Green Goddess Pesto Pasta Salad

A pasta salad featuring a green goddess pesto made with basil or parsley, avocado, cashews, lemon, garlic, nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Perfect for a dish to pass or potluck gathering!

Yesterday, one of my best friends hosted a gathering at her place. Beyond the delicious food and drink (plantain tortillas, quinoa taco meat, hummus, veg, salted chocolate fondue, peanut butter balls, vegan fudge, and popcorn, the conversation flowed so easily. It’s a rare gift to find a group of people you truly mesh with, and I value time spent with these ladies so much. Sharing food, drink, and conversation into the wee hours of the morning is one of life’s greatest joys, and one of my favourite ways to spend a weekend.

My Green Goddess Pesto Pasta Salad would be the perfect thing to bring to such a gathering. While it had been my intention to share this recipe in early August, it somehow got pushed farther and farther down on the blogging priority list. Even though basil season has, for the most part, come to a close, the good thing about my green goddess pesto recipe is that it can easily be made with an equal amount of fresh parsley.

The pesto itself is creamy without needing an excessive amount of oil. Rather, it gets its richness from avocado and cashews. Added to the fresh herbs, avocado, and cashews are garlic, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast for that signature cheesy flavour that we all expect from pesto.

After making the pesto, cook your desired amount of pasta. I opted to use a chickpea pasta by Chickapea to bump up the protein content of the dish, but you may use any pasta that you like. Other favourites of mine include kamut, spelt, and buckwheat pasta!

Add a generous amount of the pesto to the cooked pasta. Toss in some seasonal vegetables–raw or roasted! I used cherry tomatoes from the farmer’s market, but now that I think of it, some roasted butternut or delicata squash would be delightful if you are making this in the fall or winter months. I also chose to add some olives because I love them, but omit them if you are not a fan.

In short, this recipe is incredibly flexible. What matters is that you make the pesto. Depending on the number of people you are feeding, you might not need all of it, as it makes a big batch. Leftovers keep for several days in the fridge, so get creative and add some to grain and bean bowls, sandwiches (I’m thinking a pesto, tomato, and cheese sandwich on a hearty sourdough would be grand), scrambled eggs, and more.

If you make the pasta salad, I would recommend serving it with some crusty sourdough bread with butter or olive oil and a chilled glass of wine or beer.

Enjoy! If you make this recipe, let us know how you liked it in the comments. And if you post a photo to Instagram, tag it #upbeetkitchen and @upbeet.kitchen.

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