Best 20 Pesto Pasta Salad Recipes

FABULOUS PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, pepper, onion powder, mustard, garlic, basil, oregano, cilantro, hot pepper sauce, red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese. Add the tomatoes, green onions and olives to the bowl, and stir to coat. Refrigerate.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook for 7 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and rinse with cold water to cool. Add pasta to the bowl of dressing, and mix well. Top with mozzarella cheese and pine nuts. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

PESTO PASTA CAPRESE SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
• Mix pesto, olive oil, salt, granulated garlic, and black pepper in a bowl; add rotini. Toss to coat. Fold in tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil.

ZUCCHINI PESTO PASTA SALAD RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Make the pesto: Add the basil, parsley, chives, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, and salt to a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend on high speed, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed, until well combined, 1-2 minutes.
• Make the zucchini pasta salad: Heat the vegetable oil in a large, high-walled skillet over high heat. Working in batches, fry the zucchini rounds in a single layer for 1-1½ minutes per side, until the outside is golden brown but the zucchini is still slightly crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, blotting away any excess oil.
• Transfer the zucchini to a large serving bowl. Add the spinach and red wine vinegar, and toss gently to combine. Add the penne, pesto, lemon zest, capers, and mozzarella, and fold gently until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with the basil leaves and serve slightly warm, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Enjoy!

CILANTRO PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the cilantro pesto: Add the cilantro, pine nuts, Parmesan, lemon juice and garlic to a food processor and pulse until the ingredients are roughly chopped, 4 to 5 times. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the oil through the lid opening. Process to desired consistency; you can make the sauce completely smooth or leave it fairly chunky.
• For the roasted tomatoes: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add the tomatoes and shallot. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down and brown slightly, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
• For the salad: In a large bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, tomatoes and pesto and toss. Garnish with shaved Parmesan and a few cilantro leaves and serve.

PASTA SALAD WITH LEMON-PESTO DRESSING

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
• Place pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, tomatoes, scallions and cheese in a large bowl.
• Cook pasta to al dente then cold shock it and chill it down under cold running water. Drain well. Add to mixing bowl. Combine salad and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

GARDEN PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water and drain well., Meanwhile, whisk together pesto, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in oil until blended., Combine vegetables and pasta. Drizzle with pesto dressing; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, until cold, about 1 hour. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

ITALIAN CHICKEN-PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente (do not overcook the pasta; drain in a colander then rinse well under cold water.
• Drain the pasta well in the colander.
• Place the pasta in a large bowl then toss with 2-3 tablespoons oil.
• Add in chopped tomatoes and cooked cubed chicken; toss to coat.
• For the dressing; in a processor puree the prepared pesto with the spinach and lemon juice.
• Add in the mayonnaise and pulse until blended.
• Add the mayo mixture to the pasta mixture; toss to combine.
• Mix in the Parmesan cheese then season with salt and pepper.

CHICKEN PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl whisk together pesto, vinegar and 1/4 T salt and pinch of pepper. Gradually whisk in oil until smooth.
• Cook the orzo add 2T salt in cooking.
• Drain and rinse under cold water and drain again.
• Add orzo to vinigarete and toss.
• Add chicken, and tomatoes and toss.
• Tastes best chilled- though it's fine warm.

ROASTED VEGGIE PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Spread roma tomatoes, zucchini, green bell pepper, and onion onto a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss vegetables to coat evenly with oil; season with salt and black pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven until vegetables are tender and starting to brown, about 30 minutes. Let vegetables cool.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside to cool.
• Peel and discard skins from roma tomatoes. Combine the roasted vegetables, rotini, and pesto in a large bowl. Serve slightly warm or chill if desired.

PESTO TUNA PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• While pasta cooks, mix tuna, pesto, pepper, mayonnaise, cheese, olives, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
• When pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water.
• Add pasta to tuna mixture and mix well.
• Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

PENNE PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water, just until al dente, about 7 to 9 minutes. Drain.
• Combine pasta and pesto in large bowl. Stir in mozzarella, tomatoes, Parmesan and olives. Chill until ready to serve. Serve garnished with basil sprigs, if desired.

MAYA'S PERFECT PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook fusilli in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Combine basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, oil, and garlic in a food processor; blend to make pesto.
• Toss pasta with pesto and mix in red onion, radicchio, and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

SUPER EASY PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Place basil, garlic, salad dressing and cheese in blender.
• Blend until smooth.
• Make adjustments to spices as necessary.
• Toss with olives and pasta.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to mix.
• Overnight is good.
• Serve with a sprinkle of cheese on top.

CHEESE TORTELLINI PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• 1. Cook pastas, set aside to cool a bit.
• 2. In large bowl or punch bowl, add rest of ingredients folding gently til well mixed.
• 3. Gently fold in pastas well.
• 4. Adjust seasonings to taste, meaning, add more salt, parmesan, etc., til it's to your own liking.
• 5. Serve immediately, or refrigerate.
• 6. *If serving this much later or the next day, you'll need to "refresh" this. Just add a bit more olive oil, salt and parmesan cheese before serving as the noodles suck up the oil and seasonings a bit.
• 7. *This salad is best room temp or even slightly warm.

BROCCOLI, PASTA, AND PESTO SALAD

Steps:

• Cook and drain pasta; cool.
• Combine pasta, meat, broccoli, and cheeses in large bowl.
• Put basil and garlic in food processor or blender; whiz.
• Add mayo to food processor or blender.
• Mix thoroughly.
• Stir into pasta mix.
• Toss to coat.
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
• During the last 1/2 hour of chilling time, toss once to mix.
• For color contrast, serve with cherry tomatoes, cut in halves.

PESTO CHICKEN SALAD (PASTA SALAD STYLE WITH NO PASTA)

Steps:

• Cut pre-cooked chicken into 1" cubes and set aside.
• Prepare vegetables: Thinly slice green onion. Drain and quarter artichoke hearts. Chop cherry tomatos in half. Thaw peas and green beans, I recommend cutting the green beans into approx 1" lengths. Drain all the veggies as well as possible. Squeeze the extra moisture out with a paper towel if you like.
• In a large bowl, mix together greek yogurt, pesto, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
• Mix in all of the vetgetables and chicken. Toss to coat.
• You can eat immediately but I think it tastes better after sitting in the fridge overnight. It's good on its own or served over lettuce or broccoli shreds.

TOMATO MOZZARELLA PESTO PASTA SALAD RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• Prepare pasta according to package directions until al dente. Rinse in cold water and drain. Toss cooked pasta with prepared pesto sauce. Cool pasta mixture. Divide fresh baby spinach on serving plates. Arrange pesto pasta mixture on top. Garnish with fresh mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes. Pesto sauce: In a food processor or blender, combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and half of olive oil. Process steadily until mixture turns into a grainy paste, while adding the rest of the olive oil in.

TOMATO, MOZZARELLA AND PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.
• Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella into small cubes and quarter the cherry tomatoes.
• When the pasta is cooked, drain it and rinse it in cold water until the pasta is cold. Drain it again.
• Mix the pesto sauce, olive oil and parmesan in with the pasta.
• In a large serving bowl, mix the pasta with the mozzarella and tomatoes.
• Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve.

HUMMUS 'PESTO' COLD PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Break spacghetti into thirds and cook al dente. Run under cold water. Toss with a tablespoon of Bertolli olive oil to keep it from sticking. Put the first seven ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until a paste about the same consistency as pesto is created, adding water a tablespoon at a time if needed. (Lean to the thin side, remember the hummus will get firmer when chilled.) Pour hummus over the pasta and toss until coated. Chill. Before serving, toss in the tomatoes, onions, and olives. Drizzle with the 1/4 cup of Bertolli olive oil. Serve and enjoy.

PESTO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Bring large pot of water to boil, add pasta, and cook over high heat for 9 minutes. Then add frozen peas to the water in which the pasta's cooking, and cook an additional 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat immediately, and rinse with plenty of cold water. Drain well. Place in large mixing bowl, and toss with remaining ingredients. Spoon into serving dish and chill.