Spinach Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad Recipe
Looking for a recipe to take to your next backyard BBQ? This Spinach Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad Copycat Recipe will get everyone excited! Whole Foods Tender spinach and smoky cheese in a creamy parmesan sauce. For more light and cool recipes see my Salads page.
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If you have ever been to whole foods it is highly likely you have tried their yummy Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad recipe. It is definitely one of the guilty pleasures that we must buy each time we visit.
Well, I decided to research this fantastic summer pasta salad and what I found was it was published in a Whole Foods Recipe book many years ago!
There are tons of reviews, tips, and tricks for this pasta salad. I researched and read everything everyone came up with and I created the perfect match of the store-bought version!
My trusty pasta taster daughter said she was so proud of me that I recreated her fav side dish perfectly! So, if that isn’t enough encouragement to try this recipe then I don’t know what is! Here is our version of this popular pasta salad dish. Enjoy!
How to make Spinach Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 16 oz organic rigatoni pasta
- 9 oz roasted bell pepper strips Jeff’s Garden Brand, 3/4 of a 12 oz Jar,
- 8 oz smoked mozzarella cubed
- 2.5 oz shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 oz organic white wine vinegar
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper or more as needed
- 5.5 oz organic light mayo Whole Foods 365 brand, use 1/2 of 11.2 oz container
- 4 oz fresh baby spinach
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- salt & pepper optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil water in a large saucepan and cook rigatoni as directed.
BLANCHING SPINACH THE EASY WAY
I updated this recipe to with a way to easily blanch the spinach as suggested by one of my friendly commenters.
- Add the spinach to a colander and pour the hot noodle water over the spinach to blanch it. Remove the spinach from the colander (in my image I use two colanders) and then pour the noodles into the colander to drain.
- Run cold water over noodles to help cool off the pasta. That way it won’t melt the cheese and take less time to chill.
- Whisk together in a large bowl (big enough to hold pasta salad), vinegar, garlic, parsley, cayenne pepper, and light mayo.
- Add rigatoni noodles, spinach, peppers, smoked mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Toss with a large spoon until blended.
- Chill for 30 min to 1 hour. Tossing every 15 minutes to blend. Serve as a side dish with your favorite summer meal!
MAKE AHEAD: Place them in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
FREEZER: Place in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in a microwave or in the refrigerator overnight.
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Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 16 oz organic rigatoni pasta
- 9 oz roasted bell pepper strips, Jeff’s Garden Brand, 3/4 of a 12 oz Jar,
- 8 oz smoked mozzarella, cubed
- 2.5 oz shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 oz organic white wine vinegar
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more as needed
- 5.5 oz organic light mayo, Whole Foods 365 brand, use 1/2 of 11.2 oz container
- 4 oz fresh baby spinach
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- salt & pepper, optional
Instructions
- Boil water in a large saucepan and cook rigatoni as directed.
- Add the spinach to a colander and pour the hot noodle water over the spinach to blanch it. Remove the spinach from the colander and pour the noodles into the colander to drain.
- Run cold water over noodles to help cool off the pasta. That way it won't melt the cheese and take less time to chill.
- Whisk together in a large bowl (big enough to hold pasta salad), vinegar, garlic, parsley, cayenne pepper, and light mayo.
- Add rigatoni noodles, spinach, peppers, smoked mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Toss with a large spoon until blended.
- Chill for 30 min to 1 hour. Tossing every 15 minutes to blend. Serve as a side dish with your favorite summer meal!
NOTES
- All ingredients in this recipe were bought at Whole Foods or online at Amazon. See links in the recipe or order online. See Amazon deal below. Smoked mozzarella is in the fine cheese section of the store.Â
- You can put the noodles into the refrigerator to chill before adding ingredients. Be careful, if you do not chill the noodles the cheeses will melt.
- I did not add salt or black pepper and it tasted perfect to us. Add the extra seasoning if you feel you need it. Enjoy!Â
Nutrition
The nutrition info provided is only an estimate. See my nutrition disclaimer for more info on how the data is collected for recipes.
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I’ve made this multiple times now. Delicious!!! Absolutely just as good if not better to what you can buy in the store and such a better deal. Sometimes I add a little extra mayo because I love the creaminess.
So glad you like it! I made it this weekend too! We are thinking of trading out the peppers for sliced grape tomatoes.
Delicious! I used sundried tomatoes instead of peppers and used vegan mayo (since I can’t eat anything with egg whites) and it was great! Had a bit of a time trying to convert ounces to tablespoons (so I had to use my brain more than I like – haha!) but I’m glad I tried it, and I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you!
Hi Laurie, you can just eyeball the mayo if you like. 5.5oz is 1/2 oz or a little less than 3/4 of a cup. I too, use vegan mayo these days. I found out I have an egg allergy. I will try the sun-dried tomatoes! That sounds Tuscan and so yummy!
Kim
Kim,
Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband has loved this smoked mozzarella pasta salad from Whole Foods, for years. The other day they didn’t have any and I told him I would try to make it. Thankfully, I found your recipe! The only change I made was I used 8oz of pasta and I roasted my own red pepper. It was delicious ?
My boyfriend and I have made this recipe countless times and are constantly redelighted when we take the first bite. This pasta salad is so SOOO incredibly delicious. The recipe is killer. We’ve made it so much we’ve made some changes to our liking: Instead of rigatoni we use rainbow rotini (the rotini really traps the flavors) and instead of dried parsley we use dried cilantro. Thanks so much for this great recipe!
Hi Naomi,
I am so glad you like it! Thanks for the recommendations. I will try them too!
This is IT!!! My three teenage boys kept asking me to make it again, even while they were eating a full bowl of it. I love Love LOVE Whole Foods’ smoked mozzarella pasta salad, and this is so close I want to jump for joy. I switched out the cayenne for 1 oz of Sriracha, because we all love Sriracha in our house, and it was pleasantly spicy. I used 16 oz of penne pasta, and I roughly chopped a 6 oz bag of raw baby spinach before I put it under the warm pasta to wilt after draining the water from the pot. Perfect! I used a full 12 oz jar of deli-sliced roasted red peppers. Next time I might add a little more light mayo and vinegar to give it a bit more moisture. Even still, this was AMAZING. I prefer this pasta unchilled, so if I’m having leftovers I pop it in the microwave for 45 seconds or so. I think it makes the flavor of the smoked mozzarella really come out. I can’t thank you enough for this fabulous recipe. Cheers to you!
I made it this way the first time and while I liked it, there was way too much pasta. Trying to make this somewhat of a vegetable serving (as well as starch side dish), I use the 8 oz recommended by the original recipe. I also use 1 oz sriracha instead of the cayenne (as they were doing in my 365 store). I found the spinach to mushy when blanched. I put the spinach (and used 8 oz to kick up the nutrients) in the pan after draining the pasta and put the warm pasta on top and let that sit while I was making the rest of the recipe. This spinach was slightly was just slightly wilted which made a more pleasing texture and it distributed better. I also used a whole jar (12 oz) of the roasted red peppers because it was there. Now I am really pleased with the results.
Nice tips Teri, I think I will try the pasta over spinach method next time. The pasta I used is really large and I didn’t have a problem with it being too much. If you use a smaller pasta 8 oz would be fine to use.
The smoked mozzarella pasta salad sounds marvelous!
When anything gets a thumbs up from the kids, it’s a winner. Pinned.
This looks really tasty! Perfect for upcoming summer picnics and BBQ’s!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com