Lemon pesto pasta salad packs a punch

Lemon pesto pasta salad packs a punch

Lemon is in the air this summer! Once I saw Trader Joe’s new pasta had to mix the two together, it just screamed for it. And this lemon pesto pasta salad packs a punch! Stays light while bursting with flavor, not too heavy and the colors are so beautiful. Love making new pasta salads and this ones a hit! Just different enough to stand out, but not too crazy that people would be scared to try it. Let the summer of lemons continue!

The sight of summer

The ingredients even look pretty together! Used the sangria tomatoes for there mix of colors, love adding a little more yellow into this mix. Fresh basil form the garden (got the plant at Trader Joes though :)) and the perfect little ciliegine mozzarella balls that my son loves. Stars of the show are the two new items, lemon pesto sauce and pasta quintet! This pasta mix is so fun with a variety of shapes, and the lemon pesto is just so summer like I said before<3 They all go together so well!

All coming together

This is so easy you don’t need step by step pictures, but had to post some<3 On the left is all the dry ingredients coming together, shows off the colors and just so light and tasty looking! On the right we start to add that amazing lemon pesto–but still be careful! Even as the only sauce for this its very potent, a little goes a long way once you mix. Another huge plus to this meal is everything cost around $9 to get, and I only used half to make a good size bowl. You should get two runs of this, or can eat the left overs separate. Know my son will be stealing all those mozz balls! Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Lemon pesto pasta salad packs a punch

Lemon Pesto Pasta Salad

Light and lemony, this pasta salad was made for summer. Using the new pesto from Trader Joes this bright and vibrant salad is a sure fire hit.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes
Course bbq, pasta, Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • 1 Pot
  • 1 Bowl

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 Bag Pasta quintet Or pasta of your choice
  • 1/2 Container Ciliegine mozzarella balls
  • 15 mini tomatoes
  • 5 Basil leaves
  • 1/3rd Can Lemon pesto sauce

Instructions
 

  • Bring a pot of water to a rapid boil, add Pasta quintet and cook for 8-9 minuets. Strain and run under cold water to chill, then dry the pasta and add it to your bowl.
  • Slice your mozzarella balls and tomatoes in half, add to the bowl.
  • Rip your basil leaves to around the same size as the tomatoes and add them to the bowl as well.
  • Spoon in the lemon pesto sauce–a little goes a long way! Mix well and its ready to serve, but letting it chill for around an hour helps the flavors blend
Keyword Lemon, Pasta salad, Pesto