Pesto pasta salad is easily one of my favorite summery side dishes. It’s healthy, super easy to make and bursting with flavor, providing the perfect complement to grilled meats, veggies, and other salads. Learn how to make the most flavorful pesto pasta salad, and prepare to be the star of every picnic and potluck this summer.
Garden Pesto Pasta Salad Ingredients
- Spiral pasta: Using spiral pasta here helps hold the sauce better.
- Pesto: It provides a nutty and herbaceous taste. Add fresh pesto for the best-tasting pasta salad.
- White wine vinegar: The acidity in white wine vinegar balances the flavors in the pesto dressing.
- Lemon juice: Lemon helps brighten up the overall flavor of this dish.
- Olive oil: Don’t substitute other oils here if you can help it; olive oil has the most flavor.
- Zucchini: Zucchini helps ramp up the nutritional value of your pesto pasta salad.
- Sweet red pepper: You could add or substitute any number of veggies here, but sweet red pepper adds a nice sweetness and crunch to this salad.
- Tomato: Tomatoes are one of those fruits that are much better fresh than store-bought. Buy your tomatoes from the farmer’s market if you can.
- Red onion: Slice your red onion as thinly as possible, as this will yield a more mild onion flavor (chopped onions are too strong).
- Parmesan: If you want to make this dish vegan, simply omit the Parmesan.
Directions
Step 1: Boil the pasta
Cook pasta according to the package directions and drain. Be sure to reserve one cup of pasta water. Then rinse the pasta with cold water (this helps prevent the noodles from sticking together).
Editor’s Tip: Always reserve your pasta water! Adding a bit of pasta water to your dish helps bind the sauce to the noodles.
Step 2: Make the sauce
Whisk together the pesto, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oil until the mixture is blended.
Step 3: Combine the vegetables and pasta
Now combine the vegetables and pasta and drizzle everything with the pesto dressing. Toss to coat, and add a tiny splash of the reserved pasta water if necessary to thin the sauce out.
Step 4: Refrigerate and serve
Refrigerate the pasta, covered, for about one hour. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.
Pesto Pasta Salad Variations
- Add different veggies: The great thing about pesto pasta salad is its versatility. You could add virtually any vegetable here, from broccoli to mushrooms and peas. Fresh greens (like arugula or spinach) and black olives are also tasty in this dish.
- Top with pine nuts:Â Toasted pine nuts make for a delicious topping on this salad.
How can I store my pesto pasta salad?
Properly store your pesto pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for up to four days.
Pesto Pasta Salad Tips
Can I use homemade pesto in this pasta salad?
Yes! Using homemade pesto will kick this dish up a notch. Making pesto is a simple process as long as you have a few key ingredients: basil, fresh garlic, Parmesan (or another type of salty, aged Italian cheese. Pecorino also works well), olive oil and pine nuts (you could also use walnuts, almonds or pretty much any other type of nut).
What can I serve with pesto pasta salad?
Pesto pasta salad goes great with grilled fish, chicken or a lettuce-based salad. You could also add a few more veggies and chickpeas to the pasta to make it more nutritious and serve it as a main dish. Cubed salami makes a great addition if you want to add a little meat.
How far ahead can I make pesto pasta salad before serving it?
Like other cold pasta salad recipes, this pesto pasta salad will taste better if you prepare it a few hours in advance.
