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Spinach Pasta Salad is the perfect side dish when serving a large group or add chicken to make it a delicious summer dinner.Â
Spinach Pasta Salad is definite crowd pleaser. And I know this for a fact because I have served this salad to crowd! I once fixed this spinach pasta salad for a group of 450 woman! Each and every time I fix it, I am inundated with requests for the recipe.
I love that this salad is a complete meal! It has spinach, chicken and pasta. Also, It is fairly inexpensive to make, so you can feed a crowd on a budget! It is also an easy one to stretch if you need to, just add more spinach!Â
Because of all the bright colors, it looks pretty on the plate too. Not to mention this spinach pasta salad has great textures! Lots of crunch with the water chestnuts, peanuts and sesame seeds!
Ingredients
- Bow Tie Pasta
- Chicken
- Spinach
- Mandarin Oranges
- Dried Cranberries
- Water Chestnuts
- Green Onions
- Peanuts
- Sesame Seeds
- Teriyaki Sauce
- White Vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt and Pepper
- Canola Oil
How to Make Spinach Pasta Salad
- Prepare bow tie pasta according to package directions and let cool.
- Blend dressing ingredients in blender. Set aside 1/2 cup to dress salad with later.
- Mix remaining dressing and cooked pasta and marinade for 2 hours in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
- Combine remaining salad ingredients.Â
- Add add pasta and dressing to the salad and toss to mix.
- Add reserved dressing as needed.
If you ever need a meal to feed 400 or a delicious summer dinner for your family, this spinach pasta salad is the perfect recipe for both!
Check out more of my delicious salad recipes:
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Spinach Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz. bow tie pasta cooked al dente
Dressing
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2/3 cup Teriyaki Sauce
- 2/3 cup white vinegar
- 6 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 10 oz. bag of spinach
- 1 cup bag craisins
- 2 11 oz. cans mandarin oranges drained
- 1 5 oz. can sliced water chestnuts drained
- 2-3 green onions chopped
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds toasted
- 1 cup peanuts
- 2 cups cooked chicken cut into pieces
Instructions
- Blend dressing in blender. Set aside 1/2 cup to dress salad with later.
- Mix remaining dressing and cooked pasta and marinade for 2 hours (in a ziploc bag)
- Combine other ingredients. Add add pasta and liquid in the bag. Toss. Add reserved dressing as needed.
Emily Wilkes says
I made this salad yesterday too, the ladies at my mid week luncheon loved it and took most of the leftover home. I love this salad!!
Leigh Anne says
Paula »
I buy it at Costco. Mr Yoshida lives here in Portland so it is easy to find! If you can’t find it you could just use teriyaki sauce. I think the gourme sauce is a little sweeter so just taste and see if the dressing might need a bit more sugar. Enjoy!
Leigh Anne says
Linda,
If you are serving as a meal and not a side, one recipe, 20 oz. of spinach will feed 10 but when feeding a crowd I buy the 40 oz. bags of spinach from Costco and that will feed 20. I use the same amounts of everything else – this recipe really stretches! I just make up some extra dressing and add in more as I go to make sure it’s not too dry. Sorry this isn’t more exact. It’s one of those recipes that I just throw things in by the handful and make it stretch to feed how many people I have – add a little more spinach, add a little more dressing etc.
Paula says
Hi-Where do you find Yoshida’s gourmet sauce?? And if I can’t find it in my area-what could I substitute? Love your recipes!!!
Linda says
Leigh Anne this looks so yummy! How many servings would you say for this size of recipe?