This Rainbow Pistachio Pesto Pasta Salad is a mouthful to say, but easy to whip up. And if you want to make it even easier, you can buy the pesto and call it a day. I won’t tell anyone.
MILESTONE MONTH
June has been a month of celebrations and milestones for our family, especially for our son Braden. We celebrated Braden’s fifth birthday at the beginning of the month and this week he graduated from Pre-K! He’s also getting his first taste of kindergarten at Camp Kindercool! Sometimes it’s hard to accept that Braden is ending his chapter as a toddler and really starting his life as a kid. But it has been our greatest joy to see him grow into the fun-loving, super active, smart, friendly, and compassionate boy he is.
This month Ellie also had a milestone. She started daycare! Up through May, she’s been with family and a nanny. But now she’s ten months and ready to be social! Luckily it’s been a pretty easy transition for her. Really just harder on mama.
Needless to say, it’s been a jam-packed month, lots of transitions and excitement.
RAINBOW PISTACHIO PESTO PASTA SALAD
June is also the official kickoff of summer! Now I want to be outside and out of the kitchen as much as possible. It’s time for anything and everything easy for dinner. Lucky for us, this is also the time of year when there is an abundance of fresh produce. Like who else is so eager for tomato season to be in full swing?! We’re right on the cusp of the best ‘maters of the year!
With the temperature rising, I also want to use the oven as little as possible. It will be grilling here-on-out plus dishes like this Rainbow Pistachio Pesto Pasta Salad. Say that name three times fast…LOL. This pasta salad, with the classic combo of cherry tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, is so satisfying. And using a colorful pasta makes it just a little more fun, perfect for summer and all the celebrations. You can eat it alongside your favorite BBQ chicken, top with grilled shrimp skewers, or just toss in quality salami.
I was originally going to use a red wine vinagrette for this pasta salad. But I was doing a mini-pantry/fridge cleanup and found pistachios, basil, parmesan, and lemons. So I went with pesto instead. The pistachios and fresh lemon juice were a simple twist on the classic. Plus traditional pesto uses pine nuts and pistachios are just a little bit cheaper. Winning!
I hope you love this easy pasta salad friends! You can also try this Panzanella Caprese this summer.
- 1 16 oz. package of spiral pasta like fusilli or rotini (I used a traditional spiral rainbow pasta)
- 1 8oz. package of fresh mozzarella balls (cherry tomato size)
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
- For the pistachio pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed
- ½ cup raw shelled pistachios
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- ½ cup of olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- Juice of half a lemon
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- Boil the pasta according to instructions for al dente (usually about 8 minutes). Drain the pasta and set aside in a bowl.
- While the pasta is boiling, make the pesto. Start by combining the basil and pistachios in the food processor and pulse several times. Then add the garlic, cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pulse a few more times. Turn the food processor on the low setting and while it's running add the olive oil slowly. Doing it slowly helps keep the oil from separating. After adding the oil, taste for seasoning. Add more salt to taste.
- Add the pesto sauce to the pasta a little at a time and toss. The amount you add depends how much pesto flavor you want (aka how green you want it). You can eat this warm, but I also like to put i the fridge to chill to serve as a cold pasta salad.
- Add in the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls and gently toss altogether. Enjoy!
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