Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad
Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad is a summer favorite! It’s loaded with crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes, mini mozzarella pearls, arugula, and pasta, all tossed in a creamy pesto sauce. Perfect for picnics, potlucks, and bbqs!
This pasta salad is full of flavor and texture and will totally wow a crowd! I love how easy it is to make this recipe, especially if you’re short on time and need a side dish in a pinch.
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The Best Pasta Salad Recipe Ever? I Think So!
If you’re in Texas, you’re probably familiar with Central Market, HEB’s high-end sister store. Imagine the nicest Whole Foods you’ve ever been to and Central Market is BETTER.
They have a large deli section with all kinds of proteins and sides, and they make a divine pasta salad with pesto sauce. As soon as I tried it, I knew I had to recreate it.
I made a couple of tweaks to make it my own, but the result was this incredible pasta salad recipe. Imagine if a pesto BLT and a pasta salad merged — this recipe is their love child. All I can say is I’m never not making a pasta salad without crispy bacon and mini mozzarella bits ever again!
Ingredient Notes
- Pesto. I decided to make my own pesto sauce because I had basil that I needed to use, but you can use your favorite pesto! Opt for the fresh pesto in the refrigerated section, if purchasing.
- Pasta. My preferred pasta shape for pasta salad is cavatappi, but use your favorite.
- Mayonnaise + Sour Cream. The combo of mayo and sour cream makes the perfect creamy base for our pesto sauce.
- Shallot. Finely minced shallot gives the perfect punch of onion flavor without being overwhelming.
- Cherry tomatoes. Find the best and ripest little tomatoes you can!
- Bacon. Crispy bacon chopped and added to this creamy pesto pasta salad is everything.
- Mozzarella. I love using little fresh mozzarella balls (bocconcini), but if you can’t find them you can cut up a larger ball of fresh mozzarella.
- Arugula. Fresh arugula adds beautiful color and a bit of peppery goodness. Swap with spinach or another leafy green, if desired.
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Step-By-Step Instructions for Making Pasta Salad with Pesto
- Cook the pasta until al dente, and no further. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water, which prevents it from continuing to cook.
- Cook your bacon until crispy. I do this while the pasta cooks to minimize my overall prep time. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain off excess fat and then chop it into chunks.
- Make the pesto sauce. It’s an easy whisk-together sauce that takes not even 5 minutes to make.
- Toss it all together! Refrigerate the pasta salad for at least 1 hour before serving. It’s best served cold, once the pasta has had time to soak up some of the pesto sauce.
Ways to Customize This Recipe
Make this summer pesto pasta salad your own by tweaking it to suit your hunger levels or whatever produce you need to use up.
Add protein: It’s so easy to make this pasta salad a complete meal! If you want to bulk it up, try adding some herby grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, or even grilled portobello mushrooms.
Swap the pesto: I used a green basil pesto to make this recipe, but you can use any flavor you like, from arugula pesto to tomato pesto to walnut pesto — anything goes!
Add veggies: The creamy pesto sauce pairs nicely with pretty much any fresh or grilled vegetable or leafy green. Get creative with the veggies you use, and leave me a comment below to let me know what you try out!
Add pine nuts: Pesto already has pine nuts in it, but for even more flavor you can gently toast some pine nuts in a dry skillet. Once golden and fragrant, remove from the skillet immediately because they’re prone to burning.
Storage Instructions
In the event that you have leftover creamy pesto pasta salad (you may not though!), you can store it in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.
I don’t recommend freezing pasta salad because the pasta and veggies often end up a bit mushy. This pasta is at its peak freshness served the day of, so this recipe can easily be halved for a smaller crowd.
Serving Suggestions
Pasta salad is synonymous with potlucks and bbqs, and we love serving it alongside these main dishes:
- Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
- Beer Can Chicken (Baked or Grilled)
- Grilled Clams
- Fried Chicken Tenders
- Grilled Salmon Skewers
- Steak Kabobs
- Grilled Lobster Tails
- Classic Cheeseburgers
More Summer Pasta Salad Recipes
- Creamy Hawaiian-Style Mac Salad
- Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad
- Italian Grinder Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Caprese Orzo Salad
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Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Pesto Dressing
- 2/3 cup pesto sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 1/3 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- salt and pepper, to taste
Pasta Salad
- 16 oz cavatappi pasta
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 10 strips bacon, cooked until crispy and roughly chopped
- 2 cups arugula
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
- 8 oz ciliegini mozzarella, drained
Instructions
- Boil the pasta. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta to al dente (usually 2 minutes shy of package instructions). Reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta. Rinse with cold water until cool. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.
- Make the pesto sauce. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Assemble. Toss the pasta with dressing and the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Rate & Review This Recipe
You forgot to say how much mozzarella and include it.
wow, thank you for bringing that to my attention! The recipe has been updated.