This Italian Spaghetti Salad with Spinach is packed with robust Italian flavors. For this dish, al dente spaghetti noodles are tossed in a prepared Italian dressing with cubes of salami, mozzarella cheese, ripe olives, peppers, scallions and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Toss in fresh baby spinach and it’s practically a meal in itself. This spaghetti salad is spectacular served warm, at room temperature or chilled making it ideal for entertaining or light meals.

Italian Spaghetti Salad with Spinach Recipe

My kids love pasta in any form, but vegetables can sometimes be a bit harder for them to embrace. Salads like this one help incorporate some of the things they like with the ingredients they need to eat so, it’s a win-win for me. I use cubes of hard salami in this dish but, ham or pepperoni would be tasty, too. I also recommend adding the spinach while the spaghetti is still warm allowing the spinach to wilt just a tad and become fully coated with the Italian dressing. Adding leafy greens to pasta salads like this spaghetti salad and my fusion BLT macaroni salad give me the chance to add even more nutrients to the menu which is always a plus.

How to Make the Best Italian Spaghetti Salad with Spinach Recipe

This recipe is one that I love to refer to as a double duty dish. You can serve it as a side dish or as a light meal on a busy day. It’s a fun salad to make and serve and doubles as a light meal on a hot summer day.

Ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Spaghetti Salad: Cooled al dente spaghetti, a quality bottled or prepared Italian dressing, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, green onions, black olives, dried Italian seasoning, garlic salt, crushed red pepper flakes, grated Parmesan cheese, fresh baby spinach leaves, salami and cubed mozzarella cheese.
To keep things simple, use a quality prepared Italian salad dressing for easy prep plus, it also gives the cook the opportunity to adjust the flavors at will.
You could add cubed pepperoni to the spaghetti salad recipe in place of salami or in addition to salami. 1/2 to 1 cup should work but this is one of those moments it’s fine to eyeball the amount.
When doing so, keep in mind you may need to adjust the seasonings according to the dressing used.
Using an oil based dressing allows the spaghetti salad to hold up much better at picnics and outdoor events than a mayonnaise based pasta salad.
Store leftover spaghetti salad in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

More Southern Style Salad Recipes to Make

There are few occasions that wouldn’t be the perfect launching pad for adding a salad to round out the meal. More salad recipes you may like to try:

Homestyle Macaroni Salad is a warm weather favorite.
Oh so easy 5 Bean Salad is an old fashioned refrigerator salad that everyone will love.
Cherry Tomato Onion Cucumber Salad is good and good for you.
You’ll love this retro Grape Salad.
Italian Penne Pasta Salad is another option that can serve as a complete meal on a busy day.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Layer Salad doubles as a side dish or an entree.
You may like to try is this Potluck Spaghetti and Tuna Salad from The Reluctant Entertainer.

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Italian Spaghetti Salad with Spinach recipe

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