Pesto Pasta Salad

It is officially BBQ season! What are your favorite sides to serve when having a BBQ? My favorite is pasta salad. I LOVE pasta salad. I also love pesto. So why not create a Pesto Pasta Salad! This pasta salad has fresh mozzarella, pesto covered noodles, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. Not only is this pasta salad filled with fresh ingredients, it is also super quick and easy to make! Highly recommend making and refrigerating for a minimum of 30 minutes, but if you are in a hurry serve right away. As always, I love to hear your thoughts!

-Simply Enjoy

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Pesto Pasta Salad

Author: The Altered Chef Cuisine: Entrée, Side Dish Recipe Keys: B BBQ C cookout M mozzarella P parmesan cheese P pasta P pasta salad P pesto S side dish T tomatoes

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 10 mins Rest Time 30 mins Total Time 45 mins

Servings: 8

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Description

Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto Pasta Salad

Servings

• 12 oz Bowtie Pasta (Or whatever pasta you prefer.)
• 1 cup Pesto (Fresh or Store Bought)
• ¹⁄₂ cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese (Powdered works also if you do not have grated. Start with ¼ cup of powdered.)
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ¹⁄₄ tsp Black Pepper
• ¹⁄₄-¹⁄₂ tsp Sea salt (Salt to Taste)
• ¹⁄₂ tbsp Parsley
• 1 tsp Basil (Chopped up fresh basil is best but dried works well too!)
• 8 oz Fresh Mozzarella (I used Mozzarella Pearls)
• 8 oz Grape Tomatoes

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Once you have strained it, rinse with cold water. Place in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle olive oil, salt (to taste) and pepper over the noodles. Stir.

2. Cut the tomatoes in 4th’s, add as many or little as you want to the pasta.

3. Add the mozzarella to the pasta. Stir.

4. Pour the pesto and basil over the noodles. Stir well.

5. Add half of the parmesan cheese, stir.

6. Place in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. Top with the remaining parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve. Simply enjoy!

Keywords: pasta salad, BBQ, cookout, side dish, pasta, pesto, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, tomatoes,