Recipe: Creamy BLT Macaroni Salad

Think of your favorite macaroni salad recipe. Now add spinach, bacon and a few skinny swaps and you're left with this delicious crowd-pleaser. Speaking of skinny swaps, this recipe calls for center-cut bacon, which has 30 percent less fat than regular bacon, and is only 44 calories per slice when baked in the oven, as opposed to fried.

Recipe: Creamy BLT Macaroni Salad

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 23-25 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Serving size: 1 cup

Ingredients

• 4 slices center-cut bacon

• 8 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni

• ½ cup plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1 medium tomato, diced

• 2 cups baby spinach

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a cooling rack that fits a rimmed baking sheet. Lay the bacon strips on the rack and bake for 15 minutes.

2. When it's cool enough to touch, crumble the bacon into bite-size pieces, and safely discard the fat.

3. In a large stock pot of salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente.

4. While the pasta is cooking, make the dressing: In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, black pepper, and salt; set aside.

5. Drain the cooked noodles and run them under cold water to quickly cool them down. Add the noodles to the set-aside dressing bowl.

6. Add the tomatoes and spinach, and toss gently to combine. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon pieces on top of the salad before serving. Serve chilled.

Nutrition Information
Per Serving: (1 cup)
Calories: 134
Calories from fat: 31
Fat: 3g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 6mg
Sodium: 204mg
Carbohydrates: 22g
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 2g
Protein: 7g
WWP+: 3
SmartPoints: 4

3.1 The nutrition content of recipes on Popculture.com have been calculated by Registered Dietitian, Jessica Penner, of Smart Nutrition.