Pesto Pasta Salad

This pesto pasta salad is loaded with fresh asparagus, spinach, and peas. Add some chicken, pesto, and ziti, and you get a summer-fresh pasta salad that is ready in 30 minutes. It’s great for potlucks, BBQs, and other summer parties. Or make it for a light meal during the week.

Pesto pasta salad with all the green veggies tossed together with pesto, pasta, and store-bought rotisserie chicken because it’s summer, and if we don’t have to turn on the oven, that is a very good thing.

Technically, it’s a side dish, but there’s no reason you can’t serve it as a main dish for dinner or lunch. There are probably rules about these things to which I say, “break ’em”. It’s summer – serve it for breakfast if you want. It’s all good.

So, let’s talk about it…

Ingredients

• Ziti or other short pasta shape like rotini, penne, fusilli, farfalle, or cavatappi.
• Thin asparagus
• Basil pesto – You can use homemade basil pesto or store-bought pesto. You will need one cup, so if you use my pesto recipe, you will need to add an extra 1/4 cup of olive oil to stretch it for this recipe.
• Lemon juice and zest
• Frozen peas
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh spinach
• Shredded rotisserie chicken – Or you can omit it and double up on the asparagus for a vegetarian experience. It also feels more sid-dishy that way.

About the salt. I don’t add additional salt because the chicken is already seasoned, and the pesto plus the extra parm adds salt. You can always add some extra salt if you think it needs it.

How to Make It

Boil the ziti in a large pot following the package directions. One minute before it’s done, add the asparagus. They will cook just a little bit so they are still crisp but tender, and, at this point, the pasta will be al dente. Drain the ziti and asparagus.

I like to cool the pasta to room temperature before tossing it with everything else. Just spread it out (with the asparagus) on a baking sheet, and it will cool off in about five minutes or so.

Prepare the pesto sauce (or open the container- yas) and pour it into a large bowl. Add all of the ingredients and toss, toss, toss until everything is evenly coated in the pesto. And, yes, you can add the frozen peas as is. They will thaw while you are tossing the salad together – no need to thaw them ahead of time.

Recipe Variations

You can add to this salad with all sorts of things (or switch things out) – here are some ideas you might like to try:

• Add some fresh mozzarella pearls, or you could try some crumbled feta cheese.
• Any kind of pesto will work with this recipe. Check out my posts with lots of homemade pesto recipes for more ideas.
• Try swapping the spinach for arugula.
• Toss in some tomatoes like diced Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes.
• Add some thinly sliced fresh basil leaves and chopped pine nuts for garnish.
• Some sliced kalamata olives or chopped artichoke hearts would add a different flavor.
• Instead of chicken, add some chickpeas to make it vegetarian.
• You could also add some roasted zucchini.
• Some finely diced red onion would add some color. Or try some sliced green onions.

I prefer this pasta salad at room temperature soon after it’s made. It will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, but it tends to dry out because the ziti will absorb the pesto. So, toss it with a little extra pesto or olive oil if it needs it.

Summery, light, and full of green goodness. No matter when you serve it, this pesto pasta salad recipe is delicious.

Happy Cooking,

More Pasta Salad Recipes

Want more summer salad recipes? Of course, you do!

• Italian Pasta Salad
• BLT Pasta Salad
• Tortellini Pasta Salad
• Orzo Pasta Salad
• Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

📣 Do you love this recipe? I would love to know! Leave a comment below the recipe, along with your recipe star rating.

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The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.

Post updated from the archives. First published in June 2020.