Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad
on Apr 17, 2018, Updated Oct 31, 2020
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Pesto Pasta for the win!! Both Matt and I are huge pesto lovers but I rarely make my own out of pure laziness, i’ll be honest. But when I do make it I like to make a lot of it then freeze the leftover! I use my little silicon peanut butter cup mold to freeze them so I have nice small portions that we can throw into anything and everything. I am super pumped about this recipe in particular because it adds tons of spinach to the mix which makes getting some veggies in a meal easier for this prego lady. Pasta salad is one of the best things ever – not only because its perfect to make the day ahead of a party and can be served cold, but also because it’s great for meal prep! I feel like this pasta salad and the asparagus salad I shared a couple of weeks ago would be the perfect combo for any party this spring and summer!
I have had more pasta this pregnancy than I usually do and it has reminded me A – how delicious it is, and B – how its not the devil!! Now I will be the first to admit that I mostly cut pasta out because I would have to eat a huge bowl of it to feel satisfied and it would be so many calories. BUT what I never thought about was how pasta doesn’t need to be a main dish or the only thing on the plate. Now when we make pasta we just have some it alongside our normal portion of veggies and meat, so we get full quickly and still get to enjoy the wonder that is pasta. For this pasta we used a gluten free penne, not because I am gluten free but because I just find the brown rice pastas to be more nutritionally dense than a regular pasta! I also love red lentil pasta too and of course the occasion full on good stuff. The good thing is, you can you any kind of pasta you desire in this recipe!
You can also top it with some feta or your favorite cheese if you aren’t dairy free!
If you love this Pesto Pasta recipe we have lots more Pesto recipe for you:
Grilled Mayo Marinated Pesto Chicken
Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta
Asparagus Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Avocado Pesto Roasted Artichokes
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Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Scale
- 12 oz box of brown rice pasta, cooked to package instructions and cooled (any pasta works)
- 2 cups packed spinach
- ½ cup olive oil or avocado oil
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ½ cups chopped cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor combine spinach, oil, walnuts, nutritional yeast, garlic and apple cider vinegar and blend on high until smooth. Â Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large bowl combine cooked and cooled pasta, pesto sauce and cherry tomatoes and toss to combine fully.
- Serve cold and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
