Pesto Pasta Salad

This is such a simple and tasty recipe you’ll want to make it on repeat during spring and summer days when fresh basil and veggies are at their best.

To make it, you can use storebought or homemade basil pesto; we show you how to make the classic Italian one and then give you a non-dairy alternative.

Alongside the pesto, you’ll need a short pasta. We love farfalle here, but you can pick your favorite shape. Fusilli, penne, and rotini all work great in this recipe.

When it comes to veggies, we recommend seasonal ones so they are more affordable and taste better.

Here we are using arugula, cherry tomatoes, olives, and green beans, but again, the recipe works with most vegetables, so go ahead and pick your favorites.

So take this recipe as a template and customize it with your favorite ingredients and what you have available in the area, and if you have questions, let us know in the comments below.

Pesto

You can use storebought or homemade basil pesto. We provide you with a classic recipe and one without dairy.

For classic basil pesto: fresh basil, olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, garlic, pinenuts or walnuts, and salt.

For non-dairy pesto: fresh basil, olive oil, walnuts, nutritional yeast, garlic, pine nuts, and salt.

Substitute another pesto flavor like zucchini pesto, kale pesto, parsley pesto, artichoke pesto, and arugula pesto for basil pesto.

Pasta

Pick any short pasta shape and cook it al dente. We tried and recommend farfalle, fusilli, rotini, penne, and ziti.

Use gluten-free pasta to make the recipe gluten-free.

Green beans

Green beans are a classic combination in Italy, where pesto is from, and we think they are delicious in this pesto pasta salad recipe.

You can use fresh or frozen green beans. Boil them in water with a teaspoon of salt for a few minutes or until tender-crisp.

Substitute cannellini beans, chickpeas, lightly boiled asparagus, cucumber, carrot sticks, and green pepper sticks for green beans.

Tomatoes

We recommend small tomatoes like cherry or plum tomatoes. Substitute red bell pepper for tomatoes.

Arugula

Arugula adds a peppery flavor that’s delicious with pesto.

Substitute baby spinach for arugula.

Olives

Use black, green, Gaeta, or Kalamata olives. They add a ton of flavor and umami and are perfect with pesto.

Optional add-ins

We keep our pesto pasta salad pretty simple, but if you want to add more ingredients, here are some options:

• Pinenuts, lightly toasted on a pan until golden brown.
• A squeeze of lemon juice for some tang.
• Shaved parmesan cheese or its non-dairy alternative.
• Fresh mozzarella, diced, or small mozzarella balls.
• Crumbled or diced feta cheese or its non-dairy alternative.

1. Cook pasta and green beans

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water as per package instructions. Halfway through cooking, add the green beans and cook them with the pasta.

When the pasta and the green beans are ready, reserve one cup of pasta water, drain pasta and green beans, and rinse them under cool water so they won’t overcook.

2. Make the pesto

Basil pesto: to a small blender or food processor, add fresh basil, olive oil, grated parmesan, pressed or grated garlic, pinenuts or walnuts, and salt. Pulse a few times until you get a creamy pesto.

Vegan pesto: to a small blender or food processor, add walnuts, pinenuts, pressed or grated garlic, nutritional yeast, and salt. Blend for 1 minute until reduced into a coarse flour, then add fresh basil, cold water, and olive oil, and pulse a few more times till you get a creamy pesto.

Tip: Add some cold water (or more oil) if you want a thinner consistency. Avoid blending continuously, as the heat from the blades will ruin the fresh basil leaves.

3. Toss

Transfer the pesto to a large bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water to make a pesto sauce.

Add pasta, green beans, halved olives, quartered cherry tomatoes, and fresh arugula. Toss until well combined.

Optionally you can top it with toasted pinenuts right before serving.

Green beans and potatoes

This one’s a classic Italian combination that you can serve warm or cold as a pasta salad.

To make it, boil a couple of potatoes in lightly salted water until fork tender – you can leave the skin on or peel them – then cut them into bite-size pieces and toss them with boiled pasta, green beans, and basil pesto.

Serving suggestions

You can serve pesto pasta salad as a main or side dish for lunch or dinner. We like to pair it with:

• Simple side salad (green lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, etc.)
• Roasted eggplant (garlic, olive oil, parsley, eggplant, etc.)
• Confit tomatoes (cherry tomatoes, garlic, oregano, sugar, etc.)
• Air fryer zucchini (paprika, chili powder, olive oil, garlic powder, zucchini, etc.)
• Roasted pepper (bell pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, garlic, etc.)

Make ahead: you can make the pesto ahead and keep it in the fridge or freezer. However, we recommend tossing the pesto with the other ingredients shortly before eating because the pesto turns brown quickly once in contact with air.

Refrigerator: transfer the pesto into a jar, cover it with olive oil, close it, and keep it in the fridge for four days. Keep leftover pesto pasta salad in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 2 days. The pesto will go brown the day after, but it’ll still be good to eat.

Freezer: transfer the pesto to a jar, cover it with a thin layer of olive oil, close the jar, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw slowly in the refrigerator. Don’t microwave.

More pasta salad recipes

Get more putlock-friendly and meal prep ideas with these easy pasta salads:

• Vegan pasta salad (white beans, cherry tomatoes, bowtie pasta, basil, lemon, etc.)
• Eggplant pasta salad (roasted eggplant, penne pasta, chickpeas, black olives, basil, etc.)
• Chickpea pasta salad (corn, parsley, avocado, chickpeas, cucumber, pasta, etc.)
• Spaghetti pasta salad (spaghetti, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, mustard, etc.)

Try these colorful and easy pesto ideas for pasta sauce, and sandwich spreads:

• Sundried tomato pesto (walnuts, sundried tomatoes, garlic, nutritional yeast, etc.)
• Zucchini pesto (zucchini, almonds, garlic, pine nuts, basil, olive oil, etc.)
• Artichoke pesto (jarred artichokes, nutritional yeast, almonds, garlic, pine nuts, etc.)
• Spinach pesto (tofu, almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic, spinach, etc.)

For many more pasta ideas, check out our pasta category page.