This EASY 10-minute Summer Pesto Pasta Salad is loaded with fresh ingredients like juicy tomatoes, corn, avocado, garlic, and lemon zest, all tossed together with warm pasta and delicious basil pesto!
Summer is right around the corner and there is nothing better than a delicious loaded veggie pasta salad to serve at all your favorite gatherings! Juicy, colorful tomatoes, fresh corn, sliced avocado, and warm pasta, all tossed together with a flavorful basil pesto. This pasta salad is made with just a few simple ingredients and can easily be thrown together in just 10 minutes!
This recipe is definitely a MUST for your summer menu. Not only will this salad look so beautiful on your table, but all the fresh, vibrant ingredients simply taste incredible together!
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
- Pasta
- Cherry tomatoes
- Corn (fresh or frozen)
- Avocado
- Pesto (store-bought or homemade)
- Lemon + zest
- Garlic
- Fresh basil
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
For this recipe I used cavatappi shaped pasta, but feel free to use any type of curly/corkscrew pasta such as rotini or fusilli. The nooks in the pasta really grab hold of the pesto nicely! Tortellini is a great option as well! I also used store-bought O Organics Plant-Based Pesto from Safeway which is a personal favorite, but feel free to use any type of store-bought or homemade pesto you’d like!
HOW TO MAKE SUMMER PESTO PASTA SALAD
This salad is really SO simple to throw together! Simply boil your noodles to al dente per the package instructions and while your noodles cook you can chop up all the tomatoes and slice your avocado. Then once the noodles are done boiling and are drained, I like to mix the warm noodles with the fresh garlic which really gives the noodles a nice garlicky flavor! Then add in the rest of your ingredients, including a little lemon juice plus some zest, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and of course, that delicious pesto. Give everything a good stir, add in some fresh basil and your pasta salad is ready to serve!
The great thing about this pasta salad is not only does it taste great warm, but it also tastes great cold! You can refrigerate this salad for up to 6 hours before serving, but of course like most pasta salads, it’s always going to taste the best right after making it. If you’re worried about your avocado browning, feel free to make everything ahead of time, refrigerate, then mix in the avocado slices right before serving. You can also add in more veggies to this as well or even some mozzarella cheese balls!
OTHER SUMMER SALAD RECIPES
- Tomato, Cucumber & Chickpea Salad
- Red, White & Blueberry Fruit Salad
- Chili-Rubbed Salmon with Summer Corn Salad
- Loaded Veggie Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
- 5-Minute Pea & Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad
- Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Hope you all enjoy this delicious Summer Pesto Pasta Salad and if you love this recipe as much as we do, please leave me a five-star rating below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!
RECIPE
Summer Pesto Pasta Salad
This EASY 10-minute Summer Pesto Pasta Salad is loaded with fresh ingredients like juicy tomatoes, corn, avocado, garlic, and lemon zest, all tossed together with warm pasta and delicious basil pesto!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
Ingredients
- 16 oz cavatappi pasta (any corkscrew pasta will work)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 1/2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
- 1 avocado, pitted and diced
- 1 cup pesto (I used O Organics Plant Based Basil Pesto)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice + 1 tsp zest
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta per package instructions until al dente. Drain pasta, rinse with water and transfer to a large bowl.
- Mix together the garlic with warm pasta until all incorporated, then add in tomatoes, corn and avocado. Pour in the pesto and mix well until everything is nice and coated.
- Add in lemon juice, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt/pepper and fresh basil and give everything another good stir until all mixed together. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts:
- Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 5.3 g
- Sodium: 262.4 mg
- Fat: 16.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.1 g
- Fiber: 5.2 g
- Protein: 9.7 g
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
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