pesto tomato avocado caesar pasta salad
AKA: a most annoyingly fucking long recipe name because I didn’t want to omit anything important.
Sometimes short and to the point ain’t enough, you know?
While rapidfire cleaning my pantry over the weekend, I found one lonely box of my favorite pasta salad cut and immediately got inspired to use it for meal prep. If you’re curious, it’s called fusili corti bucatti. I’m not sure why those little squigglemeisters speak to me so, but they do.
Last summer I went apeshit on pasta salads – just one of those recipe categories that got my brain cogs wheelin’. I have a feeling, if new combinations dawn on my brain, that we might be exploring the warm weather favorite once again this year. If not, consider this Pesto Tomato Avocado Caesar Pasta Salad your 2024 favorite, albeit obnoxiously titled, bowl of carbaceous colorful goodness.
Fresh produce, two kinds of luscious homemade sauces, and a plentiful portion of cheeses…my kinda dump-and-eat fare.
Pest-oh My God
I don’t make homemade pesto all that often, but when I do my formula typically makes a crap ton that spans over 2-3 recipes at least. Or, over random, undocumented pasta or pizza cravings.
My favorite recipe for pesto involves a ton of herbs, arugula, and feta. Bit different than your standard, but for whatever reason the dill and feta in particular create a most special, fresh flavor I haven’t been able to replicate otherwise. In addition, we’ve got walnuts, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, and plenty of olive oil to comprise the savory sauce.
Blitz all this up in your food processor, tasting as you go and adding shit if you need to. The beauty of pesto it’s forgiving nature. It doesn’t hold a grudge, no sir.
Dress It Up
Clean out your food processor and whip up your Caesar dressing. I omit the standard raw egg yolk and instead use a base of vegan mayonnaise and whole milk Greek yogurt.
Whip those together with lemon juice, dijon mustard, anchovy paste, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Of course, taste for salt and pepper as needed. Pro tip: if you don’t want to buy both feta and parmesan cheeses, feta works in the Caesar formula as well. Trust me. It’s yum.
Salad Assemblage
While you do all that sauce-making and crap, boil off some water for the pasta. I put 15 minutes as “cook” time in the recipe card because the actual needed time depends on your cut of pasta. My fusili corti was 13-15 minutes.
Drain your noodles and rinse under cool water to halt the cooking process. Toss them in a big bowl, or a big Dutch oven as is my case usually, and combine with all your ingredients. Let’s list ’em here:
…Pesto. I use about 1/3-1/2 cup depending on how sassy I feel.
…Mozzarella and provolone. Honestly, I only used the latter because I had an awkward amount left in my fridge from a previous project, but it added a nice little smoky element to the dish. For the mozz, I chose a low-moisture block.
…Romaine and arugula. Crunch crunch. Plus, I like the pepperiness of ‘rug.
…Cherry tomatoes. Also known as cheery tomatoes because they make me happy.
…Avocado. Thanks! If you’re prepping this pasta salad ahead of time, wait until you’re ready to serve before adding the avo.
Set the jars of pesto and Caesar dressing alongside your salad so folks can add more as desired.
This shit makes a great side dish for Easter, or even the main if you add some protein like blackened shrimp or chicken or something. It’ll take you through the entirety of spring and summer entertaining, too, regardless of the fanciness of the occasion.
Or, just for ordinary weekly meal prep. I dunno about you, but I’d be stoked to open my lunch box and see this multihued beauty ready for consumption.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Pasta salad envy:
Buffalo White Bean Pasta Salad with Blue Cheese Ranch
“Bacon” Ranch and Avocado Pasta Salad
Lemon Chickpea, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad
pesto tomato avocado caesar pasta salad
Ingredients
feta pesto
- 1 1/2 cups baby arugula
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/4 cup fresh dill
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
caesar dressing
- 3/4 cup vegan or regular mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp anchovy paste
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
pasta salad
- 1 lb short cut pasta
- 1/3-1/2 cup pesto (use to taste)
- 1 cup low moisture mozzarella cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup sharp provolone cheese, cubed
- 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
- 1 cups baby arugula
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooling process.
- In the meantime, make the pesto sauce and the Caesar dressing. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the arugula, cilantro, basil, dill, feta, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Run the processor while slowly streaming in the olive oil until pulsed and emulsified. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Transfer to a jar or bottle.
- Clean out the bowl of the food processor and make the Caesar dressing. Combine the vegan or regular mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, dijon mustard, anchovy paste, garlic cloves, parmesan, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
- In a big ass fucken bowl, toss together the pasta, pesto, mozzarella and provolone, romaine, arugula, tomatoes, and avocado. Divide into bowls or plates and serve with the remaining pesto and the Caesar dressing on the side.
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