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This Spinach Pasta Salad is a great salad to make during the summer. Loaded with penne pasta, fresh baby spinach, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and feta cheese, it’s full of color and texture and so refreshing for a potluck or picnic.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Pasta: You can use any short pasta you like, including penne, cavatappi, macaroni and fusilli. Make it gluten-free by using chickpea pasta or lentil pasta.
- Spinach: Use baby spinach which is tender and easy to eat raw. The good thing about spinach is that it’s a leafy green that’s still appetizing when it softens from salad dressings.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Sun-dried tomatoes are an easy way of adding a burst of flavor to this dish. We also use the oil from the jar for the dressing so nothing goes to waste.
- Artichokes: These add a hearty and juicy bite to the salad with a slight tangy edge. They work well in salads because their briny flavor complements the fresh ingredients here.
- Red onions: Red onions are milder than white or yellow and ar perfect for raw salads. Slice them finely so that they are not too overpowering. You could use sliced green onions or shallots as well.
- Feta cheese: The saltiness of feta cheese balances wonderfully when crumbled with the sweet dressing and sun-dried tomatoes. Goat cheese would also work really well.
- Dressing: Made with the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar and fresh garlic, it’s a simple vinaigrette that pairs perfectly with the spinach salad.
How to make this spinach pasta salad
- Whisk the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and garlic until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the cooked pasta to the bowl on top the dressing.
- Add the artichokes, baby spinach, red onion, and feta cheese.
- Season again and toss well to combine.
Tips to make this recipe
- Make this salad vegan by omitting the feta cheese or using a plant-based variety.
- Don’t use fresh pasta for this recipe. Fresh pasta doesn’t tend to hold up well when it is tossed in the dressing, so stick to dried.
- Be careful not overcook or undercook the pasta. It should be just pasta al dente. If it is too soft it will break apart, and if not cooked enough it will be chewy.
- Season the dish well. So that you don’t end up with a bland spinach pasta salad, cook the pasta in salted water so you start to add flavor right from the start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once cooled to room temperature, store the pasta salad in an air tight container in the fridge. It will keep well for 5 to 6 days.
No, it’s not necessary here. Because the dressing has no mayonnaise, you can add it straight to warm pasta. The spinach leaves will wilt a little, but it will still be delicious!
This spinach pasta salad can be enjoyed warm or cold. It’s a great make ahead option of potlucks and cookouts.
More pasta salad recipes
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Avocado Pasta Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Spinach Pasta Salad recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Spinach Pasta Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces penne pasta
- Kosher salt to taste
- 1 7 ounce sundried tomatoes in oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove minced
- black pepper to taste
- 1 7-ounce jar artichoke hearts drained and coarsely chopped
- 4 cups baby spinach
- ½ medium red onion thinly sliced
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Crushed red pepper for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water until no longer hot. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk about 4 tablespoons oil from the sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and garlic until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add the pasta to the bowl that contains the dressing and toss together. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, baby spinach, red onion, and feta.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Top with crushed red pepper and serve. Enjoy hot or cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
This was so delicious and fast prep, I liked the crispness of the spinach. Will be making this often.
Yay, that’s amazing! So happy you liked it. Thanks, Pat!
My go-to pasta salad. I make it once a month. However, I cut the sun dried tomato quantity in half, double the artichokes, quadruple the spinach (takes a while, need to stir it in and stir it in over time), cut the feta in half, at least double the garlic, put a whole red onion in, and add a can of garbanzo beans.
Love how you’ve made the salad your own, Andy! Sounds so good, thank you for sharing!!
This is a delicious spinach and pasta! I just made it for the first time and I can’t wait to serve it to family and friends. Thank you! I love trying new recipes and this one has many of my favorite ingredients.
So glad you enjoyed it, Julie!
Great salad. The bottles of sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts I can find are bigger so I add another cup of spinach and a bit more pasta. Still plenty of dressing. But the recipe calls for way too much feta in my opinion. You can easily cut in half. But it’s in my regular rotation.
Thank you so much for the feedback, Andy!
I have made this now several times and it is always sooooo good! This time I added a little fresh sweet corn and 1TB of a cranberry pear white balsamic (that I had bought for fun to try) with rice vinegar and it was very very tasty!! Thank you for all of your common sense and ready to make recipes!!!
That makes me so happy to hear! I love the sound of that to switch it up. You’re so welcome!
love it
Thank you!
Can’t wait to make it!!
Let me know what you think once you get a chance to try it!
I may be overlooking it but I couldn’t find the exact measurements of the ingredients. I just went for it and it is delicious. Next time I will probably use less of the 16 oz box of noodles. It is still very good and I enjoyed it very much!
It can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page! Glad you were able to make it work!
I can’t wait to Make this salad 😋
Hope you love it!
Is this the right link for the chickpea salad?
It’s on my website under Chickpea Salad: https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/chickpea-salad/
Am I missing something? This is in a group of chickpea recipes & I don’t see chickpeas in ingredients or directions? Thankyou
Hi! Oh no, I didn’t realize it was linked in a group of chickpea recipes. I updated this recipe and it used to have chickpeas but no longer does. You can totally add it though! And I will go ahead and delete it from that list. Thank you!
Sounds amazing, can’t wait to cook it! Am I able to add some grilled chicken to the recipe for some extra protein?
Thank you so much! Yes, you can definitely do that.
Looooved this recipe! An instant favorite. It’s so easy, quick, and delicious!
Yay!! That’s amazing!
Really unique pasta salad! We enjoyed it. Next time I’m going to try it with blue cheese crumbles 🤤 and maybe some
Cranberries or candied walnuts!
Thank you so much! Sounds like a fun way to switch it up for sure!
Best salad ever!! Obsessed! 👌
Thank you so much!!
This was awesome! Like so many of your recipes I loved it 🙂
And also a great dinner to make if you want to go meatless!
Thank you!!
Thank you! Yes, exactly!
Hi Yumna
Can I use frozen spinach instead of fresh?
Yes, you can!
Made this for lunch today and it exceeded my expectations – so much flavor! I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow! This would also be a perfect side dish to compliment any main course. Saving this one to make again and again. Thank you for sharing so many delicious recipes, Yumna!
That makes me so incredibly happy to hear! It really would be! You’re so welcome.
Question: When do you add the sun dried tomatoes or do you just use the oil from the jar?
We liked the salad, very easy to put together!
You can add it in step 4 along with the artichokes, baby spinach, red onion, and feta. Glad to hear you enjoyed the salad!
I see my confusion now. I didn’t read all the way down to instructions, I got on the “How to make Salad” section and in Step 3 it omits the tomatoes. Thank you for clarifying.
Totally understand! Glad I could help clarify!
This salad is a keeper! I love this recipe’s versatility and adaptability for individual tastes and creativity!
I had baby kale on hand and I used that instead of spinach (I don’t notice any difference in taste.)
My grocery store had healthy seaweed pasta on special, so I decided to go with that…all very good choices!
I chose to add Kalamata and pimento-stuffed olives and can’t wait to make this again using Parmesan cheese instead of feta.
Thanks Yumna! Give give it five stars🍽👏
I love that! That all sounds lovely. Thank you!!
Madam you are always sharing lot of knowledge.Like it really also spinach has lot of benefits also side effects.
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