One-Pot Pasta with Pesto and Peas

Pesto Pasta Salad – A fast and easy one-pot dinner of pasta with store bought basil pesto and peas. Serve warm or cold. Ready in 30 minutes!

Hello there! How was your weekend? I was lucky enough to spend my weekend eating my way through visiting Portland. I attended my first food bloggers conference. It was inspiring, fun, and delicious. I stepped out of my comfort zone (card carrying introvert here), and I’m so glad I did. I felt honored to be in the same room with people whose work I’ve admired for years.

Now I’m back home and looking towards the week ahead. This will definitely be a week that I rely on fast and easy meals (hello, cereal for dinner). I’m playing catch-up after being out of town, plus, my husband is wrapping up tax season, which is a super busy time at work for him. It will just be the kids and I for dinner this week, and that means easy, easy, easy! Right, mamas?

This here is a fast and easy meal made in one pot, in under  30 minutes, using only 4 ingredients. This is an ideal meal for nights when you want something hearty and comforting with minimal dishes and no prep!

Pesto Pasta Salad

• Cook pasta in boiling water. During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, add a bag of frozen peas to the cooking water.
• Drain
• Return pasta and peas to the pot and stir in pesto and parmesan cheese

That’s it! Easy peasy! Get it pea-sy?! Ha! Ok, I’ll stop. 😉

Another fantastic thing about this recipe is how adaptable it is. You can make it with just the 4 basic ingredients, or you can add other veggies or meat. I occasionally add asparagus, broccoli, or cherry tomatoes. I also serve it topped with sliced sausage or rotisserie chicken. You can serve this dish hot or cold. Leftovers make for a great chilled pasta salad.

Lastly, I’d like to quickly address the parmesan cheese that you see below. I am a huge fan of Whole Foods, and one of my favorite items is their parmesan cheese. My family goes through nearly a tub a week (and by “my family” I’m mostly referring to myself). Whole Foods is not paying me say this, nor is this post sponsored by them. I just really, really love this stuff and I want you to go get some, or come over to my place and we’ll eat pasta with pesto and loads of parm.

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5 from 10 votes

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Pesto Pasta Salad

A fast and easy one-pot dinner of pasta with store bought basil pesto and peas. Serve warm or cold. Ready in 30 minutes! 

Course main

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 451 kcal

Author Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta I prefer short pasta like small/medium shells
• 1 pound frozen peas
• 6 ounce container basil pesto
• parmesan cheese salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil Add salt and the pasta. Boil accordingly to pasta package instructions. During the last 4-5 minutes of cooking time add the peas.
2. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in pesto. Add parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.

Recipe Notes

-This pasta can be served warm or chiilled. If serving chilled, I like to add raw cherry tomatoes.
- You can also add asparagus or frozen chopped broccoli to this dish. I usually add them to the boiling pasta water during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- If desired, the pasta can be topped with cooked sausage or rotisserie chicken.

Nutrition Facts

Pesto Pasta Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 451 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 11g 17%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Cholesterol 2mg 1%

Sodium 273mg 11%

Potassium 353mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 69g 23%

Dietary Fiber 6g 24%

Sugars 7g

Protein 15g 30%

Vitamin A 23%

Vitamin C 36.7%

Calcium 8%

Iron 12.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.