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One-Pot Pasta with Pesto and Peas

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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!

Pesto Pasta Salad in a White Bowl with Parmesan Cheese in the Background.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.

Pesto Pasta Salad in a large pot.

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!

Ingredients to make Pesto Pasta Salad

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. 😉

Pasta Salad with Sliced Sausage and Asparagus,

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.

Pasta with Pesto, Tomatoes, and Peas

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.

Whole Foods Parmesan Cheese.

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Pasta with Pesto and Peas - A fast and easy one-pot dinner made of pasta with store bought basil pesto and peas. Ready in under 30 minutes with 4 basic ingredients.
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.

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Comments

  1. Hey girl, glad to hear you had a GREAT time in Portland. I have yet to make it to a blogging conference. One day. 🙂 I love your simple recipe here. We just (finally) got a Whole Food here in town this past weekend. Yay and double yay. We’ll be a little poorer, but a lot happier! I’ll check out the parmesan.

    Reply

  6. This is a great recipe. I am a huge fan of recipes that are quick (under 30 minutes), healthy, and delicious. I can’t wait to try this one out.

    Reply

  8. I’ve always wanted to visit Portland! Glad you had a great time. Definitely going to have to try this recipe – very simple but delicious. Right up my alley. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  10. I love anything with pasta and when it comes to one pot pasta dish thats my favorite because less work and less dishes. Thanks for sharing this, will try it out soon.

    Reply

  19. Yum! I love meals like this where vegetables get incorporated. Plus, I’m a huge fan of pesto so this sounds like a delicious Summer dish to me!

    Reply

  20. I love pesto pasta. It is easy and super tasty! Whole Foods has a vegan pesto that I adore too. Yum! Your pictures are gorgeous, and I am loving following your blog. Cheers!

    Reply

  23. This recipe is so yummy and definetly a crowd pleaser and so simple to make. I’m always looking for yummy vegetarian recipes to serve to my family and friends that are vegetarians.

    Reply

  29. Wow! This one’s a winner.This looks so delightful and tasty. I would love to try making this recipe. This is my kind of weekend treat.

    Reply

  32. This looks like a perfect weeknight meal that my entire family will love! Can’t wait to try it!!

    Reply

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