Healthy Basil Pesto Pasta Salad with Veggies and White Beans
Pesto pasta salad with a healthy protein boost! Thanks to white kidney beans, this easy pasta salad recipe offers extra protein and fibre, in addition to nourishing vegetables that include juicy tomatoes and crisp red onion, all tossed in a quick and delicious pesto dressing. This salad is perfect to meal prep for lunches or serve as a healthy side dish.
A Favourite Dish Turned Cold Pasta Salad
As a dietitian and recipe developer, when the spring and summer seasons roll around, I find myself dreaming up all kinds of tasty and healthy salad recipes. This always includes pasta salad – think creamy cold tuna pasta salad and caprese pasta salad with juicy tomatoes and mozzarella balls.
I basically created this pesto pasta salad recipe by turning one of my favourite easy meals – pesto pasta with veggies – into a simple cold salad that you can serve at all kinds of warm weather meals and events. Or, be selfish and keep it all to yourself by meal prepping it for lunches throughout the week. I won’t judge!
White Beans Add a Boost
What makes my pesto pasta salad different from all the others out there? Well, thanks to my nutrition background, I’m dedicated to finding ways to make my recipes not only tasty, but nourishing and balanced, too.
As in several of my healthy pasta recipes, I’ve added white kidney beans to the mix here. These serve as a nutrition-booster – adding plant-based protein, dietary fibre, and many a micronutrient (think calcium, magnesium, iron, and more). Pasta on it’s own is nutritious, but without added protein and/or fibre, it likely won’t keep you full for long. That’s where the beans come into play.
In addition the the beans, I’ve also added four different vegetables to our healthy pesto pasta salad recipe. Yes, there’s even sneaky baby spinach blended into the basil pesto dressing!
Let’s Make it Together, Pesto Dressing Included!
For pasta, I recommend using shorter pasta noodles like fusilli, rotini, penne or farfale (bowtie noodles). Cook according to package instructions, and rinse with cool water immediately after straining so the noodles don’t get all sticky. Then set aside 4 cups.
While the noodles boil, you can make the pesto. Do this by blending or processing the fresh basil leaves, baby spinach leaves, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil together. See the full recipe card below for full measurements and instructions!
Once the noodles are cooked and the pesto is ready, you can assemble the salad. Toss it all together in a large mixing bowl until the noodles, veggies and beans are well-coated with the basil pesto dressing.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, toss again and refrigerate until ready to eat, or enjoy immediately!
Tips From My Kitchen to Yours:
- For extra deliciousness, add a sprinkle of feta or parmesan cheese before serving. You could also toss in cubed mozzarella cheese!
- If you don’t have spinach (or don’t want spinach) you can skip this – the pesto will be just as tasty without it.
- For an even bigger protein boost, use a protein pasta for your pasta salad.
- Short on time? Use a store-bought pesto. Even I do this too, sometimes!
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Healthy Basil Pesto Pasta Salad with Veggies and White Beans
Ingredients
For the Pasta Salad:
- 4 cups pasta, like fusilli, rotini, penne or farfale, cooked and cooled
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered, cherry tomatoes also work
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted, thinly sliced
- 1 19 oz. can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- crumbled feta, cubed mozzarella or grated parmesan cheese, optional, for serving
For the Basil Pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1 cup baby spinach, packed
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, can sub. with walnuts or pepitas
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook pasta if you haven't already. When cooked, drain and rinse immediately with cool water to prevent noodles from sticking together. Place in a large mixing bowl to let cool.While the pasta cooks, make the pesto. In a blender or food processor, combine the first 6 pesto ingredients and process until well-combined. Continue to process on low while slowly pouring in the olive oil. Stop to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Assemble the pasta salad. Add tomatoes, red onion, olives, and white beans to the mixing bowl with the cooled pasta noodles.
- Pour all of the pesto over top and toss well until all ingredients are coated.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve with cheese (optional) or store in refrigerator until time to eat.
Hey Hannah! Looks amazing! How long will that pesto keep in the fridge? Thanks 😊
Hi Jenn! Hope you’re well. 🙂 You can store the pesto in an airtight container in the fridge up to 1 week. You can also freeze pesto! I like to freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop the cubes into a freezer bag once they’re frozen.
Could you make this for a meal prep lunch? Wondering how long it would last in the fridge in airtight containers?
Going to try and make this if it will hold up a few days!
Absolutely you could! It would keep pretty will in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Yummy dinner! Making it again!
So happy to hear this Dana, thank you!