Spinach Pasta Salad
Great for meal prepping ahead of time, this summery pasta salad is high in fiber, low in sodium, and easily customizable to your preferences.
Pasta salad is the most quintessential summer food, but when intentionally prepared with a balanced diet in mind, it can serve as a healthy option for weekday lunches. Spinach is my favorite sneaky vegetable because you can add it to sauces or dishes, and in this case both, without affecting the flavor of your meal.
Feel free to modify to your taste; Kalamata olives, pine nuts, pepperoncinis, garbanzo beans, and kale would make great additions or substitutes.
Time to cook and prep: roughly 1 hour. This recipe uses an immersion blender, which can be substituted for a food processor or a blender. This recipe also calls for a toaster oven, which can be substituted for an air fryer, conventional oven, or an open gas flame. Makes 16, 1 cup servings.
Ingredients
For the pasta salad
1 package of tubular pasta of your choice (I prefer canneroni)
1 red bell pepper, roasted and diced
1 orange, yellow, or green bell pepper, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 container of mozzarella pearls
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 container of low sodium Italian salami
1 can of quartered artichoke hearts, sliced
1 can of cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1 cup of chopped baby spinach
For the dressing
3/4 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1 shallot, roughly chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed
8-12 basil leaves
1 cup of spinach
1/2 cup of parsley
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp of Italian seasoning (no salt)
Pinch of kosher salt
1 tsp of cracked black pepper
Directions
Fill a large pot about 3/4 of the way full with water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring the water to a boil.
In a toaster oven (easiest cleanup), add a small piece of foil to a tray and set the entire red bell pepper on top. Set the toaster oven to 450°F and let the bell pepper roast for the time it takes the water to boil and pasta to cook, about 12-20 minutes. Do not add any oil or salt to the bell pepper! You can also roast the pepper over an open gas flame until the skin has charred, but that process requires careful attention and constant turning.
When the water has boiled, add 2 generous pinches of kosher salt along with the entire package of pasta to the pot. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.
While the pasta is cooking and the bell pepper roasts, start chopping the other bell pepper, tomatoes, red onion, spinach, and parsley. Add all of the chopped vegetables to a large mixing or serving bowl.
When the pasta finishes cooking, drain the water and rinse the pasta with cold water to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself. Let the pasta cool in the pot.
Remove the bell pepper from the toaster oven and set aside on the cutting board to cool.
Drain and rinse the can of cannelloni beans, can of artichoke hearts, and container of mozzarella pearls before adding them to the bowl.
Slice the salami into strips and add to the mixing bowl.
At this point, the pasta and the roasted red bell pepper should be cooled. Carefully remove the seeds and dice the red bell pepper. Add both the pasta and bell pepper to the large bowl. All that is left to make is the dressing.
Roughly chop the shallot and 2-3 garlic cloves. Add the alliums to an immersion blender safe bowl (I used a pyrex). Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, basil, spinach, and parsley to the immersion blender safe bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend all of the ingredients until you are left with a pale but bright green sauce. Add in the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, along with more basil if you prefer and blend again.
Add your spinach sauce to the pasta salad and mix well with a spatula. Add additional salt, pepper, or red pepper flakes if needed!
Store in air tight containers in the fridge. This recipe should be eaten within 5-7 days of making it.