Here’s a twist on making a macaroni salad. Forget the bowl and dig out a Bundt pan or ring mold. Make the salad and press it into the mold. Refrigerate the salad overnight so it holds together. When ready to serve invert it onto a platter. If you’re serving a lot of guests, it’s a perfect make-ahead salad and you can make several of them.

MOLDED MACARONI SALAD

Serves: 16

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes (plus chilling time)

Note: Make several of these up to two days ahead.

8 oz. dry elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

1 cup chopped celery or cucumber

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped radishes

2 Tbsp. chopped sweet onion

1/2 tsp. salt

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

1 Tbsp. prepared mustard

Lettuce leaves and additional radishes for garnish

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients; set aside. In another bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth; add mayonnaise, relish and mustard. Fold into macaroni mixture. Press into a 6-cup ring mold (or Bundt pan) coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, place lettuce leaves on top and invert and unmold salad onto a serving platter. Garnish with radishes.

Adapted from www.tasteofhome.com. Tested by Susan Selasky in the Free Press Test Kitchen.

109 calories (35 percent from fat), 4 g fat (2 g sat. fat), 14 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 195 mg sodium, 12 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber.

About the Author

Featured

The Thanksgiving air travel period is on as passengers made their way through the airport Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. Traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport during the holidays can be an ordeal. Parking shortages could disrupt your plans and security waits can be long during busy periods, causing bottlenecks. Hartsfield-Jackson is advising travelers to get to the airport at least 2½ hours before their domestic flight and at least 3 hours before their international flight. (John Spink/AJC)

Credit: John Spink