Festive Pesto Pasta Salad

In a little over 3 weeks, we will be celebrating Christmas! My partner and I normally spend Christmas with his family in Melbourne. He has a large and jolly family which I’m very grateful for, but there aren’t often many vegan options at gatherings. This year, I’m going to bring this joyful and colourful pasta salad! It’s gluten-free, easy to make and will give you enough energy for socialising with those relatives… and in my case, running around and babysitting an energetic group of kids! It’s perfect because by the holidays, the last thing I want to do is create a feast in the kitchen so this pasta salad ticks all of the boxes.

I chose seasonal ingredients for this salad because nothing screams Christmas more than Summery greens and fruits (in Australia at least)! If you’re intimidated by pomegranate, don’t be! There are heaps of YouTube videos on how to easily remove the arils like this one or this one. I actually cut off segments of the pomegranate with a knife and remove the seeds with my fingers… it’s not the quickest method but I find it very meditative! Alternatively, you can use chopped up strawberries in your salad.

If you try this recipe, I would love to hear about it! Comment below and rate it as it would really help us and other readers! If you post it on social media, tag @rainbownourishments and #rainbownourishments.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Festive Pesto Pasta Salad

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Servings: 6 small serves

Ingredients

• 1 red capsicum
• ~3 cups (250g) uncooked pasta of choice (I used San Remo Pulse Pasta Penne)
• 1/2 cup (70g) pine nuts
• ~1 cup (20g) packed basil leaves
• 1/4 cup (65mL) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (12g) nutritional yeast, optional
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp any good-quality salt
• ~1 1/2 cups (250g) cherry tomatoes
• 1 pomegranate, arils only
• 1 cup (30g) packed baby spinach or salad leaves of choice
• 1 avocado

Instructions

• Heat oven to 200°C (390°F).
• To assemble, add all of the ingredients except the avocado to a large mixing bowl. Gently toss until combined. Scoop onto a serving platter and garnish with slices of avocado. Eat immediately.

Notes

The salad can be prepared on the morning of when you need it. Prepare all of the ingredients but keep the pesto in a jar and don't slice the avocado. Just before serving, toss the salad with the pesto sauce and garnish with the sliced avocado.