Protein pasta salad with pesto

The perfect pasta salad with pesto for the summer barbecue season.

SimplyLevel

20–25 min.working hours

20 Min

Last updated on 24.03.2026

from Paulina

Ingredients

persons

120gFarfalle (30g per serving)
80 gArugula
200gfresh tomatoes
150gMozzarella balls
1medium-sized bell peppers
1red onion
30 gOlives
1/2cucumber
A little olive oil for frying
A handful of fresh basil (topping)
1 tbsppine nuts (topping)

For the pesto

50 g Avocado
1 small clove of garlic (optional)
22 g hemp seeds or pine nuts
A little pepper and salt
10 g basil
1 tbsp lemon juice
30 g Parmesan
20 ml water (depending on consistency)
A little chili flakes and pepper (to taste)

Quick to make and incredibly delicious. Thanks to healthy fats from the avocado and a high vegetable content, you get a colorful spectrum of nutrients and fiber . With this variety of flavors, you won't even notice that the pasta content is slightly lower than usual.

Nutritional values per serving

The nutritional values refer to 2 servings as a main course (or alternatively 4 servings as a side salad):

375

calories

16.2 g

protein

30.6 g

carbohydrates

20.8 g

Fat

preparation

120g farfalle | 1 medium bell pepper | 1 red onion | 200g fresh tomatoes | 1/2 cucumber | 30g olives | 80g arugula | 150g mozzarella balls
Cook the farfalle al dente , rinse with cold water, drain, and place in a large bowl. Sauté the bell pepper and onion and let cool. Prepare the tomatoes, cucumber, olives , and arugula , and add everything to the pasta. Add the mozzarella balls .
50g avocado | 1 small garlic clove (optional) | 22g hemp seeds or pine nuts | 10g basil | 1 tbsp lemon juice | 30g Parmesan cheese | Approx. 20ml water | Pepper and salt
For the pesto: Blend avocado, garlic, hemp seeds/pine nuts, basil, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and water into a smooth paste and season with salt and pepper.
1 tbsp pine nuts | 1 handful fresh basil
Mix the pesto into the pasta salad.

Toast the pine nuts without oil. Arrange the pasta salad, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and fresh basil, and enjoy!