This Pesto Pasta Salad with Peas filled with tomatoes and pine nuts is the perfect side dish to anything that comes off the grill.
Pesto Pasta Salad is a fabulous partner to anything that comes off the grill.
It's packed with a punch of flavor from the pesto sauce and the bright color from the juicy tomatoes.
But the best part about this salad is you can make it ahead of time and eat it at room temperature or chilled.
How's that for a no-fuss pasta salad? And since it's not loaded with mayo and has spinach hidden in the pesto sauce, it's even a tad healthy to boot.
Ingredients
- pasta
- pesto
- frozen chopped spinach
- lemon juice
- Greek Yogurt
- grated Parmesan
- frozen peas
- grape tomatoes
- pine nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta, drain, add olive oil and cool to room temperature.
- Place pesto, spinach, and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse until combined.
- Add the Greek yogurt and pulse until completely incorporated.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta. (You may not need all of the pesto mixture.)
- Coat the pasta with the sauce, and add the Parmesan, peas, grape tomatoes and pine nuts.
- Stir and serve at room temperature or chilled.
FAQs
Al dente literally means "to the tooth" in Italian. When pasta is cooked al dente, it is easy to bite into but is still firm. Start your timer and cook pasta according to the package al dente directions. Check it by biting into to it. If it is still firm but not crunchy it is done! If not, check again after 30 seconds.
All good pasta salads start with pasta that is cooked correctly. Follow these tips to get perfect pasta every time.
Fill a large pot with water. Make sure that you have enough to cover the pasta. This recipe calls for a half-pound of pasta so I use 2 quarts of water.
Cover the pot and bring the water to a rolling boil.
Stir in 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
Add pasta and cook to al dente stage. Follow the directions on the package.
Yes! It stops the cooking process so you don't end up with overcooked pasta. No one likes a mushy pasta salad.
Check out all of our side dishes!
More Pasta Salads
- Every BBQ needs a solid Tomato Feta Pasta Salad Recipe.
- You will love the flavors of this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe
- Can you ever go wrong with a Classic Macaroni Salad?
- This Easy Orzo and Chickpea Salad is packed with protein!
- This Chinese Coleslaw is a tasty spin on your traditional coleslaw recipe.
Recipe
Pesto Pasta Salad with Peas
Ingredients
- ½ pound short pasta noodle cooked and drained to package directions
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ cup pesto
- ½ frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ cups Greek Yogurt
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- ¾ cup frozen peas thawed
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and place in a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Pulse until combined. Add the Greek yogurt and pulse until completely incorporated.
- Season the pesto mixture to taste with salt and pepper, then add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta. (You may not need all of the pesto mixture.)
- Coat the pasta with the sauce, and add the Parmesan, peas, grape tomatoes and pine nuts.
- Stir and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
This Pesto Pasta Salad with Peas is a make-ahead salad recipe that is great with anything from the grill!
I absolutely love your recipe! I am writing vegetarian recipe round ups on my blog in 2018 (to encourage people to try meatless monday- everyone has to start somewhere) and would love to feature you. You can check out my blog (for beginner environmentalists) at sunshineguerrilla.com. Is it alright if I share this link to your recipe?
I've decided that pesto just makes everything better. This pasta salad would make such a great side for a Mother's Day BBQ!
I've been to Minneapolis and loved it! So many good restaurants up there! This pasta dish looks delish, love pesto 🙂
Love it! For me personally I'd take out the peas and add more tomatoes! Great recipe 🙂
Thanks, Adam!
So summery!! It makes me want to take the cover off the grill and have a good old fashioned cookout. Yum!
There isn't anything better, is there? Thanks for stopping by 🙂