I know it should be as simple as dumping pesto on pastaโฆ. but actually, it turns outย I have some things to say about pesto pasta salad. That is, if you want a good one!
Pesto pasta salad
My pesto pasta salad rules are simple โ donโt skimp on pesto, donโt be shy with olive oil, cook the pasta beyond al dente and add the smallest dab of mayonnaise to give it a touch of luxe as well as improving leftovers.
Why? Because these address two pet-peeves I have about pesto pasta salads.
Firstly, the pesto pasta salad that doesnโt actually taste much like pesto. Pasta with the faintest green colour, and if you close your eyes as you eat, itโd be impressive if you picked it as pesto.
Secondly, the dry pesto pasta salad. Actually, thatโs a general pasta salad peeve. Just because itโs a cold pasta, thatโs no excuse for dryness! I resort to all sorts of tricks to keep things juicy. Lots of dressing (using avocado is a neat, tasty trick, as is using a splash of pasta cooking water instead of gallons of oil). And juicy add-ins, like roast vegetables, tomato etc. (this marinated vegetable pasta salad is a solid summer staple).
Todayโs trick? Just 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. This works wonders to keep things extra juicy today โ and even tomorrow when you pull it out from the fridge!
What you need for pesto pasta salad
The one thing that will make your pesto pasta salad stand out is freshly made basil pesto. But if itโs an emergency, use the fresh pesto you get from the fridge section โ tastes a whole lot fresher than off the shelves in aisles!
1. Homemade pesto
Hereโs what you need for the basil pesto.
Fresh basil leaves โ Abundant and excellent value during summer!
Parmesan โ or, if you want to really go luxe, parmigiana reggiano.
Pine nuts โ sometimes, to change things up, I use walnuts, cashews or almonds.
Olive oil โ Or a 50/50 combination of olive oil and grapeseed oil (which has a more neutral flavour so letโs the basil flavour come through a little more).
Garlic โ Just a touch. Because itโs raw, if you use too much it can be a little harsh, I find.
2. Pesto pasta salad ingredients
And hereโs what goes into my pesto pasta salad.
Pasta โ Any short shape your heart desires! Shells, macaroni, wheels โ go wild! I went spirals. I like to live life on the edge. ๐
Just a dab of MAYONNAISE โ Not intended to make this a greasy mayo-laden pesto pasta salad! But a little dab goes a long way to give pesto pasta salad an edge of creaminess so it stays nice and โjuicyโ even the next day. It really makes a difference.
Prefer to skip it? Just add a little extra olive oil.
Bocconcini, cherry tomatoes โ My add-ins of choice, so itโs not just all pasta. Love the combo of juicy tomato and the soft bites of bocconcini. If you want to skip these, just add a little more pasta. Or, use other add-ins of choice!
Rocket/arugula โ I like to add some type of leafy greens into me pesto pasta salads for a hint of freshness and provide textural contrast. Rocket / arugula is great, love the hint of peppery freshness.
How I make pesto pasta salad
Simple โ but I do have a couple of tips!
Cook the pasta beyond al dente so itโs quite soft. Why? Because pasta firms up when it cools. To the point of hard when refrigerated. Pre-empt this by cooking pasta a little longer so itโs extra soft when hot = perfect texture when cool!
Tossing order โ Toss pasta, pesto and mayonnaise only first. Then the bocconcini and tomato. Lastly, leafy greens โ as pesto tends to cling to it, and we canโt have leafy greens hogging the pesto!
Homemade pesto
Itโs was simple as blitzing everything together using a handheld stick, until the pesto is quite smooth. Less clean up than using a food processor and a better result. Why? Read on!
I prefer using a handheld stick because you can make the pesto smoother which I prefer for pasta salads. Better coverage on the pasta. I like chunky pesto for using as a dip, dolloping on crostini, that sort of thing, where a bit of texture is pleasant.
Bonus: handheld sticks are far easier to clean than a food processor! (Though you can use a food processor if you need to โ directions in the recipe).
How to make the pesto pasta salad
Well, Iโve pretty much already given the steps, but Iโll write them out anyway!
Cook pasta in salted water per packet time plus 1 minute so itโs extra soft, as explained above. Salted water is a must, else you will feel like your pasta salad is a little under seasoned.
BTW, I start my timer as soon as the pasta goes into the boiling water, not once it comes back up to the simmer. Just in case youโre wondering. ๐
Rinse the pasta under cold running water to remove excess starch (which makes it sticky, not what we want for pasta salad) and cool.
Drain well and cool.
Pesto & mayonnaise first โ Mix the pesto and mayonnaise through the pasta first.
Tomato & bocconcini next โ Then gently mix through the tomato and bocconcini. We donโt want to bash up the tomato too much.
Leafy greens last โ And lastly, toss through the rocket/arugula. Just quickly, to disperse. Donโt mix too much else the rocket tends to get weighed down with pesto. In other words โ the leafy greens hog the pesto, and we canโt have that!
Storing leftover pesto pasta salad
Though pesto pasta salads are at their green-colour prime within a few hours of making, it will last for 2 days in the fridge and retain its green colour, albeit not quite as vibrant as when freshly made.
Also, the other big thing this pesto pasta salad has going for it is that it is still nice and juicy the next day, and the next. I find that cold pasta salads (other than mayo laden ones) are notorious for become dry in the fridge overnight because the pasta absorbs the dressing.
But in this one, the combination of using the right amount of pesto (generous!) and just 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise prevents this pasta salad from drying out.
Take it to picnics, as a side dish for gatherings, or take it to work for lunch. Such a great summer staple! โ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Pesto pasta salad
Ingredients
- 350g / 12oz spiral pasta (fusilli, or other of choice, 3 1/2 cups)
- 1 tbsp salt , for cooking pasta
Pesto (Note 1):
- 2 tbsp pinenuts , toasted (sub walnuts, cashews, almonds)
- 2 cups (tightly packed) basil leaves
- 1 small garlic clove , minced
- 1/2 cup parmesan , finely grated
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or 50/50 grapeseed/olive oil)
Pasta Salad:
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise (S&W, else Hellmanโs, Note 2)
- 250g (1 heaped cup) cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 220g/ 7 oz baby bocconcini , drained, cut in half (Note 3)
- 1 cup (tightly packed) baby rocket/arugula leaves (40g)
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- Small basil leaves , optional garnish
Instructions
- Cook pasta โ Bring 3 litres of water to the boil with the salt. Cook for the pasta packet time + 1 minute. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold water. Shake off excess water well, then allow to fully cool and dry.
- Pesto โ Place all ingredients in a tall jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz under pretty smooth. Not a green smoothie, we still want some visible green bits! but not chunks.
- Toss โ Place pasta in a bowl, scrape in the pesto. Add mayonnaise then toss well. Add bocconcini and tomato, toss gently just to disperse. Add rocket/arugula and toss just to disperse.
- Serve โ Transfer into a serving bowl. Scatter with basil leaves, if using. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
For the love of pasta salads
Life of Dozer
Current favourite toy. Changes frequently. Heโs not very loyal.
PS In case you have a burning desire to know โ itโs a hippo. I understand. Thereโs no way you could sleep tonight without knowing what that slobbery waterlogged grey mass of fur is. Now you can rest in peace.
Actually, on closer inspection, possibly not a hippo? Any thoughts from animal experts much appreciated.
This was so yummy. Made it for my family ( vegetarian/meat eaters) and they all loved it. Heaps of leftovers for lunch the next day as well. We ended up using a whole bag of rocket and it still was really saucy!
I accidentally came across this recipe last night and loved the beautiful colours. I have made it today to have with our dinner and it is so absolutely delicious I doubt it will last until then. Thank you so much for this Devine recipe.
Pesto Pasta was very tasty well received by all the family โ Grandchildren included๐the Mayo works๐
So funny, so cute. ๐ฆ
Looks like a hippo to me (even though hippos arenโt furry) then again, Iโm not a real animal expert just have imagination. salad looks great. is on to do list
Admittedly this is a lovely salad. The only thing is that my Genovese family in Italy would be alarmed at the use of Bocconcini, mayonnaise etc.~ similarly alarmed by pineapple on Pizza!!
The Italian version would be pesto made with small leaves of basil, Parmesan Reggiano, good EVOO, pine nuts,garlic, green beans, and potatoes. Pasta cooking water is used as an emulsion.
Green beans and potatoes! In a pasta salad??? Yes, I often use pasta water for emulsion in pasta salads. Only thing is that it does dry out the bext day because the pasta absorbs the water. I use mayo for this because it makes it last for days ๐ Thanks for the tips Connie! N x
In Portofino (Liguria) I used to have a lovely dish of pesto, small Italian pasta (trofie), green beans and potato cubes tossed togetherโฆ.. lovely!
Below is a copy of instructions for when to add mayoโผ๏ธ
Toss โ Place pasta in a bowl, scrape in the pesto. Add mayonnaise then toss well. Add bocconcini and tomato, toss gently just to disperse. Add rocket/arugula and toss just to disperse.
Thanks Bev!! My fault โ typo โ I only added that in late last night! N x
thanks for the Mayo tip. my teenagers have complained that itโs dry when I make pesto pasta. Iโll be adding mayo from here on out!
Yes! It really makes a difference. 2 tablespoons of mayo is about as effective as an extra 4 tablespoons of oil to keep the pasta โjuicyโ ๐ N x
I think itโs a hippo- judging by the cute little ears.
About the recipe- I LOVE pesto. (To make my point-oven-roasted potato wedges slathered in pesto is my favorite comfort food!). So even though I am not so big on pasta, I am definitely going to try this. Thanks Nagi!
Hippo! Thatโs what Iโm thinking ๐ (Umm โ potato wedges with pesto? GENIUS)
When is the mayo added?
Instruction no. 3, add the mayonnaise and toss well ๐คฃ
My fault!! I missed it โ only added it late last night ๐ N x
Hi Karyn! With the pesto. Sorry! Missed that. Thanks for picking it up. Now added! โ N xx
You beat me to it Kerry! That is a furry platypus!
What a coincidence, Iโm making this very dish (minus cherry tomatoes) for dinner tonight!
Definitely a platypus!
Perfect timing, Nagi, considering I just made jars of pesto yesterday, using your recipe, of course! Canโt wait to make this!
Yum I love a good pesto pasta salad. Will be making it this weekend.
If you find the eyes and ears โ I think it is a hippo.
But as long as Dozer loves it, we donโt really care xx
Loch Ness Monster
I am on team platypus.
To international visitors, look up this beautiful, secretive Australian animal if you havenโt heard of it.
Iโm on team platypus xxx Sorry Nagi, I never met a pasta salad I likedโฆever๐ฅด!
This style of recipe will become the new normal now that ChatGPT is the biggest influence. ChatGPT can not outline the problems like Nagi has: 1. Weak green flavour. 2. Dry and hard to eat. Give those two instructions to a chef and he/she will understand. This is the new era and I love it ๐
My Golden retriever has a toy that looks very similar and it is a hippo., slightly bedraggled too.