Basil Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pesto Sauce:
- 4 garlic cloves or roasted garlic cloves
- ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp chili pepper flakes
- 6 cups basil
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salad:
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese balls
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups baby mixed greens
- 1 lb pasta, spriral, penne, bowtie or any pasta shape of your choice
- pesto sauce
Instructions
- To roast the garlic, take garlic cloves and drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat thoroughly. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, turning it halfway. If they are smaller garlic cloves then perhaps you only need to roast them for 2 minutes. Just keep a close eye on them.
- If your pine nuts are not toasted already, then drizzle pine nuts with olive oil and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 1-2 minutes until they turn a nice light golden brown.
- In a food processor, puree all the ingredients together, minus the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
- Transfer basil mix to a bowl, then add olive oil and balsamic vinegar and mix together.
- Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the package. Add 1 tbsp of kosher salt to pot of water.
- Rinse pasta in cold water and drain.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together and serve!
Nutrition
Serving: 1portion | Calories: 568kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 621mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1665IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 192mg | Iron: 3mg