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 Degree: This beginner-friendly recipe makes use of a 3-ingredient dressing, tossed with a handful of different components.
- Price range Tip: Burn up leftover veggie bits and add additional pasta to stretch the recipe additional.
- Serving Strategies: Make it a primary dish and add leftover chicken, shrimp, salmon, or tofu.
Ingredient Ideas 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. Attempt 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 coloration and sweetness. You can too use chopped spinach, diced cucumbers, corn kernels, peas, or diced bell peppers.
- Cheese: Use bite-sized bocconcini balls or lower a bigger ball of recent mozzarella into small cubes. Feta, gorgonzola, or blue cheese crumbles can be utilized as a substitute of mozzarella.
Storing Pesto Pasta Salad
Prep pesto pasta salad not less than 2 hours however as much as two days forward of time. Toss components collectively, cowl, and chill within the fridge till able to serve.
Preserve leftover pesto pasta salad in a coated container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Freezing isn’t really helpful.
Mediterranean Impressed Pasta Salad Recipes
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Pesto Pasta Salad
Pesto pasta salad is simple to make and will be served as a aspect dish or primary dish!
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In a big pot of salted water, prepare dinner pasta al dente, and drain effectively. Rinse below chilly water to cease cooking.
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In a small bowl, whisk pesto, mayonnaise, and purple wine vinegar.
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In a big bowl, mix the drained pasta, grape tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and olives. Add the dressing and toss effectively to mix. Style and season with further salt and pepper if desired.
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Refrigerate for not less than 2 hours earlier than serving.
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Chop recent basil and sprinkle on high simply earlier than serving
- Rinse the pasta in chilly water to cease the cooking course of and maintain pasta agency.
- Because the salad sits, it would soak up dressing, so you’ll want 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.
Energy: 338 | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 9g | Fats: 19g | Saturated Fats: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 5g | Monounsaturated Fats: 3g | Trans Fats: 0.02g | Ldl cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 443mg | Potassium: 311mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 767IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 1mg
Vitamin info offered is an estimate and can range based mostly on cooking strategies and types of components 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.
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