Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad: the easy recipe for a tasty dish

Arugula pesto pasta salad is a light and tasty main dish, perfect to make during the summer season to enjoy during a picnic. It's a fresh and appetizing variant of the summer typical dish, in which the cold pasta is seasoned with a creamy pesto based on arugula, cheese, walnut kernels and extra virgin olive oil. The dish is then completed with fragrant and colorful ingredients, such as a diced fresh cheese and wedges of cherry tomatoes for a rich and tasty recipe.

You can use fresh cheese such as primosale, feta or mozzarella, then enrich everything with other raw or cooked vegetables or other dried fruit (almonds, pine nuts, pistachios). You can also vary the sauce and choose something like the classic pesto or the parsley version. So let’s find out how to perfectly make this recipe by following our simple recipe step by step.

Tips

If you like, you can use the short or long pasta format you prefer.

If you don't like the pungent flavor of arugula, you can add a part of fresh spinach or basil leaves, which will make the pesto sweeter. If this is too thick, add a drop of pasta water.

How to store Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad

Pasta salad with rocket pesto can be stored in the refrigerator, in a special airtight container, for a maximum of 1-2 days.

How to make Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad

Clean the arugula, rinse it and dry it well. Then transfer into a stand mixer (1).

Add the grated parmesan cheese and pecorino cheese, shelled walnuts and garlic (2). Then continue with the oil and blend until thick.

Drain the cheese from any residual liquid, pat it with absorbent kitchen paper and cut it into cubes (3).

Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes. Then cut them into wedges (4).

Boil the pasta in boiling salted water, then drain it al dente and rinse it under fresh running water. Then season it with the arugula pesto (5).

Add the cherry tomatoes, the diced cheese and a few pieces of walnut, then serve (6).