Pesto Pasta Salad – delicious vegetarian pasta salad recipe with pesto, bow tie pasta, spinach and lemon. Perfect to pack into a jar for a picnic!
Serve this delicious pasta salad with our Easy Grilled Chicken or 2-Ingredient Flatbread.
PESTO PASTA SALAD
I am so excited to share this recipe for a pasta salad with you today, as it has been my favorite lunch lately! The flavors are so fresh and delicious – so good on hot summer days. This pasta salad is perfect for summer! It’s easy to make (you can make it ahead of time and keep in the fridge) AND absolutely delicious and full of fresh flavors. Pesto, bow tie pasta, spinach, cannellini beans, lemon zest and Parmesan are all you need to stir up this salad. At our house, it replaces the hot and steaming mac and cheese during summer.
How to make Pesto Pasta Salad?
- Cook pasta and cool completely.
- Place pasta in a bowl. Stir in spinach, beans, and pesto.
- Drizzle lemon juice over the salad. Add Parmesan and stir everything together.
- Serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
What do you need to make this recipe (your shopping list):
- pesto
- pasta (I used bow tie)
- cannellini beans
- spinach
- lemon
- Parmesan cheese
Can I make this pasta salad ahead of time?
I tend to make a batch of pasta the day before and keep it in the fridge to mix in with the rest of ingredients just before lunch OR prepare the salad and pack it into containers or jars for a grab-and-go lunch!
What goes well with Pesto Pasta Salad?
It’s a great side for a dinner of the grill (lemon grilled chicken is crazy good with this pasta salad!) and a fabulous lunch idea, with a slice of crusty baguette.
Enjoy!
-Anna
More delicious Pasta Salad recipes:
Easy Pasta Salad from Dinner, then Dessert
If you like this recipe and try it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet ! I’d love to see what’s happening in your kitchen!
Delicious pasta salad recipe with pesto, bow tie pasta, spinach and lemon. Perfect to pack into a jar for a picnic! Great meal prep idea for light dinner or lunch!
- 1.5 cup bow tie pasta cooked according to manufacturer instructions
- 1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1.5 cup fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup pesto homemade or store-bought
- 1 lemon zest
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese optional
- Cook pasta according to instructions on box. Drain and cool to room temperature. (See notes for refrigerating at this step).
- Add beans, lemon zest and pesto and stir in until incorporated. Add spinach and gently toss together.
- Serve immediately or divide into containers.
- Keep for up to 3 days.
If making the pasta a day ahead, cool to room temperature. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 2 teaspoons lemon juice and stir in. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
This post was originally published on June 22nd, 2015 and updated on June 5th, 2019.
Kathy says
July 9, 2018 at 6:37 pmI love cool summer time pasta salads. Thank you for the recipe!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
July 9, 2018 at 11:40 pmThank you so much, Kathy!
brenda@sugarfreemom says
June 23, 2015 at 2:48 pmI love everything using fresh greens ad herbs so this is awesome!
Ashley says
June 23, 2015 at 12:22 pmThis looks awesome! Such a great idea to pack it up in jars for a picnic in the park!
Renee says
June 23, 2015 at 8:34 amI love a quick and delicious lunch you can grab out out the fridge and not have to prepare in advance. This looks like something I could eat every day of the week with only a little preparation a few days before. Thanks for this recipe. I’m excited to try it.
Susan says
June 22, 2015 at 10:00 pmLove this grab-and-go concept. Perfect for on the go summer meals. Looks delicious too! 🙂
Kristi says
June 22, 2015 at 8:53 pmThis salad looks incredible, and I’ll be the lemon zest adds such an incredible pop of flavor. I think lemon is such a perfect flavor for summer! It’s so surprising how a little bit of zest can take a recipe over the top!
Joanie says
June 22, 2015 at 8:17 pmHow perfect for a summertime picnic. I love pesto and in a pasta salad, it’s perfect!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
June 22, 2015 at 5:05 pmLove all the ingredients, and definitely the grab-and-go versatility! The lemony chicken sounds like a great addition, too! Nice dish for the summer!
Jessica says
June 22, 2015 at 4:28 pmPesto pasta salads are my favorite! I can’t wait to give yours a try!
Stephanie says
June 22, 2015 at 2:11 pmThis sounds so bright and flavorful! I’d love a big bowl for dinner 🙂
The Food Hunter says
June 22, 2015 at 2:03 pmI could easily eat this for lunch every day.
Angie says
June 22, 2015 at 1:53 pmPasta salad is perfect for summer, love this!
Medha says
June 22, 2015 at 1:28 pmThis looks deliciously simple! Love the pesto flavor and all the add ins 🙂 Pinning!
Kate @ Diethood says
June 22, 2015 at 12:53 pmGirl! The spinach and pesto really make the dish pop, and holy cow I’ll bet this is just amazing with the addition of some lemon. YUM YUM!
Kaitie says
June 22, 2015 at 12:50 pmThis looks amazing. You could easily make this one night for dinner, and have two jars left over for lunches the next two days for work!
Paula says
June 22, 2015 at 10:21 amLove a good pasta salad!This one is perfect for picnicking!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
June 22, 2015 at 9:42 amLove pesto pasta salads! I love your addition of beans to this one 🙂
Kacey says
June 22, 2015 at 9:33 amI have seen quite a few of these recipes and have never made my own! Yours looks amazing and really should be my first attempt (I love pasta and I love light recipes during the summer!)
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven says
June 22, 2015 at 7:40 amPesto pasta salads are totally my favorite go-to side dish once cookout season rolls around! This one looks SO gorgeous with all that green goodness!