Can you make pasta salad the night before?

Making pasta salad the night before is perfectly fine and actually helps the flavors to meld better. Just let it come to room temperature so the sauce can thin out a little and toss with additional olive oil to loosen the pesto, if needed.

Do sundried tomatoes go with pesto?

Yes. Sundried tomatoes pair nicely with a pesto sauce. Try pairing them with pesto in pasta dishes of any kind, warm or cold.

How do you make pasta salad?

For pasta salad you want to combine cooked pasta with different fresh or cooked vegetables, possibly a protein, maybe some cheese, and a sauce or dressing to tie everything together. You can be creative and experiment with different ingredients. Pasta salads are served cold or at room temperature.

Pesto Pasta Salad with Sundried Tomatoes

Description

This flavorful pasta salad is packed with bright basil pesto, tangy sundried tomatoes, creamy feta, and hearty chickpeas. It’s easy to prep ahead and makes an excellent side for summer picnics, barbecues, or quick weeknight dinners.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the pesto:

1 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted almonds or walnuts
1 small clove of garlic
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons olive oil

For the salad:

12 ounces of pasta, such as orecchiette, fusilli, farfalle, shells, or penne
1 bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

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Instructions

Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking.
Make the pesto: In a food processor, combine basil, almonds, garlic, Parmesan, lemon juice, and salt. Pulse until finely chopped. With the processor running, slowly stream in olive oil until the pesto is smooth but still has texture. Scrape down the sides as needed. Taste and add salt or lemon as needed.
Chop the pepper and sundried tomato into bite-sized pieces.
In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta, bell pepper, chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, and feta.
Add the pesto and lemon juice. Toss until evenly coated.
Taste and season. Serve immediately or chill. Toss with additional oil, if needed, to thin out the pesto.

Notes

Letting the salad hang out in the fridge for an hour or even a day in advance will help the flavors to meld. The pesto will thicken up when cold, so either let it come to room temperature before serving or toss with a little more olive oil to loosen it up.

For an extra tomato flavor, use some of the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes in place of olive oil when making the pesto.

Save the liquid from the can of chickpeas. It's called aquafaba and can be used in place of egg whites in baking and cocktails like this Cherry Whiskey Sour.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Salads
Method: Boiling
Cuisine: Italian