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Creamy Pesto Pasta

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This Creamy Pesto Pasta is full of tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and topped with a creamy pesto sauce! It’s sure to be a BBQ favorite!

This Creamy Pesto Pasta is full of tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and topped with a creamy pesto sauce! It's sure to be a BBQ favorite!Creamy Pesto Pasta is perfect for dinner, BBQs, pot lucks, or a quick lunch. would be perfect for occasion. Use store bought or homemade pesto (recipe below), both work well in this recipe. Delicious fresh basil is readily available in the summer, or you might even have your own plant – use it! I like to make this salad the night before I will be serving it, then refrigerate it and serve the next day; the flavor is amazing!

This Creamy Pesto Pasta is full of tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and topped with a creamy pesto sauce! It's sure to be a BBQ favorite!How to make Creamy Pesto Pasta:

  • While the pasta is boiling, prepare the creamy pesto sauce, and prep the vegetables.
  • Mix everything in a large bowl, making sure everything is coated in the sauce, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
    • TIP:  Use a stock pot to cook your pasta, then mix everything in the same big pot – it will make mixing SO much easier!

How to make Homemade Pesto:

I have a great homemade pesto sauce recipe on Domestic Superhero, but it’s very simple:

  • 1 cup basil leaves, 1 TBS olive oil, 2 TBS pine nuts (or any nuts work well), 2 TBS parmesan cheese, pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Place everything into a food processor, then process until combined. Scrape down the sides, then pulse a few seconds more. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator.

This Creamy Pesto Pasta is full of tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and topped with a creamy pesto sauce! It's sure to be a BBQ favorite!

I like using tomatoes, peas, and artichokes in the this creamy pesto pasta, but if you don’t like a certain component, you can always substitute it with something else or leave it out.  That’s the thing with pasta salad, you can pretty much throw whatever you want into it, and it will turn out delicious!

This Creamy Pesto Pasta is full of tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and topped with a creamy pesto sauce! It's sure to be a BBQ favorite!

Other recipes you might enjoy with Creamy Pesto Pasta:

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5 from 1 vote
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Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Total Time
17 mins
 

This Creamy Pesto Pasta is full of tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and topped with a creamy pesto sauce! It's sure to be a BBQ favorite!

Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: creamy pesto pasta
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 lb pasta I like rigatoni or a small circular pasta
  • 1 cup homemade or store bought pesto
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup frozen sweet peas
  • 16 ounces artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and chopped roughly
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut into halves
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions

  1. Cook pasta el dente according to directions, drain and set aside in a large bowl.

  2. In a small bowl mix pesto sauce and mayonnaise together and set aside.

  3. IN a large bowl or the same stock pot you used to cook the pasta, add pasta, peas, artichokes, and tomatoes.  Pour pesto mixture over the top and toss to mix and coat evenly. 

  4. Allow the salad to cool in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before serving, up to overnight.

  5. Garnish with additional cheese and fresh basil if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Creamy Pesto Pasta is full of tomatoes, artichokes, peas, and topped with a creamy pesto sauce! It's sure to be a BBQ favorite!

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Jessica! It’s so easy!! Literally a handful of fresh basil leaves, a couple TBS of grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup pine nuts, and a couple cloves of garlic. Put it all in the food processor and mix, then stream some Extra Virgin olive oil into the processor to get right consistency..probably 1/4 cup or so. Done! This is essentially what you are going for, https://domesticsuperhero.com/2012/08/27/arugula-lemon-pesto/ but it’s done with arugula and almonds instead of typical basil/pine nuts

      Reply

  6. YUM! This looks really good & thanks for the nice complement. <3 😀
    I'll have to try your version-soon!

    Reply

  17. I love this recipe. Have used it at BBQs 3 times now, and each time it was a great success. It’s really easy and can be prepped in advance. I roasted the cherry tomatoes in the oven for 20 mins before throwing in the salad though to add a bit more flavour.

    Reply

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