I am always looking for tasty ideas to bring to gatherings. I have a few prerequisites: the dish must be portable and the dish must be easy to put together. If I do make it out of the house after 7 PM, I’m usually in a rush after running the homework, dinner gauntlet. I like pasta salad because it can be made in advance and does not require heating up. This teriyaki spinach pasta salad recipe takes a lighter approach to traditional pasta salads. I brought this Teriyaki Spinach Pasta Salad to my last book club and it was a huge hit!
You’ll Love This Flavorful Teriyaki Spinach Pasta Salad Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Serves 4
Teriyaki Spinach Pasta Salad Ingredients
- 1 bag of baby spinach
- 8 oz. of bow-tie pasta (farfalle, if you’re fancy)
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 4 oz. can of mandarin oranges
- 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Boil the pasta in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. In a large bowl throw in the spinach, pine nuts, can of drained mandarin oranges, pasta, and dried cranberries. In a smaller bowl whisk together all the ingredients from the Teriyaki sauce on down. Season with salt and pepper to your preference. Lightly toss the dressing with the spinach pasta mixture until it is evenly coated.
If you are taking this salad to a gathering or party, wait to toss in the dressing right before serving. This salad does not store well since the spinach will get soggy and wilt once the dressing sits on it so only make what you will eat.
You can serve this as a vegetarian pasta meal on Meatless Monday or you can boost the protein of this salad by adding a grilled chicken breast or a piece salmon. This Teriyaki Spinach Pasta Salad is easy to make in a pinch if you keep the ingredients in your pantry. All you need to do is grab a fresh bag of spinach.
Printable Teriyaki Spinach Pasta Salad Recipe:
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Easy Teriyaki Spinach Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bag of baby spinach
- 8 oz. of bow-tie pasta (farfalle, if you're fancy)
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 4 oz. can of mandarin oranges
- 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to maker's instructions, approximately 10 minutes.
- Drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- In small bowl whisk together all the ingredients from the Teriyaki sauce on down. Season with salt and pepper to your preference.
- In a large bowl throw in the spinach, pine nuts, can of drained mandarin oranges, pasta, and dried cranberries.
- Lightly toss the dressing with the spinach pasta mixture until it is evenly coated and serve.
I hope you and your family enjoy this Teriyaki spinach pasta salad recipe! Let me know what you think in the comments or tag us @familyfocusblog