Pesto Pasta Salad
Pesto Pasta Salad! This pasta salad is loaded up with fresh mozzarella, juicy tomatoes, and coated with an easy to make homemade pesto sauce made with fresh basil and garlic.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Chilling Time2 hours hrs
Total Time2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Pesto Sauce
- 2 cups fresh basil stems removed
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts can sub with walnuts if needed
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup fresh parmesan grated
Pasta Salad
- 1 pound Fusilli pasta or pasta noodle of choice
- Prepared Pesto Sauce
- ¾ cup Italian dressing
- 2 cups diced cherry tomatoes
- 7 ounces fresh mozzarella can find the ball shaped mozzarella in the deli section of most markets
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 to small pieces.
Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while pulsing the processor until all oil added and 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 Italian dressing. 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 Italian dressing as needed.
Serve chilled and enjoy!
Serving: 1 | Calories: 582kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 504mg | Potassium: 262mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 656IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 203mg | Iron: 2mg