I have been wanting to try making a pasta salad for a while now and when I came across this recipe for a pesto pasta salad on Savoury Sweet Life I could not resist making it right away. Pasta salads are salads formed with a base of pasta and pretty much anything that you can think of can be added after that. Pasta salads are normally served chilled and often have a mayo based dressing. This pasta salad has mayo in the dressing but the dressing is primarily based on freshly made basil pesto. I really liked the sound of combining the creamy and tangy mayo and with the fresh pesto and I just had to try it. Not only did the dressing for this pasta salad sound good but it also contains two other great ingredients, artichoke hearts and peas. Luckily I was still able to find some fresh peas at the farmers market but frozen would also work well. This pasta salad came together easily with the hardest part being the waiting for it to chill in the fridge. The creamy pea and artichoke pesto pasta salad turned out great! It really was nice and creamy and the pesto and mayo dressing was nice and tangy and fresh and really tasty. As I found out just recently, peas go really well with mayo and they added a nice hit of sweetness to this pasta salad. The salad tasted great after chilling for just a half an hour but it tasted even better the day after when the flavours had had a chance to mingle a bit. With a pasta salad under my belt next up to try is a potato salad.
Creamy Pea and Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad
ingredients
- 1/2 pound penne (I used whole wheat) (gluten free for gluten free)
- 1 cup basil pesto
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup peas
- 1 cup artichoke hearts (quartered)
- parmigiano reggiano to taste (grated)
directions
- Cook the pasta as directed on the package.
- Mix the pesto and the mayonnaise in a bowl.
- Toss the pasta in the pesto mixture along with the peas.
- Gently fold in the artichoke hearts.
- Let chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or more.
- Serve garnished with the grated parmigiano reggiano.
Avocado BLT Pasta Salad
Fresh Pea Salad
Basil Pesto on Penne
Asparagus and Zucchini Farro Salad
Meyer Lemon Pesto and Feta Pasta with Shrimp
Artichoke and Spinach Frittata
Fresh Pea Risotto with Spicy Grilled Shrimp
Asparagus and Ramp Pesto Mac n Cheese
Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Peas
Dill Pickle Potato Salad
Wow…this picture made me hungry. Looks delicious!
~Camberley
I'm trying this tonight! Sounds great!
Perfect summer pasta dish!
Awesome picture. All the green really pops! Also: One of the things we like about you is your lack of fear when it comes to mayo! It really adds to sauces and such.
What a great combination!! Looks wonderful
This sounds good. My hubby would definitely love this :}
Lovely photo and a great dish to try one of these days. Thanks Kevin.
pasta, pesto and artichokes, some of my favorite things and even better together. Thanks for this!
this looks so summery and delicious!
seriously, that sounds SO GOOD right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a beautiful, delicious looking salad! I love pasta salads and am always looking for new ones..and here it is! Thanks for posting it!
I love pasta salad, and I love pesto. Sounds great!
I will have to overlook the price of artichokes to make this …..and I most definitely will make this!!!
This looks awesome and I don't even like peas! Now that is impressive, Kevin!
Peas and artichokes – to me, this spells perfection!
So mouthwatering! Yummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
Looks great…thanks for sharing.
I love non-mayo pasta salads but I bet this would be great with Greek yogurt subbed in for the mayo. I love the pea and artichoke additions. It looks so creamy!
Refreshing flavorful summer treat!
Great pasta salad Kevin! Here's to another great penne recipe.
Great recipe and great pic. Sounds like the perfect dish for my husband who loves all those ingredients.
Another yummy dish of yours Kevin! I must try it. I love pesto and love pasta salads.
I LOVE pesto, this pasta salad sounds amazing! This would be fabulous accompiant to grilled chicken.
That would be awesome on a hot summer evening. Nice dish!
I like your addition of peas to this dish! We made a similar asparagus pesto dish and loved it.
I'm not much of a pasta person, unless it's something light like this… looks great!
Hey Kevin,
Glad you liked the salad. This is a very popular pesto salad dish from one of my favorite pizzerias in Seattle. I've even added chicken to it and it tastes awesome!
PS:Thanks for the mention!
this is one of my favorite type dishes!
My friend made this for a "Three Peas in a Pod" themed triplet baby shower, and OH MY this is delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Are the artichokes canned?
I tend to use canned for convienience but fresh peeled and cooked also works!