Easy & delicious pesto pasta salad with roasted asparagus & mushrooms tossed with pesto sauce and diced tomatoes. The perfect side dish to any dinner!
Last weekend, my husband took two of my four boys to a father and sons overnight outing for my church. I had tried and tried to persuade him to take all four boys but my smart husband wasn’t fooled. Sigh. Next year my two little guys will be old enough for sure!
The campground they stayed at was right next to the beach so they were able to swim and got up early to check out the tide pools. Apparently the only issue was that they were camped right next to a harbor so the boats were honking their horns all night long and nobody slept well!
Me?? Well, I slept great that night! 🙂
Having a night to myself was really nice. I put my younger two in bed and I turned on a chick flick and vegged out. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a whole night to watch what I want, go to bed when I want and eat what I want – uninterrupted.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and my husband but it is nice to have some ME time!
So, I had made this salad beforehand and had it sitting in the fridge. While I was watching my movie, I grabbed this salad out of the fridge, kicked my feet up and pigged out on it. It’s the perfect comfort food treat but it’s pretty healthy too!
There’s something so amazing about roasted vegetables. Roasted asparagus is my favorite and I also love mushrooms so putting those together with rotini pasta (I used Dreamfield’s brand carb healthy so there were less carbs) was such a delicious combo.
And don’t even get me started on pesto. I seriously could eat pesto out of the jar with a spoon, I love it so much. My favorite is my homemade version – amazing you guys.
This pesto pasta salad is the perfect side dish for any meal. Or if you happen to get a night to yourself, it’s perfect to devour while sitting on the couch watching a chick flick. 😉
Roasted Asparagus & Mushroom Pesto Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 3 cups rotini pasta I used Dreamfield's brand
- 1/2 cup pesto store bought or homemade
- 1 large tomato diced
- parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425º F.
- Cut off ends of asparagus and then cut stalks into one inch pieces. Place on a cookie sheet. Add mushrooms to cookie sheet then drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat veggies and place in oven. Cook for 12-15 mins, or until tender yet slightly crisp.
- Meanwhile, get a large pot of boiling water going and cook rotini to package directions. When finished cooking, drain.
- In a large bowl, combine pasta, roasted asparagus, mushrooms, pesto and diced tomato. Stir to cover everything in pesto. If needed, add a little more pesto to your liking.
- Serve with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Looking for more tasty side dishes? Check these out:
Easy Greek Salad with Homemade Dressing
This sounds like the perfect side for my family!! Can’t wait to make it and enjoy it in the warm spring weather.
I recently discovered how good cold pasta salad is! I used to not like it, to me , pasta could only be hot and covered in cheese 🙂 But now my summer wouldn’t be complete without pasta salad! And I’m a huge pesto fan, so this is right up my alley. Sounds amazing Jen!
Oh, yum, I love the mix of fresh veggies – asparagus and mushrooms are my favorite. It looks so light, but filling – definitely a good meal to bring to lunch!
Yes! Perfect for lunch and so much healthier than a regular pasta salad! Thanks for stopping by, Amanda! I hope you have a great week!
pasta salad is one of my favorite summer meals/sides. this version looks amazing
I love roasted vegetables….we ALL do….and I always find it fascinating what I decide to eat when it’s all up to me. This would be right up my alley!
Yummers! Nothing beats a cool (and beautiful!) pasta salad on a hot summer day! I can’t wait to try this one, Jen!
Thanks Kristi! You’re so sweet! Thanks for stopping by! xo!
that pasta salad just looks so good! I want to dig right in!
Thanks Angie!! My husband couldn’t stay out of it, lol!