Quick pasta salad with pesto and mozzarella

Quick pasta salad with pesto and mozzarella: a fuss-free recipe with rocket, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and fresh basil.

At a glance

• Serves 3
• Prep time: 5 min
• Cooking time: 10 min
• Total time: 15 min
• Calories: 650 kcal per serving
• Protein: 24 g
• Fat: 34 g
• Carbs: 60 g

Ingredients

• 200 g cherry tomatoes
• 50 g rocket
• 300 g short pasta (fusilli or penne)
• 150 g mozzarella
• 30 g pine nuts (toasted)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, black pepper
• Fresh basil
• 4 tbsp green pesto (basil, vegetarian, made with olive oil, no seed oils)

Method

You’ll need: frying pan · saucepan · chopping board · knife · sieve

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente, drain and leave to steam dry briefly.
2. Toss the still-warm pasta with the pesto and olive oil so it soaks up the flavours.
3. Halve the cherry tomatoes and cut the mozzarella into pieces. Fold both carefully into the pasta.
4. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown and leave to cool briefly.
5. Roughly tear the rocket and add to the pasta salad with the pine nuts. Toss everything loosely and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
6. Serve with fresh basil.

Good to know

A pasta salad like this rescues days when things need to be quick but should still taste like a proper meal. Creamy and fresh.

Swaps

Mozzarella → cottage cheese (more protein, often less fat). Pine nuts → walnuts (more omega-3 fatty acids; contains tree nuts). Short pasta → chickpea pasta (more protein and fibre). Green pesto → homemade pesto made from basil, vegetarian hard cheese (Parmesan-style) and olive oil (no additives; depending on the product, often less sugar).

Allergens

Contains gluten (pasta), milk (mozzarella, pesto) and pine nuts; depending on the pesto, it may also contain tree nuts. Usually fine for children; in pregnancy, use pasteurised mozzarella and hygienically handled rocket and basil.