This Italian Sausage Pasta Salad Meal Prep recipe is a favorite for both weekday lunches and a side dish at your favorite weekend BBQ. Made with pre-cooked sausages, high-protein pasta, and fresh veggies. This flavorful meal comes together in less than 20 minutes.
What is better than a meal that doubles as both a quick and easy meal prep recipe and a side dish at your weekend BBQ? We can't think of much. This pre-cooked al fresco Italian Sausage Pasta Meal Prep recipe does all of that, plus more! Heck, it even works for a fast side dish to a weeknight dinner.
Our favorite meal prep recipes get most of their flavor from the main ingredients themselves instead of needing a lot of extra sauces. That's why we always have al fresco fully cooked chicken sausages on hand. They add so much flavor without the need for lots of "extra" stuff. We paired them with the simplest of ingredients here; pasta, veggies, and cheese to create this one-pot wonder that is ready in less than 20 minutes.
So, we are officially kicking off summer with this pasta salad meal prep recipe that is such a time-saver thanks to those pre-cooked al fresco chicken sausages. We guarantee this recipe will prove to you just how easy it is to have a quality and affordable meal during the week. Hassel free, of course.
What makes this recipe so easy and delicious?
This recipe is beyond easy because the al fresco chicken sausages are pre-cooked! So, the only thing that needs a little work is the pasta, which takes care of itself. You can cut and slice while the pasta is cooking, which takes about 8-10 minutes and then everything will go straight into the bowl for a toss.
Most pasta salads require chilling time before serving, but since this is being prepared for meal prep, you can divide it right into your meal prep containers and store it in the fridge. The chilling happens while this waits for you to grab it for lunch the next day.
Italian Sausage Pasta Salad Meal Prep Ingredients:
- 1 box (8 ounces) chickpea pasta (or regular pasta)
- 4 al fresco pre-cooked Italian sausages (1 full package)
- ½ cup sliced black olives, drained
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 3 cups spinach, divided into 1 cup and 2 cups
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup mozzarella balls (or regular mozzarella cut into bite size pieces)
- ½ cup Italian salad dressing of choice (can add up to 1 cup, if desired)
Simple ingredient lists make the tastiest meals.
Can you see why we love to have pre-cooked al fresco sausages on-hand? Check out all of that flavor packed right into this tasty sausages! This is exactly why we don't need a lot of "extra" for this recipe. Quality ingredients result in quality recipes.
Combine your pasta and veggies.
Add in your al fresco sausages and cheese.
Lastly, add in your Italian salad dressing and grated parmesan and then toss.
This is great served warm or chilled.
For more salad meal prep recipes, here are 20 Meal Prep Salad Ideas that you'll actually love!
Italian Sausage Pasta Salad Meal Prep
Ingredients
- 8 ounces chickpea pasta or pasta of choice
- 4 Al Fresco pre-cooked Italian Sausages
- ½ cup sliced black olives drained
- ½ cup red onion diced
- 1 ½ cups Cherry Tomatoes sliced in half
- 3 cups Spinach divided into 1 cup and 2 cups
- ½ cup grated parmesean cheese
- ¾ cup mini mozzarella balls
- ½ cup Italian Salad dressing can use up to 1 cup
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to package directions.
- Optional: slice sausages in half and grilled, fry in a pan or cook in the air fryer.
- When pasta is done cooking, rinse and drain it.
- When sausages are done cooking, slice them into small bite-sized pieces.
- Add all ingredients except for 2 cups of spinach to a large mixing bowl.
- Toss gently.
- Evenly divide the spinach among 4 meal prep containers.
- Top the spinach with the Italian Sausage Pasta Salad.
- Serve warm or chilled.
