Pesto Veggie Pasta Salad

This Veggie Pasta Salad recipe is easy to make, full of flavor, and is made with spinach, basil, and tomatoes— but you can add whatever veggies you desire! The pesto and addition of fresh mozzarella cheese bring this easy summer recipe next level.

Woot woot! Its summer time 💃🏼

I don’t know about you, but I have all things grilled and chilled on the brain. Which makes it the perfect time to break out this veggie-loaded pasta salad.

Pasta salads are summer staple in many houses and are an awesome way to keep veggies on the menu that goes beyond the typical veggie platters and tossed salads. They are easy to veggie-load and super simple to adapt to make your own (or use up whatever about-to-go-bad veggie you have kicking around in the fridge)

This Pesto Veggie Pasta Salad recipe is a flavor bomb and super simple to make. Boil the pasta, toss everything together, and done! The pesto brings all kinds of flavor to this easy summer recipe (use store bought or homemade!) without much effort and the addition of fresh mozzarella cheese makes this pasta salad recipe extra delicious.

This recipe is rocking tomatoes, chopped spinach, and basil already, but don’t be afraid to am up the veggies with some of my suggestions below!

Recipe testing and development done in collaboration with Heather Staller.

Suggested adaptations:

Make it gluten-free. Use your favorite gluten-free pasta. Any type of pasta will work well in this recipe.

Need dairy-free? This veggie pasta salad recipe can easily be made dairy-free by leaving out the cheese. Buy a dairy-free pesto (Trader Joe’s has a really good one!) or omit the parmesan cheese from the recipe included. Easy peasy and not so cheesy.

Make it nut-free. Make the pesto nut free by using pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or you can make the pesto without any nuts or seeds in it.

Add more veggies! This recipe is very versatile. You can add any veggies you want to it. Check out your fridge for veggie odds and ends that need to be used up. Hit the freezer for a frozen veg that need a purpose! Not feeling adventurous? Check out Extra Veggie-Loading Suggestions below for some ideas on what I think would be magical in this veggie pasta salad.

You can use any kind of mozzarella cheese you’d like. I often buy the small mozzarella balls and cut those in half or buy a larger ball and cut that into a ½-inch dice.

Will you have some leftover spinach after making this pasta salad and don’t want it to go to waste? Check out How to Store Spinach (and keep it fresh all week long).

Extra Veggie-Loading Suggestions

I love that this veggie pasta salad has tomatoes, spinach, and basil deliciously worked right into it. But, as with so many of my veggie-loaded recipes, I totally encourage you to make this salad your own and UP the veggie-loaded goodness with whatever vegetables you love and/or simply need to use up!

If you love the bones of this veggie pasta salad but want some ideas of what else you could add, here are a few suggestions of how I’d bump it up:

• defrosted frozen peas
• steamed or roasted broccoli florets
• cooked and chopped asparagus
• cooked and chilled green beans
• sliced snap peas
• sautéed or grilled zucchini
• diced bell peppers
• dice avocado

Homemade pesto

Another way to bump up the veggies in this pasta salad recipe is by adding veggies to the pesto!

By NO MEANS do you have to make your own pesto for this veggie pasta salad (I didn’t!), but you CAN if you want to and it is a great way to get bonus veggies in. For reals. Pesto is already green, so we can easily add some extra veggies in there! Plus, homemade pesto is really easy to make if you have the ingredients on hand

I have a super popular and wildly delicious Avocado Spinach Pesto recipe that would be a dreamy way to add more veggies. Or you could make the one below!

Spinach and Basil Pesto

• ½ cup packed basil leaves
• 2 cups packed baby spinach
• ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds, pine nuts, or any nut/seeds you like
• 1 small garlic clove or ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1. Add basil, spinach, nuts, garlic, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, and water to a food processor. Blend until the pesto is smooth. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom and blend again several times to make sure everything is well incorporated.
2. Once pesto is smooth, blend in parmesan cheese. If the pesto is very thick add another splash of water and blend again. Taste the pesto and add additional salt and pepper as desired.

Other delicious salad recipes to keep you veggie-loaded this summer

• Corn and Black Bean Salad
• Easy Greek-Inspired Quinoa Salad
• Mashed Chickpea Salad
• Veggie-Loaded Spring Chicken Salad
• Fajita Salad with Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Did you try this veggie pasta salad recipe and now you’re hungry for more? 

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