Pesto pasta salad is an easy and refreshing side dish for summer! Pair with fresh garden basil and garden tomatoes. We love eating this as a side with any grilled food. Pesto Pasta salad would also be a great side dish to take to a carry-in or summer picnic since it is a chilled dish, and you don’t have to worry about keeping it hot.

I love how versatile pasta salads are because you can use any noodle you like, especially if you are on a restrictive diet. It’s also so easy to customize based on your favorite vegetables or what you already have in your kitchen.

Pesto Pasta Salad Ingredients

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• 1 box of your favorite pasta, cooked according to package directions. Use Gluten-Free pasta for a GF version.
• 1 jar of your favorite pesto. I buy mine from Aldi. You can also make homemade pesto.
• Olive Oil, more or less depending on how thick your pesto is.
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half — I like to use both cherry tomatoes and Roma tomatoes.
• 1/4 red onion, thinly diced
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• 8 ounces fresh Mozzarella Cheese cut into cubes
• Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Strain the pasta and rinse with cold water.
2. Add pesto to the pasta and stir until combined. If the pesto is too thick, add a drizzle of olive oil until all the pasta is evenly coated.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and still until combined.
4. Keep refrigerated until chilled and ready to serve.

Looking for more pasta salad recipes? Check these out!