Pesto Pasta Salad
Pesto Pasta Salad is the perfect summer side dish, made with gluten free rotini pasta tossed with a homemade spinach pesto sauce, mozzarella, and cherry tomatoes, ready in under 30 minutes!
Pesto Pasta Salad is a quick and easy summer side dish recipe, made using my favorite Spinach Pesto recipe along with a few other ingredients. And trust me, once you make homemade pesto sauce, you’ll never want store-bought pesto again! I love making this recipe for summer entertaining because it’s full of flavor and has a nice bright green color from the herbs and spinach. This recipe takes under 30 minutes from start to finish, and will definitely be one of your new summer staples!
If you’re looking for more side dish ideas for summer BBQs, you’ll also love my Tuna Pasta Salad, and my Greek Pasta Salad recipes!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make – The pesto ingredients come together in the food processor, then all you have to do is stir it together with the pasta, mozzarella, and tomatoes. That’s it, no crazy steps!
Perfect for Potlucks – If you have a summer potluck coming up, this pasta salad is perfect because it feels really fancy, but it’s actually quick and easy.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Gluten Free Pasta. In my opinion, gluten free rotini pasta is the best choice for pasta salad. The trick is to only cook it until it’s al dente, then drain and run some cold water over it to stop it from cooking further.
If you’re not gluten free, just use regular pasta.
Mozzarella. I buy the small mozzarella pearls, but you can also just cut up a ball of mozzarella, or use shredded mozzarella. These are also called bocconcini.
Cherry Tomatoes. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half so they absorb some of the flavor from the pesto. The tomatoes offer a nice sweetness against the savory notes in the pesto.
Arugula. I love how the slightly bitter notes in the arugula contrast the sweet tomatoes and savory pesto. It’s a summer staple in my house, but if you don’t like arugula, just leave it out.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This adds a creamy texture to the pesto, and also helps everything blend together smoothly. You could also use vegetable oil or avocado oil.
Baby Spinach. I like to use a good amount of spinach in my pesto because it’s healthy, and also because it’s more cost-effective than a lot of basil.
Fresh Basil Leaves. This adds the signature flavor of pesto. Use fresh basil because that will give you the right flavor.
Grated Parmesan Cheese. This adds a really nice cheesy savory note to the pesto. You can also use Romano instead of parmesan cheese.
Walnuts. Adding a handful of nuts to a pesto helps give it a thicker creamy texture, because nuts are high in fat. They also help balance the flavor. You could also use cashews or pine nuts.
Garlic. Use fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor. Garlic powder will work in a pinch.
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Lemon Juice. The acidity of lemon juice helps balance the richness of the olive oil and brings out the flavors in the pesto.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need a food processor, a pot to boil the pasta, and a colander to drain it.
How to Make Pesto Pasta Salad
Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt to the water. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta in cold water to stop it from cooking further.
Add all of the pesto ingredients to a food processor. Pulse the food processor a few times, then while the food processor is running add any extra olive oil or lemon juice as-needed to make everything blend smoothly.
Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl, then gently stir together with the pesto, tomatoes, arugula, and mozzarella balls.
Add any additional salt or black pepper as-needed, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
- If you don’t want to use spinach, you can do a regular basil pesto with all basil leaves.
- Give this a kick with some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
- For a complete meal, top this with grilled chicken breast, or my Italian Salad Dressing Chicken.
- You can also make this with gluten free penne pasta.
- Try adding more veggies like asparagus, snap peas, peas, yellow squash, zucchini, or bell pepper.
- Try adding some sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and red onion for a different texture.
- Make a creamy pesto dressing by adding a few spoonfuls of mayo, Greek yogurt, or sour cream.
Recipe Tip! Be careful not to overcook the pasta! Just cook it to al dente, then rinse with cold water. If not, the pasta will be falling apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
This pesto pasta salad is perfect for making ahead of time. If you do, I recommend reserving some of the pesto sauce in a separate dish, then stirring it into the pasta salad right before serving. The pasta will absorb some of the pesto while it’s sitting, and this helps keep it fresh.
Recipe Tip! Taste the basil pesto sauce before pouring it into the mixing bowl. You can adjust with salt, pepper, olive oil, or lemon juice as-needed until you get the right flavor and texture.
More Summer Side Dishes
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
I don’t recommend freezing this pesto pasta salad, because you’d have to reheat it and at that point you might as well eat it as a hot pesto pasta dish instead.
Cooking Tips
- If you have more pesto than you want to use on the salad, try freezing it in ice cube trays. You can add it to pasta, stir fry, or sandwiches later!
- You’ll get the best flavor if you bring it to room temperature before serving. Give it 15-20 minutes.
- Salting the pasta water adds another layer of flavor as it cooks. Most of the salt stays in the water when you drain it.
- Use a large pot, because pasta is starchy and needs extra room so it doesn’t overflow or stick together. Also, make sure the water is boiling before you add the pasta, and stir it immediately when it’s added to the water so it doesn’t stick together.
- Wait until the pasta has cooled before adding the other ingredients, so the mozzarella doesn’t start melting.
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Pesto Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 1 large pot and colander
- 1 medium mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 12 ounces gluten free rotini pasta, (spiral pasta)
- 8 ounces mozzarella balls, drained
- 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup fresh arugula
For the Pesto
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt to the water. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta in cold water to stop it from cooking further.
- Add all of the pesto ingredients to a food processor. Pulse the food processor a few times, then while the food processor is running add any extra olive oil or lemon juice as-needed to make everything blend smoothly.
- Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl, then gently stir together with the pesto, tomatoes, arugula, and mozzarella balls. Add any additional salt or black pepper as-needed, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Be careful not to overcook the pasta! Just cook it to al dente, then rinse with cold water. If not, the pasta will be falling apart.
- Taste the pesto before pouring it into the mixing bowl. You can adjust with salt, pepper, olive oil, or lemon juice as-needed until you get the right flavor and texture.
- You’ll get the best flavor if you bring it to room temperature before serving. Give it 15-20 minutes.
- Salting the pasta water adds another layer of flavor as it cooks. Most of the salt stays in the water when you drain it.
- Wait until the pasta has cooled before adding the other ingredients, so the mozzarella doesn’t start melting.
Nutrition
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