Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe (2024)

This Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad recipe is the perfect quick and easy summer side dish. Filled with bite-sized pasta, creamy pesto dressing, tomatoes, spinach and mozzarella cheese, it tastes great served with grilled chicken, burgers, kabobs and more.

Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad

Just about any time, there is a summer BBQ, this Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad makes an appearance. It’s one of those simple side dishes that goes with absolutely anything and everyone loves it. The dressing is made with pesto, mayo, buttermilk, and ranch dressing seasoning, so it’s super creamy and flavorful.

This delicious recipe is very versatile, so you can mix it up depending on what you’ve got in the fridge and what sounds good to you. You can even toss on a little grilled chicken or steak; voila, you’ve turned this cold pesto pasta salad into a full meal.

Feel free to use store-bought pesto, or go ahead and try our easy basil and pine nut Homemade Pesto recipe.

If you love pasta salad, be sure to try our Classic Pasta Salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, and our BLT Pasta Salad. They are just as easy and quick to put together as this one.

Ingredients in Pesto Ranch Pasta Salad Recipe

• Pasta - you can use any dried pasta you’d like. I find bowtie pasta, or farfalle, to be really cute in this recipe. I have also used penne, fusilli, rotini, mostaccioli and macaroni.
• Mayonnaise - full fat, regular mayo is best, but you could definitely substitute a low fat mayo if you are looking to cut some calories.
• Buttermilk - this adds a great tangy flavor and extra creaminess. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can easily make your own simply by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Mix, then let it sit for about 10 minutes and voila!
• Ranch Dressing Seasoning - you can find the dried seasoning mix in the salad dressing aisle at the grocery store.
• Pesto - use your favorite brand of store bought pesto, or make your own Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto.
• Mozzarella Cheese - most often, I cut mozzarella cheese sticks into small bite-sized pieces. You could also cut pieces from a brick of cheese, use small fresh mozzarella balls or even use shredded cheese.
• Cherry Tomatoes - you can use any color or type of cherry tomatoes. I usually cut them in half so that they are easier to eat.
• Spinach - baby spinach from the bag works great, or you could use large leaf spinach.
• Salt and Pepper - finish seasoning the salad with salt and pepper to taste.

How to Make This Cold Pesto Pasta Salad

1. Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to package directions, then run cold water over the cooked pasta to cool.
2. Add the veggies and cheese. Place pasta in a large mixing bowl, then add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and spinach.
3. Make the creamy pesto dressing. In a blender, combine the mayonnaise, buttermilk, and ranch dressing mix. Pulse until the ingredients are mixed and creamy, then add the pesto and mix again.
4. Mix. Pour the creamy ranch pesto dressing over the pasta and vegetables and mix until everything is evenly coated. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
5. Refrigerate. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Recipe Variations

• Veggies. Add red peppers, olives, cucumbers, celery, sliced zucchini, or pickled pepperoncini.
• Meat. If you want to turn this into a complete meal, try adding grilled chicken for pesto chicken pasta salad. Grilled steak or cubed salami would taste great, too. You can also add some homemade bacon bits for a bacon ranch pasta salad recipe.
• Cheese. You can feel free to switch up the cheese and add something like pepper jack for a little extra zing in this pesto macaroni salad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing

• Refrigerator: store leftover pasta salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Make-Ahead: you can make this salad up to 24 hours in advance, but we suggest leaving the spinach out and adding that last minute. You could also cook the pasta up to 2 days in advance, mix with a dash of olive oil and store it in the fridge.

More of Our Favorite Salad Recipes

• Fall Harvest Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
• Berry Salad
• Winter Fruit Salad
• Chicken Salad
• Grilled Chicken BLT Salad
• Cucumber Avocado Salad
• Warm Potato Salad
• More Salad Recipes
• More Side Dish Recipes

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you. It helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest, feel free to leave a comment and photo there too. Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!

Our Creamy Pesto Salad recipe is made with your favorite pasta noodles, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and spinach all mixed in a creamy pesto ranch dressing. It's the perfect ranch macaroni salad with pesto for summer BBQs or any family gatherings.

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