>U Mom Knows Best: Easy Italian Pasta Salad

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Easy Italian Pasta Salad

Tired of packing sandwiches for lunch? This easy Italian pasta salad is the perfect pack-your-lunch dish. I have been compensated by Acorn Influence and Barilla for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own.



  My husband packs his lunch every day for work. He has limited choices on what he can pack as the lunch has to be ready to eat as he does not have access to a microwave. You see my husband is on the road all day for his job, driving around the city inspecting buildings. When it is lunch time, he usually finds a park and eats his lunch there. So his lunches have to be a ready-to-eat cold lunch. His go to lunch for a while has been a sandwich, fruit and some sort of dessert. The other day he told me not to buy him any more lunchmeat as he was tired of sandwiches. So I have been getting creative in the kitchen with new lunch ideas for him. My husband loves when I make him my Italian Pasta Salad. When I make this savory pasta salad, I usually add garbanzo beans for protein but my husband doesn't like beans so I made this pasta salad with Barilla ProteinPLUS Pasta to give my husband the protein he needs. Barilla ProteinPLUS is a delicious wholesome pasta that provides 17g of protein (per 3.5oz portion) from all natural vegetarian ingredients. This pasta also is a good source of fiber and ALA Omega-3. The delicious taste and texture are husband approved. To make this meal a satisfying lunch for my husband, I include some delicious Wasa Crispbreads along with some garlic butter for a 100% Whole Grain garlic "bread" that my husband loves.


                           Easy Italian Pasta Salad
                                                          6-8 servings
                  Ingredients
                         one 14.5 OZ box Barilla ProteinPlus Rotini, cooked and drained
                         1 pound mozzarella cheese, cubed
                         2 cups black olives
                         1-pint cherry or grape tomatoes
                        3/4  cup Italian salad dressing
                     
                  Directions
         Cook the Rotini as directed on the package and let cool to room temperature. Then add all remaining ingredients to pasta and toss to combine.  Serve with Wasa Crispbreads and garlic butter. To make the garlic butter, just add 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder to a 1/4 cup of soft butter.


Savings Alert
Pick up all of the ingredients for this recipe at your local Walmart and make sure to check out Ibotta before you go as they have great savings on the Barilla pasta and Wasa Crispbreads.


For more recipe inspiration check out this Pinterest Board and www.barilla.com/recipes


I love that Barilla Gluten Free Penne pasta was recognized as one of Parents magazine’s "top 25 best allergy-friendly packaged foods." Check out THIS article to learn more!

http://www.parents.com/recipes/healthy-kids-snacks/parents-best-allergy-friendly-packaged-foods/




20 comments:

Masshole Mommy said...

I make a pasta salad almost like this, but I put pieces of pepperoni in mine. Yum.

Buzz4Mommies said...

This looks amazing! We all sick of sandwiches and this would be a very welcome change!

Jackie Ison said...

I will definitely try the pasta next time. It looks great cooked. My husband is all about protein and fiber. He tries to eat as much of each as possible, so this might be a good upgrade for us. :)

Ivonne said...

I'll have to try this soon; we do alot of BBQing and this would be a perfect salad to compliment steak or chicken.

Jennifer said...

My daughter and I love Italian pasta. Your pasta recipe looks really good and I think I'll have to try and make it some time!

GiGi Eats Celebrities said...

THAT is the easiest salad ever! Those olives look INSANELY delicious!!! <3 come to mama!

The Iuvo Omega said...

I feel hungry all of the sudden. Should i make a pasta? ;)

Sandra Watts said...

Pasta salad sounds good right now. Nice portion control dishes too!

Shirley said...

I love salads and pasta salad sounds. I'll have to try and make it some time for sure.

Unknown said...

This looks really delicious! I wish I had a kitchen so I could cook it...

Blair Villanueva said...

Pasta is becoming a food staple at home. Its easy to prepare and source ingredients, plus my boyfriend loves it :)

Carol Cassara said...

I hate it when I used to work and we don't have a working microwave in the office. I love eating my lunch hot and fresh. But when you really have no choice, a pasta salad is always awesome! I love this recipe of yours, it's filling and it's really healthy!

Jason said...

I have recently started a protein diet. This salad looks right on point for both clean eating and protein diet. Cheers xx

melissa cushing said...

The pasta salad looks delicious! I love the crackers too.... great ideas and what a cool lunch idea. Very healthy :)

Unknown said...

I love a good pasta salad. I am going to have to give your recipe a try.

Unknown said...

This looks tasty. Add a little pepperoni and we're in business!

Katrina Kroeplin said...

that looks so good! i could go for some of that right now!

Liz said...

This is my kind of salad - I can eat pasta, tomatoes and olives any day! This is a great idea and a combination - I have never made this type of a dish, but I know already I'll love it - it looks so good!

Unknown said...

Oh this looks amazing I am going to have to try my kids would just love this! Love the veggies with the pasta for a healthier choice! YUM

Believe it, healing from cancer said...

This is my kind of pasta salad. I love all the colours and it would be perfect for a BBQ.

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