step, slice into bite sized chunks
- Fill your stock pot half full with water and turn stove top burner on, bringing water to a boil
- Add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes, or until pasta becomes tender.
- Pour contents of stock pot into strainer and rinse with cold water
- In a large mixing bowl, mix water, olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, parmesian cheese, and croutons together to make seasoning mix for pasta
- add pasta to large bowl, and mix with the seasoning combination.
- Combine seasoned pasta with sliced pineapple and pepperoni and mix
- Top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and enjoy!
