Pesto Pasta Salad

Fresh Basil Pesto pasta salad is the perfect summer side dish for your next grilling get together. If you are tired of the same old pasta salad try whipping up this summer treat. Its as simple as it is delicious. The best part of serving this salad is it won’t take you away from your grilling or time with your guests because it can be prepared ahead of your grilling party.

How do you make pesto for pasta salad?

For this pesto the main ingredients are basil, oil, and garlic. I prefer fresh homemade pesto that is easily prepared with a blender, olive oil, two garlic cloves, and a huge handful of fresh basil.

Throw the basil and garlic into a blender and turn the blender on. Then, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until it is all incorporated with the basil. Finish the pesto with just a pinch of salt.

If you’re crunched for time, a pre made store bought basil will also work. Don’t worry the pesto police won’t be knocking on your door for using store bought pesto.

Basil Pesto Pasta Salad with ham, black olives, cheese, and red peppers recipe by Sear Marks

what ingredients go into pasta salad?

Basil is not the only ingredient that goes into this delicious summer pasta salad though. Add Diced Ham, cheese crumbles, black olives, roasted red peppers and artichokes to the pasta salad.

What makes a good pasta salad great?

The answer too that question is too much pasta. Good flavor makes a pasta salad good, but there needs to be a lot of other ingredients to make it great. Great pasta salads need a lot of various textures and flavors to come together to balance out the pasta.

A pasta salad with too little ingredients is just pasta, not pasta salad.

For this recipe, the ham and queso cheese bring more salt, the artichokes bring acidity, and the black olives bring a different texture compared to the soft pasta and roasted red peppers.

Pesto Pasta Salad with artichokes

To complete this recipe, add all the ingredients together and mix. This pesto pasta salad will keep just fine in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Prepare this recipe before hand so you can spend more time with friends and family. When you take it out of the refrigerator just give it a quick mix and drizzle with a little more olive oil to keep it moist.

If you like this grilling side recipe from Sear Marks, check out these other sides by clicking the link below…..

Asparagus on the Grill

Grilled Zucchini

Print Recipe

Pesto Pasta Salad

By sear marks – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Pasta salad is a perfect grilling side dish. If you are going to make pasta salad, don't make it boring. Basil Pesto along with cheese, ham, red peppers, and olives all come together with the pasta to make an awesome BBQ side dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of cooked medium elbow pasta
• 1 8 ounce cooked ham steak diced
• 1 can artichoke hearts
• 1 can medium black olives
• 1 small bottle roasted red peppers
• 10 ounce queso fresco cheese crumbles
• 1 cup basil pesto
• Olive Oil

Instructions

1

Cook 1/2 pound medium elbow pasta until tender

2

Cool pasta and add in basil pesto

3

Add chopped red peppers, black olives, artichoke hearts, and cheese

4

Mix all ingredients together

5

Drizzle olive oil over top of pasta salad

6

Serve

Notes

You can store in refrigerator for 24 hours if necessary. Add olive oil if necessary after refrigeration