You'll adore this super green pesto pasta salad with spinach, peas, and asparagus. It's packed with nutritious ingredients and fresh, herby flavors. It's sure to spruce up your next barbecue, or make it ahead for healthy lunches all week long!
Looking for directions on how to perfectly roast your asparagus? I have the perfect asparagus recipe to help you.
🗒 How to Make Pesto Pasta Salad
You can use both fresh or frozen peas for this recipe. If using fresh peas, consider blanching them for increased sweetness. Your pesto should be the consistency of marinara sauce so it can spread throughout the pasta salad and coat the raw spinach easily.
Looking for the perfect parmesan grater? This ribbon grater is my favorite.
Pasta vs. Pasta Salad
The fresh spinach in this recipe makes it more of a pasta salad than a pasta. Also, it keeps well in the fridge & tastes just as good cold, making it the perfect potluck/bbq prep-ahead dish for crowds!
Try These Fantastic Pesto Recipes
Pesto is a versatile sauce and can be utilized in a variety of ways.
Super Green Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pesto:
- 4 oz. basil Stems removed
- 2 cloves garlic Rough chopped
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup parmesan grated
- salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients:
- 2 cups packed spinach
- ½ lb. asparagus roasted at 400F for 15 minutes, then cut into 2-inch pieces
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 lb. pasta I used spinach and chive pasta
- ¼ cup pine nuts toasted
- parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil.
- While you wait, add the pesto ingredients to a food processor, except the olive oil. Process while slowly adding the olive oil, until smooth.
- Cook the pasta until al dente.
- Add the spinach, asparagus, and peas to the serving bowl. Add the pasta on top of the ingredients. Let sit 2 minute. Top with the pesto, pine nuts, and parmesan. Mix well.
- Top with more parmesan to serve!
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