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Easy Pesto Pasta Salad |  |
Memorable Homestyle Whole Food. Little Effort, Big Reward, Just Six Ingredients. Real Food, Fast & Flexible. Mere Minutes to the Table. An Easy, Healthy Side Dish. Fun Picnic Food. No Mayo! A Summer Classic. Not just easy, Summer Easy. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Great for Meal Prep. Potluck & Party Friendly. Vegetarian. So Good!!
that I'm adding it to a special collection of easy summer recipes
published every summer since 2009.
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Tis Salad Season. (Pasta Salad Season?)
Who makes the same salad, day in and day out?
Sure, the same oatmeal. The same guacamole. The same bread. The same roast chicken. Even the same pie crust.
But salad? There's a reason why my Favorite Summer Salad Recipes range from sides to suppers, make-ahead to eat-it-now, simple to sumptuous, all special for summer.
Salad needs — nay, demands — an abundance of Diversity & Equity & Inclusion.
This year, let's celebrate a veritable rainbow of salads.
Recipe Overview: Easy Pesto Pasta Salad
- This simple pasta salad is a breeze to throw together, thanks to prepared basil pesto and cute little mini cherry tomatoes from the grocery store. After those basics, it's fun to include some add-ins, so far I've loved fresh mozzarella, chickpeas and my favorite, asparagus bites.
- When to Serve = The first night, I like to serve this warm, it's dreamy good and the perfect "under" for chicken or fish. After that, I serve it in more traditional fashion, chilled for a side salad.
- Diet Needs & Choices = Vegetarian. Gluten Free with gluten-free pastas.
- Distinctive Ingredients = Orzo Pasta + Basil Pesto + Mini Tomatoes + Your Choice of Add-Ins
- Short Ingredient List = all the above + lemon juice or vinegar + pepper
- For Garnish = A few basil leaves and/or tomato halves
- Hands-On Time = Allow about 15 minutes hands-on time over about 25 minutes.
- Time-to-Table = I love-love this as a warm pasta salad, that means it's ready to go in 25 minutes, just time enough to grill some chicken or roast some fish. If you're not into the idea of serving it warm, allow time for chilling, a couple of hours, say.
- Tasting with our Eyes = Cut up a few extra tomatoes, set aside some fresh basil if you're using that.
- Texture = With good dried pasta, the orzo remains firm (definitely not mushy).
- Taste = The taste here is much dependent on the choice of pesto, be sure to choose one you like. (I'm loving the Member's Mark Italian Pesto from Sam's Club. Look for it in the refrigerator section, it lasts for several weeks. FYI this is not a sponsored post, just me, Alanna, recommending a product I like and buy myself.)
- Techniques = Combining just-cooked hot pasta with pesto means the pasta will absorb all those good pesto flavors.
- Time Friendly = This recipe is a time-friendly recipe, just 15 minutes of prep and on the table in 25 minutes.
- Shop Your Pantry = This recipe is a pantry-friendly recipe.
- Makes = about 5 cups of pasta salad.
- So good! I hope you love it!
- I also use store-bought pesto for this Quick Supper, Pesto Pasta Primavera. If you've got a big container of pesto on hand, check the pesto recipes for more ideas on how to use it up.
- Not quite what you're looking for? Check out my other pasta salad recipes.
What's In Easy Pesto Pasta Salad? Pantry Ingredients!
In all my recipes and most well-written recipes, every ingredient serves a purpose. Each one matters. Each one contributes to the overall dish. It's not that an ingredient can't be substituted by something else but when choosing the substitute, it's important to understand why the original ingredient was present in the first place.
- Carbs hello, orzo, riisi or another mini pasta
- Big Flavor prepared basil pesto
- Plants for Texture & Color Contrast mini tomatoes & optional asparagus
- A Little Protein fresh mozzarella or chickpeas
- A Splash of Brightness lemon juice or a clear vinegar like rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
- Seasoning a few turns of black pepper
How to Make Easy Pesto Pasta Salad
The detailed recipe is written in traditional recipe form below but here are the highlights in three easy steps. You can do this!
- COOK THE PASTA Use orzo or another small pasta. After it's cooked and drained, turn the pesto into the warm pasta so it'll absorb all that basil-y wonder.
- MAKE THE SALAD Cut up some tomatoes and some add-ins like fresh mozzarella, chickpeas, fresh asparagus or similar. Mix in some lemon juice and pepper.
- SERVE WARM topped with grilled chicken or a piece of fish the first night, then chilled as a usual pasta salad later.
For Best Results
For my weekly column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I interviewed chefs and translated their restaurant recipes for home kitchens. The most illuminating question? "How can a home cook ensure the same results?" So now I ask that question of myself, too, for my own recipes. Have another question? Ask away, I'll do my best to answer!
Boo, These Trader Joe's Products Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Trader Joe's. But it just so happens that three of my very least favorite ingredients are in this pasta salad. You may be fine with them! But I do not recommend Trader Joe's dried pasta (too gummy), its chickpeas (too grainy) and Pesto Genovese (too ... something).
But do not despair! I do like Trader Joe's fresh mozzarella though, both the large balls and the mini pearls. Their fresh herbs are also usually good.
Hooray, These Sam's Club Products I really like Sam's Member's Mark Italian Basil Pesto and the Flavor Bombs cherry tomatoes.
Pasta Recommendations For dried pasta, we are long-time fans of two Italian brands, de Cecco and Barilla. Barilla is the world's largest pasta producer and has two manufacturing plants in the U.S., one is in Ames, Iowa where I went to university! This is important at the moment, since Barilla's U.S.-made products may soon cost less on the shelf compared to others if they're not subject to the upcoming import tax/tariffs.
Why I Love This Recipe & You Might Too
- SIMPLE INGREDIENTS Just six everyday basic ingredients, ones you may already have on hand
- CONVENIENT Quick to make, easy to serve, either on the spot or later
- USEFUL A lovely side but also a quirky "under" for fish or chicken
- BELOVED So many people love pasta salad, me included!
- NO WAITING But when it's warm? Ooo la la.
- Ready to get started? Here's your recipe!
Bookmark! PIN! Share!
How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this recipe inspires you, please do save and share! I'd be honored ...
~ PIN This Recipe ~
EASY PESTO PASTA SALAD
Time-to-table: 25 minutes
Makes about 5 cups
-
PESTO ORZO
- 8 ounces (225g/1-1/2 cups) orzo or another small pasta
- Well-salted water
- 1/2 cup (112g) prepared basil pesto
- 8 ounces (225g) mini tomatoes, quartered
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or a clear vinegar such as rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Pesto Orzo
- 4 ounces (112g) fresh mozzarella, cut into small bites
- 4 ounces (112g, about half a 15-ounce can) drained chickpeas
- 8 ounces (225g) fresh medium-thick asparagus (cut crosswise into tips and small rounds, cook with the pasta during the last 2 minutes)
- 1/4 cup (5g) fresh basil, cut into short, thin ribbons
SALAD
ADD-INS (pick one or two or more)
PESTO ORZO Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and return to the cooking pot. Stir in the pesto while the pasta is still hot.
SALAD & ADD-INS Collect the remaining ingredients, finally stir in the Pesto Orzo.
TO SERVE Serve warm immediately or refrigerate to serve later.
LEFTOVERS stay fresh for several days.
For pesto, sure, make your own if you like, I am 100% smitten with my own recipe Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto Without Cheese, so very basil-y. But last summer, I bought a big container of pesto at Sam's Club and it was fun, actively looking for everyday ways to use it, ensuring none would go to waste. I'm still collecting ideas, but see pesto for what I'm loving so far.
FOR MORE INFO If you "skipped straight to the recipe," please scroll back to the top of this page for ingredient information, ingredient substitutions, tips and more.
Confused about salt, these days? No wonder, it is confusing. Check my FAQs for an explanation. If you print this recipe, you'll want to check the recipe online for even more tips and extra information about ingredient substitutions, best results and more. See https://www.kitchenparade.com/2025/04/easy-pesto-pasta-salad.html .
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Shop Your Pantry First
(helping home cooks save money on groceries)~ pasta recipes ~
~ pesto recipes ~
~ tomato recipes ~
~ mozzarella recipes ~
~ asparagus recipes ~
~ chickpea (aka garbanzo beans) recipes ~
~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.
Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.
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2025
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna