Pesto Pasta Salad is a delicious and fresh summer side dish, full of chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella, and covered in a fresh basil pesto! Perfect for a summer potluck!
This pesto pasta salad comes together with only a few ingredients. You’ll need a fresh basil pesto (I recommend this homemade pesto recipe, cherry tomatoes, chicken, rotini pasta, parmesan cheese, and chopped basil. Throw it all together and you have a new favorite summer pasta salad!
I first posted this pesto pasta salad with chicken recipe on The Slow Roasted Italian.
This cold pesto pasta salad is so refreshing and flavorful! Everyone will love it! And its perfect for sharing.
This chicken pesto pasta salad makes a big bowlful, so its the perfect dish for sharing. Its a great option for a summer bbq or potluck at the park! But you can also cut the recipe in half though if you don’t want to make as much. It’s a delicious light lunch or dinner option!
You can use a homemade pesto, or your favorite store bought pesto if you prefer to make the dish quicker to throw everything together! Another way to make it quicker is to use a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking up your own chicken. If you use store bought pesto and a rotisserie chicken the whole dish can come together in only about 20 minutes total!
With the weather warming up, this pesto pasta salad is perfect for a summer barbecue. Pair it with some raspberry pretzel jello salad, and some bbq pulled pork, and finish the meal with some cheesecake stuffed strawberries for dessert.
If you like this pesto pasta salad you might also like our taco pasta salad, or caprese pasta salad, or chicken caesar pasta salad.
Now who’s ready to jump into this delicious pesto pasta salad?!
Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup pesto
- 16 oz rotini pasta
- 2 large chicken breasts (or about 2 cups cooked chopped chicken)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- 8 oz mozzarella pearls
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook your pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water when done.
- Grill chicken breasts over medium high heat, seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper, flipping after about 5 minutes.
- Cook until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. About another 5 minutes. Allow to set for about 10 minutes before dicing up.
- In a small pan add pine nuts and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 3 minutes until they are nice and toasted.
- In a large bowl, add cooked pasta, chicken, pine nuts, tomatoes, mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh basil.
- Top with pesto and stir it all together to combine.
- Cover and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving.
Notes
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