4-Ingredient Pesto Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad is a classic summer dish that is perfect for all kinds of parties, BBQ’s and picnics. This Pesto Salad is filled with fresh ingredients that are an amazing flavor combination. Serve this cold pasta salad to your family and friends and they will be begging for the recipe!

Cold Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto Pasta Salad is one of those easy side dishes that doesn’t take a lot of time to make or prepare. It really is perfect for all your summer get-togethers because it easily feeds a crowd and is relatively cheap to make.

We have served this for family and friends and it is always one of the first dishes to get gobbled up- by adults and kids!

What is Pasta Salad?

Pasta salad is a classic summertime dish. There are many variations of this salad but it typically contains some sort of pasta, veggies, cheese and a homemade or store-bought dressing.

What do you put in Pesto Pasta Salad?

Our Pesto Pasta Salad uses a store-bought pesto sauce, rotini noodles, Parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes to really give it that extra kick.

We also like to added cooked, shredded chicken for extra protein. You could add cooked chicken sausage, pepperonis or even black or green olives to this dish if you like.

How to Make Pesto Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• 16 ounce package of rotini pasta
• 8 ounce container pesto
• 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, diced
• 3\4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 cup shredded chicken (optional)

Instructions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil
2. Cook pasta until ad dente
3. Drain pasta
4. While still hot, mix with pesto sauce
5. Let cook about 15 minutes
6. Add cherry tomatoes that have been diced and Parmesan cheese
7. Toss and chill until ready to serve

**To make this into a main dish, just add some shredded chicken!**

Can Pasta Salad be made ahead of time?

Pasta Salad can be served immediately after being made, but it also tastes delicious if it has been made in advance. Making it ahead of time gives the salad time for the flavors to chill together. If you make this pasta in advance, add the tomatoes right before serving and give it a good toss to ensure all ingredients are mixed together.

How long will leftover pasta salad stay good in the fridge for?

If you have any leftovers store in them in an airtight container and pasta salad should stay good in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Is Pasta Salad good for you?

You can do several things to make pasta salad healthier. You can always try whole-wheat pasta or gluten free pasta as well as adding more veggies to it.

The dressing you add to pasta salad can really determine how healthy it is. Try using a low-fat variety or a vinaigrette if desired.

Make this into a Full Meal

This dish can be totally transformed into a full meal simply by adding chicken. We cooked some chicken in our Instant Pot, shredded it up, and it was a filling and delicious meal for the whole family.

We also added some romaine lettuce.

Here are more salad recipes you may enjoy!

• Copycat Longhorn Steakhouse Salad and Ranch Dressing
• Jalapeno Popper Salad
• BLT Pasta Salad
• Easy Broccoli Salad with Bacon
• Easy Snickers Salad with Apple
• Cinnamon Honey Vinaigrette with Sweet Green Salad
• The Best Instant Pot Potato Salad
• Simple Layered Blueberry Jello Salad
• Easy Triple Berry Jello Salad
• Creamy Orange Jello Salad
• Simple Lime Jello Salad

Pasta Salad is the perfect dish to serve for any summer picnic or BBQ. Pesto Salad is filled with fresh veggies, cheese and chicken! Be sure to serve this cold pasta salad to your family and friends!