Italian Spinach Pizza Pasta Salad

Everything you love about pizza…in the form of a healthy Italian pasta salad! This super-easy salad is so simple to throw together, it will be a cookout requirement all summer!

So a startling realization just hit me, y’all. The 4th of July is literally one.freaking.week.from.today.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I, like..looked at the calendar once in awhile? Maybe then huge food holidays such as this one wouldn’t totally blindside me.

Seriously. If it weren’t for this pasta salad you see today being about as summery and cookout-worthy as it gets, I probably wouldn’t have remembered until my mom asked me about the cookout menu later this week.

I got problems, but at least pizza-style Italian pasta salad ain’t one of them.

Unless of course a bowl of this salad isn’t in my lap 24/7. ???

So where do you all stand with the Fourth of July? (those of y’all that actually live in the states, of course) Big shindigs or just little family cookouts? Fireworks? Parades? So much watermelon and ice cream you have to detox for a week afterwards? (meeeeeee)

My family always does a medium-ish sized shindig, but don’t let that fool you because that most definitely doesn’t mean a medium-sized amount of food. I’m talking 5-10 different kinds of side salads, fresh fruit and berries, corn-on-the-cob by the ton, enough watermelon to feed an army of hulks, a whole mess of hot dogs and hamburgers, homemade ice cream…occasionally a summer pie or two…

Trust me, guys. Post-Fourth of July detox is very real.

Now before we get to involved with the topic of detoxing, we should probably talk about pizza-style Italian pasta salad.

Our convos about carbs are the best, y’all. We all know it.

I won’t sugarcoat it for you: this pasta salad is for real my new summer spirit animal. It is SO.DANG.FREAKING.AWESOME.

It’s kinda like your basic simple Italian-style pasta salad only taken waaaaaay up a notch in the pizza direction. Always a good road to take.

Basically, it’s all the pizza toppings your little heart desires thrown in a huge bowl with pasta, fresh spinach, and a super-simple herbed olive oil + lemon vinaigrette dumped on top.

And then…your face inevitably face-down in the bowl in a matter of seconds later. It’s just gonna happen.

Trust me, guys. Wherever you take this pasta salad this summer it is going to just freakishly disappear at an alarming rate of speed.

I choose the option of zero sharing.

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Italian Spinach Pizza Pasta Salad

Everything you love about pizza...in the form of a healthy Italian pasta salad! This super-easy salad is so simple to throw together, it will be a cookout requirement all summer!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 8 -10 servings

Calories 348 kcal

Ingredients

• 12 oz cavatappi pasta cooked according to package instructions
• 1 can 15 oz olives, sliced
• 1 6 oz package pepperoni
• 1 cup loosely-packed baby spinach coarsely chopped
• 1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese
• DRESSING:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine pasta, olives, pepperoni, spinach, and mozzarella. In a separate medium bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour dressing over salad and gently toss until coated. Season salad with additional salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate salad until ready to serve. Enjoy!

More salad? ALWAYS.

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