Spinach Pasta Salad

Some of my recipes circle around in my mind for a while before I actually get around to making and testing them out. This healthy spinach pasta salad, however, took practically no time at all to happen in my kitchen!

This past weekend, my husband’s mom visited us and we took her to as many food and coffee stops as we could. Sunday morning, we walked along Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach (see my local’s guide to Abbot Kinney).

We got Intelligentsia coffee and window shopped up and down the street, including a fun stop in this beach-inspired home decor shop. 

We enjoyed lunch at Lemonade, which is a fun stop for all LA natives and visitors. It’s a super cute and very delicious cafeteria-esque restaurant with tons of tasty, foodie options.

They have a huge selection of salads packed with fruits, veggies, grains, and meat with all kinds of flavors. It’s such a long way from the traditional mayonnaise-based potato salads and coleslaws – much more to my liking.

I want to recreate some of their seasonal salads at home, starting with this healthy pasta salad packed with superfoods.

Spinach Pasta Salad

This healthy pasta salad is just as much salad as it is pasta. So it’s basically a much lighter alternative to traditional pasta salad.

One of the best ways I manage to stay healthy since losing all that weight (read my weight loss story here) is to make familiar dishes with some healthy swaps. Instead of a lot of the carbs or cheese, I substitute much of it with veggies.

This healthy pasta salad does just that. There’s still pasta, but much less than normal. Instead it has tons of veggies and some protein with loads of flavor. It’s a quick one-pot recipe you can enjoy warm or cold, which is especially appealing.

I usually eat this kind of dish for lunch with a poached or fried egg on top (and maybe some hot sauce). It transports easily too, so it’s a great make-ahead lunch.

You can get more salad recipes here and this pea pasta salad is another great rendition of a veggie-packed pasta salad!

If you love peas, try this vegan pea soup and this green dip (naturally green from peas)!

What Veggies Can You Use in Pasta Salad?

Honestly, you could roast or sautee any veggies you wanted for this (similar to this roasted veggie pasta dish). I wanted to keep it simple and all in one pot – who has time for dishes? That meant adding edamame and peas (both frozen) and the spinach.

The spinach cooks down in the steamy pasta water and the edamame and peas heat up as well.

You’ll basically cook the pasta like normal but add a little extra time to warm up the veggies and make up for the shock of cold in the boiling water for the pasta.

If you really want no dishes, however, try this red bean salad. It’s protein-packed and so simple!

What Pasta Type?

Any pasta variety that is short will work well. I like orzo because you can really get a lot of vegetables mixed in with small bites of pasta. A rigatoni, elbow, penne, and shells would also be good. 

Of course you can do it with ANY kind of pasta – even long noodles like spaghetti or linguine. I think portion control is easier with this small size, however!

Looking for even more side options? Check out this great list of easy side dish recipes!

More Pasta Recipes

Want some other good pasta recipes? This canned tuna pasta is easy, inexpensive and delicious! Simpler versions (great as a side dish too) are peas and pasta and this pasta with green beans is a go to one in our house.

On the lighter side, this fresh cherry tomato pasta with ricotta is divine and this roasted vegetable + goat cheese pasta is heartier than you’d ever expect from a veggie-based meal!

But our family favorite is probably ground turkey & cabbage pasta!