It’s not always possible but I try to make healthy recipes for my family all the time. Even if they aren’t totally “healthy” they are at least all natural. This week I made this yummy spinach, corn and pasta salad with homemade ranch dressing to go with BLT and cheese sandwiches made with nitrate-free turkey bacon. SO yummy!
Spinach and Corn Pasta Salad Recipe
I love a good pasta salad. Not macaroni salad made with mayonnaise like my mom made while I was growing up, but a combination of vegetables and pasta. I love this recipe because it uses a homemade ranch salad dressing. You could make it with greek yogurt for sure, but my husband bought me a giant container of sour cream from costco so I used that! He knows how much I love sour cream even in my healthy recipes!
The best way to make this is with leftover corn-on-the-cob and little organic grape tomatoes, but you can do it with frozen corn and diced tomatoes if need be. I like the extra juice diced tomatoes lend to the salad anyway! This recipe also uses fresh garlic which my husband actually requested the second time I made this, just two days after the first day! I guess it’s that good. Husband-approved! See all of the healthy recipes on this site here!
Spinach Corn and Pasta Salad
- 4 ounces spiral pasta
- 1 small garlic clove
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup buttermilk (make your own here)
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1 scallion (minced)
- 2 small ears fresh corn
- 8 ounces grape tomatoes (preferably mixed heirloom, halved)
- 1/4 small red onion (thinly sliced lengthwise)
- 2 cups baby spinach (diced)
- 2 slices bacon (diced)
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions; drain and run under cold water to cool.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic clove on a cutting board; sprinkle with salt. Using the blade of a chef’s knife, press down onto garlic, smashing it to make a paste. Add the garlic paste to a large bowl with the sour cream, buttermilk, cider vinegar and scallion; season with salt and pepper. Whisk the dressing until smooth and reserve.
- Cut the kernels from the corn (breaking sheets of kernels into about 2-inch pieces, if desired).
- Add the corn, tomatoes, onion and arugula to bowl with dressing; gently toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with the bacon.
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Spinach plus corn equals I’m there. I absolutely love pasta salad, and this sounds like a fun new way to incorporate these ingredients.
This looks so refreshing. Love the combo!
Looks other than the raw tomatoes.