Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad
Whole wheat rotini pasta with grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese tossed in a fresh spinach pesto sauce and served cold.

Recipe Keywords:
spinachpestopastasalad30-minutes-or-lessitaliansaladsmain_dishes
servings: 4
total time: 25 minutes
recipe by: Frankie
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole wheat rotini pasta
- 10 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 10 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cubed
Directions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water then transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Add the chopped spinach, pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan to a food processor and pulse into a paste. Transfer the spinach paste to a small bowl and mix in the olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper until well combined.
- Add the pesto sauce to the bowl with the pasta then add the tomatoes and mozzarella. Stir to combine then taste and season with additional salt & pepper if necessary.
- Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least 1 hour before serving.