Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe With Feta, Sundried Tomatoes & Arugula Salads Side Dishes Pasta

At a bridal shower, I had a pesto pasta salad that was so good. I found out it was from a small farm-to-market restaurant and catering business that was nowhere near my house. What to do? Find out the ingredients they used and make my own recipe. Drumroll, please...

This easy pesto pasta salad recipe has sundried tomatoes, Parmesan, feta, basil pesto and baby arugula. It's light, refreshing and the perfect side dish for summer with chicken, beef, pork, burgers and hot dogs (no mayo!).

If you can't find baby arugula, chop regular arugula leaves. I also threw in some fresh basil, which the restaurant didn't. But right now my herb garden is overloaded! It added even more freshness to the pasta salad. I chose to use refrigerated, store-bought pesto just because of time restraints. Next time I will make it with my homemade pesto recipe.

Cuisine: American / Italian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 to 10 minutes to cook pasta
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 12 - 16 ounces small shell pasta (or pasta of your choice), cooked al dente according to package directions and rinsed under cold water
• 1/3 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (from a 7-ounce jar of sundried tomatoes in oil)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup store-bought or homemade pesto (or to taste)
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 - 2 cups baby arugula (tough stems cut off, if needed)
• fresh basil leaves (optional)

Here's how to make it:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Toss to combine. 
2. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Need help converting cooking and baking measurements? Here are some handy kitchen conversion charts.

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