Pesto Pasta Salad

Tomatoes, kalamata olives, and mozzarella balls are tossed with pasta in a creamy pesto dressing for a lightweight and flavor-packed picnic or potluck dish.

Taste: This pesto pasta salad is herby, garlicky, and tangy with creamy bites of mozzarella and juicy tomatoes.
Ability Stage: This beginner-friendly recipe makes use of a 3-ingredient dressing, tossed with a handful of different elements.
Funds Tip: Deplete leftover veggie bits and add additional pasta to stretch the recipe additional.
Serving Options: Make it a important dish and add leftover chicken, shrimp, salmon, or tofu.

Pesto Pasta Salad ingredients in a bowl and a side bowl with salad dressing ingredients

Ingredient Suggestions for Pesto Pasta Salad

Pasta: Search for pasta shapes with grooves, tubes, or twists for the pesto dressing to cling to. Penne, rotini, cavatappi, and bow-tie are nice choices.
Dressing: Use store-bought pesto or make home made basil pesto. Strive swapping out the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt for fewer energy and a lighter taste.
Veggies: Sundried tomatoes present a chewy texture whereas grape or cherry tomatoes add shade and sweetness. You can even use chopped spinach, diced cucumbers, corn kernels, peas, or diced bell peppers.
Cheese: Use bite-sized bocconcini balls or minimize a bigger ball of recent mozzarella into small cubes. Feta, gorgonzola, or blue cheese crumbles can be utilized as a substitute of mozzarella.

ingredients for pesto pasta salad in a bowl next to pesto dressing

Storing Pesto Pasta Salad

Prep pesto pasta salad no less than 2 hours however as much as two days forward of time. Toss elements collectively, cowl, and chill within the fridge till able to serve.

Hold leftover pesto pasta salad in a coated container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Freezing isn’t advisable.

Mediterranean Impressed Pasta Salad Recipes

Did you make this Pesto Pasta Salad? Make sure to go away a score and remark beneath!

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text

5 from 34 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Pesto pasta salad is straightforward to make and might be served as a facet dish or important dish!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Chill Time 2 hours

Whole Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Cook dinner ModeStop your display from going darkish

In a big pot of salted water, cook dinner pasta al dente, and drain nicely. Rinse below chilly water to cease cooking.
In a small bowl, whisk pesto, mayonnaise, and pink wine vinegar.
In a big bowl, mix the drained pasta, grape tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and olives. Add the dressing and toss nicely to mix. Style and season with extra salt and pepper if desired.
Refrigerate for no less than 2 hours earlier than serving.
Chop recent basil and sprinkle on high simply earlier than serving

Rinse the pasta in chilly water to cease the cooking course of and preserve pasta agency.
Because the salad sits, it’ll take in dressing, so make sure to gown generously.
Non-obligatory additions embrace parmesan cheese, recent spinach, capers, or a squeeze of lemon juice.

*If utilizing home made pesto, the pasta salad and leftover pesto ought to be refrigerated and consumed inside 3 days.

Diet info offered is an estimate and can differ based mostly on cooking strategies and types of elements used.

Course Pasta, Salad, Aspect Dish

Delicacies American, Italian

© SpendWithPennies.com. Content material and images are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is each inspired and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.