Photo: Leigh Loftus
I spend a lot of time at Whole Foods. Even though my budget would likely prefer otherwise, I shop almost exclusively at Whole Foods.
The grocery stores in my neighborhood, well, just aren’t that impressive.
Even though there are some lovely supermarkets throughout the Chicago neighborhoods, my patience threshold for hauling grocery bags on public transportation is not high. So, I shop at Whole Foods.
I also need to confess to you that not only do I shop at Whole Foods but occasionally, I hang out at Whole Foods.
Before you start to judge, my Whole Foods has a coffee bar that makes espresso drinks to order, a full bar with wine for $5 a glass and fourteen local beers on tap. I’ve seen customers pop bottles of champagne and people hanging out on their laptops casually drinking a martini. Two flat screen TVs broadcast the latest sporting events and – most importantly – there is free wifi.
You forget you’re in a grocery store.
Almost.
What does this have to do with the plate of pasta above?
Well, it was inspired by none other than Whole Foods. Along with a full bar (and sometimes live music!) Whole Foods has an exceptional food court modeled after the various types of cuisine that has made Chicago the famed food city that it is: Mexican, Japanese, Pizza and more.
Along with all of this, they have an extensive salad bar and deli counter – every vegetable under the sun, meats, prepared salads and the likes.
Occasionally I’ll grab a piece of salmon or chicken to throw on a salad but typically, my experience with the deli counter is reconnaissance. I check out what the Whole Foods chefs are making and then I whip up my own, presumably better and less-fattening versions of their quinoa salads, roasted vegetables and sesame kale.
I came very close to purchasing their smoked mozzarella pasta salad a few weeks ago and then I glanced at the ingredient list and realized I had just about everything I needed to make this myself. Bonus points: I could use lower-fat mayonnaise and eliminate probably a week’s worth of saturated fat from the recipe.
And you know what that means?
You can eat more cheese.
Photo: Leigh Loftus
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ½ cup low-fat mayonnaise
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 and ½ tsp.)
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- ½ pound whole wheat penne pasta
- 2 cups packed baby spinach, washed and stemmed
- 4 pieces jarred roasted red pepper, diced
- ½ pound smoked mozzarella cheese, diced (use regular mozzarella if you can't find smoked)
- Fresh basil (optional)
- Combine the Parmesan cheese, parsley, mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper with a hand mixer or in the bowl of food processor or in a blender until the dressing is smooth.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta into a colander, run cold water over it or submerge it in ice water until chilled through, and drain well. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta, spinach, roasted red peppers, and smoked mozzarella.
- Garnish with fresh basil, if desired. For best results, make this ahead of time and let chill for 2-4 hours before serving. Serve cold.
Perfect Pairings
Serve this salad with one of my favorite grill-friendly recipes!
Photo: Leigh Loftus
Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Garlic
Photo: Leigh Loftus
Grilled Salmon with Roasted Corn Relish
Photo: Leigh Loftus
Baked Chicken with Mozzarella, Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach
66 Comments
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Shelly
February 6, 2014 at 7:59 amI love this salad. The problem I have is my local whole foods stores do not carry the smoked mozarella anymore. They said it was not a big seller. I’m very saddened by this 🙁
Steve
August 21, 2013 at 5:49 pmI love Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad from Whole Foods. It’s just so darn expensive. If this tastes even remotely close I’ll be forever grateful to you.
Thank you
Abigail
August 16, 2013 at 9:33 pmOkay, I absolutely love Whole Foods but I just moved to Massachusetts and the WF here doesn’t have one item in particular. So if anyone has a recipe for the WF chicken scaloppini pizza please reply!!!!
teresa
April 9, 2013 at 1:46 amThank you for posting this!!! I have been eying that dish for months, and was tempted to try to figure out the recipe myself. But I thought someone out there must have done it already, and would probably do a better job than me. THANKS AGAIN!
christie
October 22, 2012 at 5:47 pmCan I use fat free sour cream instead of mayo?
Maris Callahan
November 1, 2012 at 4:10 pmYou can certainly try — I haven’t done it so I can’t guarantee it will turn out. Sour cream is more acidic than mayo so results may vary.
Reenie
August 28, 2012 at 7:59 pmThanks so much for this recipe! Your Whole Foods is my (former) Whole Foods! I can tell from the pic. I moved away but am back visiting, went I their today to ask them if all WF have the recipe, because 2 in my new city don’t have this dish. (supposedly yes, BTW) Did a search on google which lead me to your blog.
Alex
August 14, 2012 at 3:18 pmThis pasta at whole foods is my absolute favorite thing there, I have to get it every time I go there. So finding this recipe is amazing. Think I may add a little sriracha to the sauce just to give it a little more of a kick. Looks amazing, looking forward to making it tonight! Thanks!
Casey
July 4, 2012 at 9:39 amI made this (I LOVE this pasta from WF!) – it was absolutely delicious but I’m wondering if you had recommendations on how to make the cheese a creamier (versus chunky) texture, like it is in the WF version. The flavor was awesome but I would prefer the cheese to be blended better.
Michelle
June 15, 2012 at 9:32 pmI love this salad and was hoping to find a recipe! I am so excited. Thanks for sharing.
ISW
March 25, 2012 at 11:25 amI have the added misfortune of living in a food desert area of Chicago. TJ’s and Whole Foods in the South Loop save me, regardless of the fact that I’m a student and need to take public transport to get there.
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Mush
February 9, 2012 at 7:17 pmThanks for the recipe. I like WFs! I don’t shop there for the family/house. But I do go every payday to get fruit and the pasta salad. The fresh fruit at the “regular” groceries do not seem to be as fresh to my taste. I went last night and they had a cooking demostration going on. Not sure if they had a bar but I would totally hang out.
Merry Mac
December 31, 2011 at 11:26 amI’ve been in a number of WFs, but never one that fancy! I LOVE their prepared foods and am on the hunt for knock-off recipes so I can save money. Wonder if someday they will put out a cookbook. Until then, I’ll guess I’ll continue spending upwards of $15 for splurge salads at “Whole Paycheck.”
GoLightToMyLips
December 6, 2011 at 9:16 pmI love Whole Foods and this salad. We have 2 locations to shop, where we live. BUT they are not as cool as yours!
I like your website.
Fun to read and see what up with younger folks.
Merry Christmas!
bryan
October 12, 2011 at 4:20 pmHow do I print just the recipe? (I don’t see a print option.)
Thanks.
Jo
August 14, 2011 at 1:10 pmLooks wonderful and I would hang out there too. Whole Foods compares well to the prices for comparable foods at local supermarkets in the Metrowest area of Boston. Of course, if you want to compare highly processed foods with hydrogenated oils and other chemicals, then you can find lots of bargains at local supermarkets. As with anything else, you get what you pay for!
Jo
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Erin
May 18, 2011 at 7:23 pmThis recipe turned out great. The first time I ate it, after making it and only chilling it about 20 mins or so, I got quite an after-bite from the vinegar. When eating the leftovers the next day (which were fabulous) that “bite” from the vinegar had dissapated. You didn’t suggest chilling for a certain time but I think it helps. The fresh ingredients make it such a tasty summer salad!
Kate
May 16, 2011 at 2:44 pmOmg! This looks heavenly! I have got to try to duplicate this. Yours looks sooo tasty!
Caroline
May 15, 2011 at 5:27 pmThis pasta looks SO fantastic, Maris! I absolutely LOVE shopping at Whole Foods as well–definitely one of my favorite grocery stores. I don’t think the stores I go to in LA have that full bar though. Jealous!!
Thewonderingchef
May 15, 2011 at 1:57 pmI know what you mean when you write about Whole Foods, since i visited NYC im crazy about the place, loved the soups and the salads. By the way, your salad looks delicious! 🙂
Maria @ Scandifoodie
May 15, 2011 at 12:42 amI so wish we had Whole Foods here in Australia! What a great place to shop! This pasta sounds amazing, so creamy and delicious, it would be perfect for our cooling weather here in Sydney.
Heidi Renée
May 14, 2011 at 8:53 pmShopping at Whole Foods is my treat to myself. Luckily for my bank account it’s a bit of a drive so I only go every so often!
Kerstin
May 14, 2011 at 8:34 pmYum, this would be perfect to bring to a potluck! More cheese indeed please 🙂
mandy
May 13, 2011 at 3:58 pmThis sounds really delicious Maris! I wanted some pasta salad the other day so I made one of my favorite recipes from childhood, but this would be great to change things up a bit.
leslie
May 13, 2011 at 5:20 pmI love me some whole foods too! Yummy pasta
NancyC
May 13, 2011 at 4:12 pmThat pasta salad sounds so good! I love going to Whole Foods, too…I don’t go real often because the closest one is an hour an a half away. It’s really nice, but not as nice as the one you go to–that one sounds fabulous!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
May 13, 2011 at 3:00 pmWow that is your Whole Foods? 😮 Haha our supermarkets here seriously have to step up their game now! 😛
Sarah Caron
May 13, 2011 at 1:45 pmWhat an awesome Whole Foods! I love that if you are working there and get inspired, you can just pop up and grab the ingredients. SO fun! Oh, and that you can have a martini conveniently made for you while working too.
Gina (The Candid RD)
May 13, 2011 at 11:06 amI’ll be honest, I really can’t stand Whole Foods! Maybe I’m bias because I work at a grocery store. I just go in there and I feel like everyone thinks they are better than everyone just because they “shop at Whole Foods”…..I dunno. Also, so many people assume everything they buy there is healthy, when it’s NOT! I wish people understood that, it’s a completel health halo. Same with Trader Joe’s (which, I do love, actually).
Of course, your WF is much cooler than the one we have here. So perhaps if I were in your shoes, I’d love it too 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!! I bet you could even use Greek yogurt for the mayo, to make it even lower fat, or even half mayo and half yogurt.
Blond Duck
May 13, 2011 at 11:01 amThis looks wonderful! I wish we had a whole foods here!
Blond Duck
May 13, 2011 at 10:53 amSounds delicious!
megan @ the oatmeal diaries
May 13, 2011 at 9:36 amWow, your WF is awesome!! Such a beautiful pasta dish you made too 🙂
pigpigscorner
May 13, 2011 at 7:43 amLove shopping at Whole Foods too, there’s so much to see!
Simply Life
May 13, 2011 at 12:16 amI definitely get so much inspiration from Whole Foods -I actually go to their website a lot for recipe ideas – this looks great!
Amanda
May 13, 2011 at 4:36 amThe pasta looks delicious! I’m jealous of your Whole Foods. The best store I hve available is Albertsons, and I gladly pay more there so I don’t have to deal with the crowds.
Vivienne
May 13, 2011 at 4:16 amwow that’s your local whole foods?!?! when i lived in the US, one of my fav activities was to stroll thru whole foods after work 😛 i wish we have stores like that here in Aust!
what a healthy pasta salad..it looks filled with flavours too!
Sense of Home Kitchen
May 12, 2011 at 9:13 pmThis looks and sounds absolutely wonderful, I will save this recipe. I think smoked mozzarella with roasted red peppers and spinach sounds like a terrific combination. Thanks for sharing.
~Brenda
chopinandmysaucepan
May 13, 2011 at 1:38 amHi Maris
I just learnt about Whole Foods from a US blog today where the nickname is Whole paycheck 🙂
I like your recipe as it seems really simple and delicious and I suspect this can also be a cold pasta dish in summer too? 🙂
camille
May 13, 2011 at 12:37 amTo my mind, the best thing about Whole Foods is that they do a lot of free samples. I’m not so thrilled about giving them my actual money – particularly since there’s about to be one a couple blocks from my apartment, where for the past 40 years there’s been a community-staple Latin supermarket that Whole Foods has now pushed out (since apparently the people who could afford the Hi-Lo can totally afford Whole Foods…) but I am always happy to eat their food for FREE.
Although I will pay good money for their savory scones. It’s nearly impossible to find a savory scone in Boston, for some reason, and they’re a love of my life.
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective
May 12, 2011 at 10:06 pmIt sounds delicious! You really had me going at first. We don’t have a “real” Whole Foods here. I’d love to check it out.
Lauren@LittleYellowKitchen
May 12, 2011 at 8:46 pmI wish our Whole Foods had wine and coffee bars! That sounds amazing and I would be much more inclined to spend the extra cash there shopping if they did. That salad look delicious by the ways. I love that Whole Foods lists their ingredients like that 🙂
Gen
May 12, 2011 at 8:39 pmI went to Whole Foods once….and LOVED it! 😀 That recipe looks delish, and the best part is, I could make it here!!!!
bellini
May 12, 2011 at 7:33 pmThe closest Whole Foods would be in Vancouver so no hanging out for me but it sounds like a great place! My daughter shops there:D
Tasha
May 12, 2011 at 7:23 pmI am a lover of pasta salads- and when they include lots of delicious cheese, even better. This sounds awesome!
Sherilyn
May 12, 2011 at 7:21 pmOh yum – this looks delightful!
Anne
May 12, 2011 at 6:58 pmWow, I’ve never seen a Whole Foods like that! Have you ever been to Wegman’s in New York? So, so similar! I might have gone once or twice on a Friday night just to hang out:) Out in California, Nugget Market gives a similar vibe – no real bar but I love seeing people just hang out at the espresso bar! Such a community feel to it!
PS – I do need more smoked mozzarella in my life!
natalie (the sweets life)
May 12, 2011 at 6:28 pmyour whole foods looks cooler than mine! 🙂 love that place, and the looks of this salad!
Fran
May 12, 2011 at 6:06 pmWould using mayo with olive oil alter the taste of the salad?
Thanks!
Maris Callahan
May 12, 2011 at 8:29 pmI think it would be fine. Some homemade mayonnaise recipes use olive oil, so I would go for it!
Natalie
May 12, 2011 at 5:16 pmI’m so jealous, we don’t have anything like that here (I live in Spain). The choice of healthy foods you get there is amazing. I suppose not having the choice makes me more creative, though, she said trying to look on the bright side!!:D
Greg
May 12, 2011 at 4:40 pmThis is so true. My wife says she thinks it’d just be easier to hand over her credit card when she walks in the door. I like that you use the deli counter for inspiration. I don’t buy a lot of premade stuff, but there it is tempting. Great recipe! Love their cheeses.
Jay
May 12, 2011 at 4:35 pmwow…yummy yummy..
first time here..awesome space you have..lovely posts..
happy to follow u..
yummychunklet
May 12, 2011 at 3:54 pmI lovw Whole Foods! Are you talking about the one off North Avenue near the river because that is an awesome one.
alyssa - fashion fitness foodie
May 12, 2011 at 3:43 pmI absolutely love whole foods, even though my bank account doesnt. That is actually my favorite salad to get there!!!
Kelly
May 12, 2011 at 3:30 pmI love buying that pasta salad thoguh I will admit that everytime I do, I have the same reaction as you. “I could just make that.” It’s insanely addictive though. Smokey cheese. Mayo-laden dressing. It does it for me everytime.
Looking forward to the bake sale on Saturday!
Kristen
May 12, 2011 at 2:28 pmI would totally be hanging out there too!
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350
May 12, 2011 at 1:57 pmWow, if my Whole Foods looked like that I’d hang out there, too. I love that you look for inspiration from their deli. I find myself doing the same thing – realizing I could make something lower fat and then accepting the challenge. This salad looks delicious. I love smoked mozzarella.
Linda
May 12, 2011 at 1:39 pmI love Whole Foods too, but mine looks NOTHING like this one! I would be like you and spend alot of time there…wow, incredible. I will have to definitely check it out when I’m in Chicago. The pasta looks delish, I too get inspired from many of their prepared dishes and then run home and make it my way!!
Shari @ Chicago Cuisine Critique
May 12, 2011 at 1:25 pmI love that Whole Foods. I am definitely not judging since the boyfriend and I have been known to hang out there a time or two. If everyone had grocery stores like that they too would hang out there! That pasta salad looks delicious. 🙂
Erica
May 12, 2011 at 1:19 pmwhoa! Thats one awesome whole foods! WFs is a great spot. I SO wish it wasn’t that expensive. Luckily, we’re getting a TJs soon, so I feel like that will be a good sub. What a YUMMY pasta dish. Fresh mozzarella is so amazingly good. YUM!
Three-Cookies
May 12, 2011 at 1:01 pmGoing to Whole Foods sounds like going to a party. In NZ some supermarkets have (or had!) Starbucks as you enter and the trolleys have a place for the cups. Wholefoods have gone one better with a bar:)
marla
May 12, 2011 at 12:11 pmHa! I also use Whole Foods as reconnaissance. I giggle when I read that. It is certainly the “Neiman Marcus” of food stores. The pasta looks awesome 🙂