This fresh and easy pasta salad with spinach is the perfect dish for lunch, picnics, or light dinners. Packed with tender pasta, crisp spinach, and a light dressing, it’s a simple yet flavorful recipe that comes together in no time. You can customize it with extra veggies, cheese, or protein for a more filling dish. Whether you’re meal prepping for the week or bringing a dish to share, this easy pasta salad is always a hit.
We use fusilli, but other types of pasta such as penne, farfalle or macaroni would work well. We advise against using pasta in large sizes or long strands, though, simply because these would make it harder to eat the salad. And, of course, you can make your dish more visually appealing by using pasta in a variety of colors.
Keep in mind that this salad can be a bit dry because of the pasta, so it is very important to dress it. We use olive oil and lemon juice and it works wonderfully, but pesto is sure to give excellent results, too. Feel free to use your favorite dressing!
Always remember the golden rule: your dish can only be as good as your ingredients! There aren’t many ingredients here to build up an intense flavor, so it is important that you use the tastiest tomatoes and olives you can find, and that you garnish your salad generously. And, as always, try to use very fresh vegetables in your salad 🙂
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. pasta (fusilli, penne or similar)
- 1/2 cucumber
- 2 oz black olives
- 5 oz cherry tomatoes
- 2 oz fresh spinach
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to the instructions on the package. When pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water.
- While pasta is boiling, chop the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and olives.
- In a large bowl mix the pasta, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives and fresh spinach. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper.
Notes
- The recipe is for 4 servings.
- Prep time: 10 minutes.
- Cooking time: 10 minutes.
Similar recipes
If you like the easy pasta salad with spinach, you may also like the following recipes:
- Chickpea and feta cheese salad
- Quinoa, cauliflower and ham salad
- Egg and spinach pie
- Red cabbage and orange salad
- Orange, chicken and avocado salad
- Fresh salad with pearl barley
Easy pasta salad with spinach
Ingredients
- ½ lb. pasta (fusilli, penne or similar)
- ½ cucumber
- 2 oz black olives
- 5 oz cherry tomatoes
- 2 oz fresh spinach
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to the instructions on the package. When pasta is done, drain and rinse with cold water.
- While pasta is boiling, chop the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and olives.
- In a large bowl mix the pasta, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives and fresh spinach. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper.