My love for pasta doesn’t stop in the summer, but my cravings for a big hot bowl of pasta aren’t as strong as in the winter. This Turkey Club Pasta Salad is my summer fix, served room temp or slightly chilled. It’s loaded with everything that’s in a turkey club sandwich, but in pasta salad form, finished with a bright lemony dressing instead of mayo. Healthy, fresh and fantastically summery!!
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
Makes: 4 medium servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
The Ingredients
½ pound pasta of choice (I like whole wheat penne)
½ pound thick sliced carved turkey, cut into strips (or sub turkey chunks)
½ pound turkey bacon, diced*
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or sub regular parmesan)
~5 ounces romaine, chopped into bite-sized pieces
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon
2 anchovies (canned)
Black pepper
Fresh basil, to garnish (optional)
* I use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, which if cooked until super crispy, is such a yummy, healthier alternative to regular bacon!
The Steps
For turkey bacon: dice bacon into small bits. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a nonstick pan and sauté bacon over medium-high heat for 20-25 minutes until bacon is extra crispy. Add more olive oil if bacon starts to stick to bottom of pan. Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
While bacon is cooking, add anchovies and 2 tablespoons olive oil to a separate pot over medium-high heat. Bring oil to a simmer, turn heat off, and use two forks to shred anchovies and “melt” them into the olive oil. Remove from heat, and let oil cool.
Cook pasta to al dente. Drain and rinse pasta in colander under cool water to stop cooking process and remove excess starch.
To assemble: Add rinsed pasta to a big salad bowl. Add in crispy turkey bacon, cooled anchovy oil, turkey strips, tomatoes, romaine, juice of a large lemon, ¼ cup olive oil, parmigiano, and black pepper.
Toss. Add more olive oil if dry.
Serve room temperature or slightly chilled. Garnish with basil.
To store: Saves well in the fridge for 2 days, however romaine will wilt! I recommend leaving out romaine if you plan to save in the fridge for later! Remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving, adding in fresh romaine and olive oil.
The Steps with Video
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
