Looking to give your next pasta salad a creative culinary twist? Our Chicago Hot Dog Pasta Salad made with probiotic-rich Lifeway Kefir is just the answer. Packed with flavor, fun, and functional nutrition from our kefir, this pasta salad is sure to be the talk of the table at your next gathering.
We took the flavors you know and love about a classic Chicago hot dog and paired them with pasta for a savory, zesty bowl of protein-packed goodness. Lifeway Kefir is used in the dressing of this pasta salad, which gives it a creamy edge and whole lot of nutritional goodness. Our probiotic kefir is full of gut health benefits, along with bioavailable nutrients including calcium, potassium, and vitamins A, B12, and D that your body can easily use and put to work to support overall health. With 10 grams of complete protein per cup, Lifeway Kefir provides satiety-boosting benefits and critical amino acids needed for optimal muscle function and maintenance.
And while we love our Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, we thought we’d show you another unique way to use Lifeway in your collection of pasta salad recipes. For this easy Chicago Hot Dog Pasta Salad, feel free to choose whatever pasta shapes and varieties you love most. Gluten-free, grain-free, and whole grain pasta all make great options if you want the most nutrients, and shapes like rotini, elbow, macaroni, bow-tie, or ditalini pasta (what we used here) all work great. Want more protein? Add a few dollops of Lifeway Farmer Cheese on top, because after all, it goes with almost anything!
Find Lifeway products in a store near you here, and check out all our delicious recipes here for more gut-friendly inspiration.
The Benefits of Cultured Dairy for Better Health:
Research continues to show the importance of eating healthy foods, including cultured dairy such as kefir, for better gut health, a strong immune system, and to support the microbiome. Fermented foods like kefir hold important value in this line of research due to the link between the gut-brain axis and overall health.
Specifically, kefir has been shown to help diversify the microbiome, support the digestive system, reduce inflammation, support healthier blood sugar levels, and improve satiety since the bioavailable protein it contains triggers the release of GLP-1. Lifeway Kefir also contains a variety of nutrients that are vital for healthy bones and overall health including vitamins D3, K, and B 12 along with calcium and potassium. Along with our kefir, we also offer our creamy, cultured Lifeway Farmer Cheese, a high protein cheese made with live and active cultures to support a healthy microbiome that’s easy to spread and contains no added salt or sugar.
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 mins Servings: 8Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 1/4 cups Lowfat Plain Kefir
- 1/3 cup yellow mustard
- 1/2 cup sweet relish
- 2 tbsp. pickle brine (juice)
- 2 tsp. poppy seeds
- 1 tsp. celery salt
- black pepper, to taste
Other:
- 1 pound of ditalini pasta
- 6 dill pickle spears
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/2 a large yellow onion, diced
- 1/3 cup sport peppers, diced
Topping:
- 1-2 cooked hot dogs, sliced
- additional onions, sport peppers, and tomatoes, if desired
Directions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- Make the dressing by mixing Lifeway Kefir, mustard, relish, pickle brine, poppy seeds, celery salt, black pepper, and salt.
- Add pasta, pickles, tomatoes, onions, and sport peppers to a large bowl. Pour on dressing and toss to coat.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Top with more diced onion, whole sport peppers, and a hot dog that's been cooked and sliced. Serve and enjoy!
