Pesto Pasta Salad
This pesto pasta salad recipe is bursting with fresh flavor! It's light, healthy and sure to please. Vegetarian and easily vegan/gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
134Comments
Jump to recipe
This pesto pasta salad is destined for your next gathering. Or at least, that’s what I hope! This recipe is light and so fresh. It’s perfect for parties, picnics and weeknight dinners, from spring through fall. Leftovers keep well for lunch, too.
Pesto and pasta are the stars of this show, naturally. To make it a pasta salad, I added a pint of cherry tomatoes, a few handfuls of fresh arugula, and some cheese. I love salty feta in this recipe, though mozzarella and Parmesan are also great.
This pasta salad recipe includes homemade pesto made with a few little twists. Instead of pine nuts, I opted for more affordable pepitas (green pumpkin seeds). You can use pine nuts if you’d rather—or even walnuts or pecans.
I like to use half fresh basil and half fresh parsley, which tastes even more interesting and also cuts down on costs (buying lots of fresh basil can be expensive). You could certainly use all basil if you have an abundance growing in your garden. I also add some fresh lemon juice to brighten up the dish. Give it a try!
Pesto Pasta Salad Tips
The recipe below is simple and straightforward, but here are some notes before you get started.
- Reserve some pasta cooking water. We’ll need up to 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water to help bring this sauce together. To help me remember, I always place a heat-proof glass liquid measuring cup in the sink next to the colander.
- Rinse the pasta under cool water immediately after cooking. Rinsing the pasta reduces the amount of starch on the surface of the noodles, so they don’t clump together before you have a chance to toss them in pesto sauce.
- To make this dish gluten free, simply substitute your favorite gluten-free noodles. A sturdy corn-and-quinoa blend usually works well in this type of dish.
- To make it vegan, simply don’t add cheese. To make up for the substance and salty flavor that cheese provides, try adding olives and/or chickpeas to the dish.
- Serve promptly. This pasta salad is best served within a few hours, but leftovers will keep relatively well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to four days. The only downside is that the arugula will wilt a bit with time.
Watch How to Make Pesto Pasta Salad
More Fresh Pasta Dishes
If you enjoy this pesto pasta salad, try these recipes next:
- Broccoli Pesto Pasta with Green Olives
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Double Tomato Pesto Spaghetti with Zucchini Noodles
- Green Goddess Tortellini Salad
- Vegan Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Please let me know how your recipe turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Pesto Pasta Salad
This pesto pasta salad recipe is bursting with fresh flavor. It’s light, healthy and easy to make. Perfect for picnics and potlucks! Recipe yields 6 to 8 side servings.
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole grain pasta (fusilli, rotini, penne or farfalle)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 3 handfuls baby arugula or spinach
- Optional cheese: ½ cup or more crumbled feta cheese, little mozzarella balls or grated Parmesan
- Optional additions: ½ cup thinly sliced Kalamata olives and/or 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Pesto
- ½ cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)*
- ½ cup packed fresh basil
- ½ cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley or additional basil
- ¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package directions. Before draining, reserve about ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain and immediately rinse the pasta under cool water to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl.
- Meanwhile, to prepare the pesto: In a small skillet, toast the pepitas over medium heat, stirring often, until they are fragrant and making little popping noises, about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour half of the pepitas into a bowl for later (we will use them as garnish).
- Pour the remaining pepitas into a food processor. Add the basil, parsley, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process while slowly drizzling in the olive oil, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary, until the pepitas have broken down to create a pretty smooth sauce.
- To assemble the pasta salad, pour all of the pesto over the pasta and toss until the pasta is lightly and evenly coated, adding a tiny splash of reserved pasta cooking water if necessary to thin it out. Then add the cherry tomatoes, arugula, remaining toasted pepitas, and any optional add-ins (cheese, olives and/or chickpeas).
- Toss again to combine, then season to taste with pepper. If the pasta needs more flavor, add salt, to taste, or a splash of lemon juice. If the flavors are too bold, let it rest for a few minutes, and add a little splash of olive oil if necessary to tone down the rest. This recipe will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Vegan Goodness by Jessica Prescott.
*Change it up: You can use pine nuts, walnuts or almonds in the pesto instead of pepitas (although the dish will no longer be nut-free, if that is relevant to you).
Make it gluten free: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Just don’t add any cheese!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hello! I found your recipe (and wonderful Cookie + Kate blog) while searching for a pasta recipe that called for pesto. Made the recipe using brown rice pasta, arugula, mozzarrella pearls, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes and substituted with carrot top pesto I made at home. Wow. The recipe is amazing. I’m subscribing to your newsletter now and look forward to more. Happy New Year 2022!
Welcome, Patricia! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate you taking the time to review.
How long will this keep in the fridge?
It’s best right away, but should keep well for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Just made this yesterday! Amazing & delicious! My 17 year old wants me to make it again!
Made this today bc I needed quick recipe for a family event – used gf pasta and it worked perfectly! Love it!
Great to hear, Jennifer! I appreciate your review.
Hi, was wondering if this pasta salad can be made the night before or is it best made and eaten the same day!
Definitely trying this. I have so much basil in my garden. I’ll probably add grilled chicken or shrimp. I might try pistachios, also.
I hope it is a hit, Bob!
Can’t wait to try this! I’ve always used your pesto recipe as a base for ours – pepitas (pine nut allergy) and cilantro (we don’t like parsley) and just mix it with pasta. I can’t wait to try it with the added veggies and cheese! Your salads never disappoint!
Is it possible to make this using jarred pesto ? I have an open jar in the fridge I’m looking to use up. If so, how much would i use?
Sure. Let me know what you think, Lynn!
We had a lot of fun trying out this recipe in the Indychef kitchen because we are HUGE fans of pasta, and we especially loved it for our weekly family dinners.
Just found this via an e-mail, and look forward to trying it with my home grown basil! Can you tell me about how many calories are in a serving?
Hi Allison! The nutritional information is below the notes section of the blog.
Hey Kate!
I am looking forward to trying out this new recipe. It looks appealing and nutritious. The fact that it can be done in 25 minutes is just awesome.
Thank you! It was delish doing the vegan version. I added some nutritional yeast to the pesto to give it a cheesy flavor and served with chickpeas for the vegan (me) and grilled chicken pieces for everyone else.
Tried it last night as we had almost everything in our garden. Was DElicious. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Can I make this a day in advance?
Hi Jackie, You can, but I find it best right away.
Made this for my family last night. Delicious!! We all had seconds. Made with the olives and chickpeas. Adding to our “Keepers” collection.
Hooray! That’s great, Carolyn.
Enjoyed this recipe so much we are having it again (few days later) have it with sea food and fish, was great the day after, will definitely be one I use again and again. Thank you
Thank you Cathy! That’s interesting, I’ve been using Sindyanna of Galilee olive oil for a while now and I love it!
Healthy recipes, thank you.
This was delicious. I used the pine nuts for my pesto and left out the lemon juice.
Used the mozzarella balls as suggested and chose spinach over arugula. I chose not to use the chickapeas. Most of my choices were made more on what I had on hand.
It was very light and fresh .
Thank you for your review!
Accidentally made too much pasta this weekend & decided to try this pasta salad with the leftovers. We absolutely love it. Great meal prep for lunches this week. :)
Sounds great you need to remind people parmesan is not vegetarian. It has been hard for me to find a good vegetarian parmesan in Australia. Originally a Kansas City girl and love your recipes.
Just recently found this recipe on your blog and tried it. FAB-U-LOUS! I get so many great recipes from your blog. Thank you!
Love this recipe! So light and fresh for summer. We loved the addition of arugula which adds healthy greens and extra texture and flavor.
Hello- if I make this earlier in the day to serve at dinner time should I leave it out or refrigerate till dinner? Thanks!
I would suggest refrigeration.
Was looking for a Pesto Pasta Salad recipe and yours was at the top so decided to try it!
I had oodles of basil to use up and had arugula and spinach in the garden as well. It was meant to be to try this recipe as I had all of the ingredients on hand.
This was a hit with the family…even the ones that don’t care for spinach…lol. I will be making this recipe again but with gluten free pasta for a family BBQ next weekend.
Thanks for another tasty recipe!
You’re welcome, Adelle!
Fantastic flavors, a new favorite!
Loads of basil in the garden :).
Unfortunately I didn’t taste the pesto before I tossed it with the pasta. For me the pesto had way too much lemon and salt. I’ve tried to adjust with some other flavors but would definitely cut the lemon by half next time.