Pesto Pasta Salad

5 from 1 vote

This pesto pasta salad is loaded up with fresh mozzarella, and juicy tomatoes, coated with an easy-to-make homemade pesto sauce made with fresh basil and garlic. It's so fresh and delicious!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Chill2

Total Time2 20

Course: Dinner, lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian American

Keyword: Pesto Pasta Salad

Servings:

Author: Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

Pesto Sauce

2 cups fresh basil (just the leaves, stems removed)
2 tablespoons pine nuts (can substitute with walnuts if needed)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Pasta Salad

1 pound Fusilli pasta (or pasta noodle of choice)
prepared pesto sauce
2 cups diced cherry tomatoes
1 cup kalamata olives (pitted and sliced)
7 ounces fresh mozzarella (you can find the ball-shaped mozzarella in the deli section of most markets)

Instructions

Pesto Sauce

Add the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan to a food processor. Pulse until mostly mixed and basil and pine nuts have been broken down into small pieces.
Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while pulsing the processor until all oil is added and the sauce is mixed.

Pasta Salad

Boil the pasta noodles until cooked and softened. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water to help cool them.
Add the pesto sauce and stir until the noodles are fully coated. Add the diced tomatoes and mozzarella. Fold to combine.
Cover and chill for about 2 hours prior to serving. If the noodles have soaked up too much sauce add more pesto sauce as needed.
Serve chilled and enjoy!

Notes

Originally Posted on June 14, 2017

Updated on June 6, 2022

Nutrition

QR code

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