This pesto pasta salad with mozzarella and tomatoes is super easy to make and really versatile. You can use it as a side dish with dinner, as lunch, or to bring to a party or BBQ. It only takes a few ingredients but it has tons of flavor and people will love it.
We are slightly pesto obsessed in my house. I make it a lot in the summer to use up my garden basil and I usually have a container stored in the freezer. My kids often use it on fresh mozzarella or on pasta. I use it in salad dressing sometimes and it is sooo good on pepperoni pizza. My favorite recipe for homemade pesto is posted here, but store pesto is really good too so either works. If you are going to use homemade pesto, you need to add the pesto sauce close to when you will serve it, or it will turn brown. Store pesto has the advantage for this dish of having preservatives added so it won’t brown up on you.
You can also make this a bit more fancy by adding some sliced red onion and some fresh basil on the top if you like. I like to add some grated parmesan on top too. You can store this in the fridge and it keeps well for a couple days. If you are planning to store it for a few days, store pesto can be a good idea as I mentioned above.
Pesto Pasta Salad with Mozzarella and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lb rotini
- 8 oz pesto give or take to taste
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella balls sliced in half
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated parmesan to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions and rinse under cold water until it is cool.
- Add the other ingredients and season to taste with salt, pepper and pesto sauce.
- Top with grated parm and serve.
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