This pesto pasta salad recipe is drizzled with vibrant basil pesto and topped with tomatoes and mozzarella. Have it for dinner or pack it for a picnic!
This pesto pasta salad recipe is so fresh and delicious for summer! Vibrant basil pesto (preferably homemade) coats curly noodles, juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy pine nuts, and creamy mozzarella cheese. Lemon juice cheers you up, while basil leaves and arugula enhance the herbal flavor.
Like most pasta salads, this pesto pasta salad is a great dish to make ahead of a potluck or picnic. But we love it so much that we want to serve it for weeknight dinners too! It’s a refreshing alternative to traditional pesto pasta on hot summer nights. Plus, making it with pesto and basil leaves helps you make use of the basil plants you often grow in your garden.
I hope you give this recipe a try this summer! Read on to find out the best tips and tricks for making it, along with some fun ways to change it up. 🙂
Pesto Pasta Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this pesto pasta salad recipe:
- pastaof course! We recommend choosing fun curly pasta shapes. We love fusilli, selentani, rotini and corkscrew.
- Basil Pesto – Makes a slightly creamy and flavorful dressing for pasta salad. See the callout below for tips on making homemade pesto or subbing store-bought.
- Cherry Tomatoes or Grape Tomatoes – Adds a sweet, tangy flavor and juicy texture to salads. I love using a mix of different colors to make this recipe more vibrant.
- fresh mozzarella balls – Adds creamy richness to salads. I use ciliegine or cherry sized balls and cut them in half. I like it because it’s the same size as cherry tomatoes. In a pinch, mozzarella pearls also work well.
- arugula – Adds peppery flavor and crunchiness.
- lemon juice – Makes salad neat and bright.
- roasted pine nuts – For a savory crunch.
- fresh basil leaves – Adds basil flavor to the pesto pasta salad.
- and salt and pepper – To make every flavor stand out!
If you like, you can also add some red pepper flakes for a little spiciness.
Find the full measured recipe below.
Making Homemade Pesto
I love using homemade basil pesto in this salad. If you’ve never made fresh pesto before, don’t be scared! It’s very simple.
- Place pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor.
- Add fresh basil and pulse to combine.
- Then, while the motor is running, drizzle in olive oil to create a vibrant pesto sauce.
See my pesto recipe for detailed step-by-step instructions. I like to use more oil than usual for this pesto pasta salad. It’s 1/2 cup instead of 1/4. Once the pesto coats the noodles, it helps maintain a lightly creamy texture.
You can also use store-bought pesto if you prefer. You will need approximately 1 cup to dress the salad.
How to Make Pesto Pasta Salad
To make this pesto pasta salad, start by cooking the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water.
- Please boil it slightly. past al dente So that it doesn’t harden as it cools.
- And before emptying, Reserve 3/4 cup of the starchy, salty pasta cooking water. This is the key ingredient in this recipe. The pesto helps coat the noodles and vegetables, creating a rich, lightly creamy pesto sauce for salads.
After draining the pasta, drizzle with a little olive oil and spread out on a large baking sheet to cool. Cool the reserved pasta water as well.
Once the pasta has cooled, combine the pesto, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup pasta water in a large bowl. Combine and toss.
- memo: The pasta will look very bland at this point, but once it has absorbed some of the sauce and you add the rest of the ingredients the proportions will balance out.
Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and arugula, adding more pasta water as needed to lightly coat the pasta with the creamy sauce.
Season to taste and top with pine nuts, basil, and a few red pepper flakes, if desired. take pleasure in!
Recipe Variations
- Use a different type of pesto. My pesto recipe goes great with a variety of soft, leafy herbs and vegetables! Mix basil with other herbs or replace basil with parsley or arugula. You can also replace nuts. Walnuts and pepitas are good (cheaper) alternatives to pine nuts.
- Throw in other vegetables. I love sliced raw zucchini or summer squash in this pesto pasta salad recipe. I think green peppers and grilled eggplant would be delicious too!
- Use sun-dried or roasted tomatoes For concentrated flavor and umami. You can roast all the tomatoes, or use a mixture of roasted and fresh tomatoes.
- Fold in the chickpeas. For vegetable protein.
Let me know what variations you try!
save
This pesto pasta salad recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I love planning ahead for potlucks and picnics during the summer months. And when it comes to dinner, I always hope there are leftovers. It’s delicious even if you eat it for lunch the next day!
More Pasta Salad Recipes to Try
If you love this pesto pasta salad, try one of these pasta salad recipes:
Pesto Pasta Salad
serve 6
This pesto pasta salad recipe is a fresh and delicious summer side dish! Make gluten-free pasta using your favorite gluten-free rotini pasta. To make it vegan, omit the cheese.
- 12 oz. spiral pasta, Rotini, fusilli, corkscrew, etc.
- ⅔ cup pasta water
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cup cherry tomatoes, bad things
- 1½ cup mini mozzarella balls, Halve (8 ounces)
- 1½ cup arugula
- ¼ cup roasted pine nuts, optional
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- red pepper flakes, optional
pesto
- ½ cup roasted pine nuts
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Prevent your screen from going dark
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare pasta according to package directions and cook until slightly al dente. Before draining the pasta, scoop out 3/4 cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta, lightly drizzle with olive oil and mix to prevent it from sticking together. Spread the pasta on a baking sheet and let it cool to room temperature along with the pasta water.
Make the pesto: In a food processor, pulse the pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a few pulses until finely chopped. Add basil and pulse to combine. While the food processor is running, drizzle in the olive oil and pulse until combined. Add cheese, if using, and pulse briefly to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine pasta, pesto, ½ cup reserved pasta water, lemon juice, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Add the tomatoes, mozzarella and arugula, season to taste and lightly coat the salad with the creamy sauce, adding more pasta water as needed. Top with pine nuts, basil, and red pepper flakes, if using. Serve at room temperature.
We recently retested and updated this recipe by adding cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and arugula to add textural variety and depth of flavor. To make an older version, omit the mozzarella and arugula and replace the tomatoes with 3 small zucchini and/or yellow squash sliced on a mandolin.
