Spring Pasta Salad w/ Lemon Dressing

Who doesn’t love pasta salad?! I feel it’s a staple to bring at BBQs and great just to have as either a side dish or a main meal. This recipe skips the globs of mayo and instead has a fresh lemony dressing that is delish. While you can use your pasta of choice, I love using Jovial Foods! They have been the only gluten-free brand of pasta that tastes like the real thing. No getting mushy and no funny ingredients. Their mafalda shape looks like mini lasagnas and is so fun to cook with. For this recipe, I used penne and mafalda to make a bigger batch.

To make it spring like I added white beans, artichokes, and fresh spinach along with that lemony dressing that really brings all the flavors together. Once the pasta was cooked, I added it to the pan with artichokes, spinach, and beans, topped it with gluten-free bread crumbs, and broiled it for a few minutes to give it a bit of a crunch (totally optional). This recipe is good cold or warmed up. You can add the dressing right away and it will hold up in the pasta too. Feel free to swap the veggies and beans or even add in chicken. The possibilities are endless!

Spring Pasta Salad w/ Lemon Dressing

cherise.mazur
Quick & easy pasta salad for an easy weeknight dinner or BBQ. Versatile to mix up the veggies and protein. Can be made GF & Vegan.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 box Jovail Foods GF Pasta (or any pasta)
  • 1 can quartered artichokes, drained & rinsed
  • 1 can white beans, drained & rinsed
  • 1-2 cups fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup gf breadcrumbs (optional)

Lemon Dressing

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp honey mustard
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • add filtered water as needed to thin out

Instructions
 

  • Cook pasta according to instructions. Tip: rinse gf past with cold water after cooking to prevent sticking
  • While pasta is cooking, make the dressing by adding all the ingredients to a blender and blen until mixed well. Adding water as needed to thin out
  • Add artichokes, beans and spinach to a large baking dish Top with cooked pasta and mix well so the spinach wilts a little. Top with dressing and mix well.
  • Optional: sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and broil at 450f for about 5-7 minutes until browned a little.
  • Enjoy warm out of the oven. Option to not use breadcrumbs and keep it a room temperatue pasta salad, Either way its delish!

 

Did you try this recipe? Be sure to share with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest when you make yours! I love to see your creations! Check out my homepage for more simple healthy recipes! 

Meet Cherise

Hi, I'm Cherise and My Fit Life page is here to share my love for health & wellness, healthy recipes, fitness & fun. Let's create healthier habits together! 

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