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Tomatoes, kalamata olives, and mozzarella balls are tossed with pasta in a creamy pesto dressing for a light and flavor-packed picnic or potluck dish.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: This pesto pasta salad is herby, garlicky, and tangy with creamy bites of mozzarella and juicy tomatoes.
- Skill Level: This beginner-friendly recipe uses a 3-ingredient dressing, tossed with a handful of other ingredients.
- Budget Tip: Use up leftover veggie bits and add extra pasta to stretch the recipe further.
- Serving Suggestions: Make it a main dish and add leftover chicken, shrimp, salmon, or tofu.
Ingredient Tips for Pesto Pasta Salad
- Pasta: Look for pasta shapes with grooves, tubes, or twists for the pesto dressing to cling to. Penne, rotini, cavatappi, and bow-tie are great options.
- Dressing: Use store-bought pesto or make homemade basil pesto. Try swapping out the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt for fewer calories and a lighter flavor.
- Veggies: Sundried tomatoes provide a chewy texture while grape or cherry tomatoes add color and sweetness. You can also use chopped spinach, diced cucumbers, corn kernels, peas, or diced bell peppers.
- Cheese: Use bite-sized bocconcini balls or cut a larger ball of fresh mozzarella into small cubes. Feta, gorgonzola, or blue cheese crumbles can be used instead of mozzarella.
Storing Pesto Pasta Salad
Prep pesto pasta salad at least 2 hours but up to two days ahead of time. Toss ingredients together, cover, and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
Keep leftover pesto pasta salad in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freezing isn’t recommended.
Mediterranean Inspired Pasta Salad Recipes
Did you make this Pesto Pasta Salad? Be sure to leave a rating and comment below!
Pesto Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cavatappi or rotini pasta
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes diced
- ½ cup mozzarella balls small
- ½ cup kalamata olives pitted
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
Dressing
- ½ cup pesto see notes
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta al dente, and drain well. Rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
- In a small bowl, whisk pesto, mayonnaise, and red wine vinegar.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained pasta, grape tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and olives. Add the dressing and toss well to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Chop fresh basil and sprinkle on top just before serving
Notes
- Rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process and keep pasta firm.
- As the salad sits, it will absorb dressing, so be sure to dress generously.
- Optional additions include parmesan cheese, fresh spinach, capers, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pasta, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I MADE THE ITALIAN SALAD FOR A FAMILY BBQ EVERYONE REALLY ENJOYED IT THANKS
Great tasting salade ,will do over again :)
So glad you enjoyed it, Henriette!
Can you make this a day ahead of time before you serve it?
It can be prepared the day ahead however, the pasta will soak up a lot of the dressing so I suggest that you prepare all ingredients a day or two ahead of time and store the dressing separately. Toss together a few hours before serving.
do you use sun dried tomatoes in oil or dried
I prefer in oil.
This was such a nice surprising departure from typical mayonnaise pasta salads. I made it for our Bloc party and everyone loved it. It was awesome even two days later. I will be making this instead of the typical boring macaroni salad
Looking forward to a lot of good cooking!
VERY TASTY! I always use Cavatappi pasta. I like to make homemade Pesto, b/c the Pesto in a jar from the store has waaay too much sodium. Great recipe….Thanx :-)