I promise you can make friends with this salad! This pesto pasta salad is a must try. I especially love it for work day lunches. This colourful pasta salad is not only full of heart healthy fats but also will give your body a great energy source to get through the afternoon!
Pesto Pasta Salad
Servings: 4 - 6 people
Ingredients
- 250 g pasta (I used vetta spirals)
- 1/2 large pumpkin diced and roasted
- 2 punnets cherry tomatoes halved
- 240 g rocket and spinach
- 100 g pitted kalamata olives halved or sliced
- 100 g fetta crumbled
- cooked protein of choice eg. chicken, chickpeas, tuna, salmon
Pesto
- 1/2 cup pine nuts optional, toasted for extra flavour
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons juiced)
- 1 bunch basil (1 cup firmly packed)
- 2 cloves garlic or 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook pasta according to packet instructions. Drain pasta and immediately rinse under cold water. Transfer to a large bowl
- Meanwhile, make the pesto by combining all ingredients in a food processor and mix until ingredients are well blended but still chunky.
- Add the remaining pasta salad ingredients to the pasta bowl and stir to combine. Add pesto and mix to coat.
Notes
Short on time? home made pesto can be replaced with 1/3 cup store brought pesto.
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