Basil Pesto Pasta Salad

Pesto pasta salad in large bowl with spoon.

5 from 2 votes

This basil pesto pasta salad is a tasty main course or side flavored with garlic and nutritional yeast! It can be stored in a cooler for an ideal make-ahead camping or road trip meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: people

Calories: 435kcal

Author: Sarah Trenalone

Ingredients

Basil Pesto Pasta Salad:

2 cups vegetable broth Use low-sodium broth if desired
2 cups water (plus more if needed)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 pound short-grain pasta, such as penne, rotini or conchiglie (shells). Use gluten-free certified pasta if needed. Chickpea pasta works well here.
6 ounces basil pesto (1 small jar) Use dairy-free pesto if needed.
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast Or swap grated Parmesan cheese (dairy or vegan)
12 ounce jar quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Optional Add-Ins:

1 cup diced tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons capers
tuna (in can or packet), 1 packet per person or ½ of a 4-ounce can per person

Instructions

Add broth, 2 cups water and garlic powder to a large pot. Place on the stovetop on high heat. Bring broth to a simmer.
Add the pasta and stir. Make sure the pasta is covered in water, adding additional broth or water if needed.
Simmer the pasta in the broth until the pasta is tender and most of the broth is absorbed (about 15-20 minutes, depending on the type of pasta and how hot your burner is). Stir the pasta often while cooking, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot often to prevent sticking.
For gluten-free pasta, I like to under-cook it by about a minute. (Gluten-free pasta tends to fall apart easily when fully cooked.)
If you hear the pasta sizzling, it's sticking to the pot. Add a little more water and stir to release any bits of pasta that stuck.
Once pasta is tender, remove from heat. (It’s fine if there’s still a little liquid in the bottom of the pot.)
Add the nutritional yeast, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes (with oil) to the pasta and stir to combine.
Add the artichoke hearts, tomatoes and capers to the pasta. Stir to combine.
Allow pasta to cool before serving. If making it ahead of time, refrigerate (or store in a cooler) for up to 5 days.
Optionally, add tuna to the pasta when serving. (Tuna has a shorter shelf-life than the pasta, so I prefer to add the tuna to the pasta when serving to extend the life of the pasta salad.)

Nutrition