This creamy Pesto Potato Salad with an addition of arugula, parmesan, and pine nuts makes for a great summer side dish. And while summer is gradually wrapping up, be sure to make it soon!
Hello folks! How are you doing? I hope this week has been treating you well, and you are ready for the weekend. And if you live in the United States or Canada, well, many folks are lucky to have an extended weekend because of Labour Day. Yay!
While this summer is not officially over for another three weeks, until astronomical season starts, in North America it is customarily viewed as the end of the summer vacation season. And realistically, meteoritical fall (which starts just in two days!) also feels like the beginning of fall. I have heard that many folks are also wrapping up the grilling season around Labour Day (not us, we are using our grill almost all year around, of course, not as heavily in winter.)
So, today I am offering another great recipe for the grilling season!
Pesto Potato Salad
This Pesto Potato Salad makes a great side dish to your grilled recipes, but honestly we enjoyed it as a main course. Yeah, I know it is not well-balanced as a main dish, yet we cannot help ourselves when it comes to potatoes. Besides, there is an addition of arugula, so we can probably call it a healthier version LOL
Anyway, to make this recipe, you will need only a bunch of ingredients. They are potatoes, pesto (either homemade or good-quality store-bough would do), pine nuts, parmesan shavings, arugula, and some extra basil. No mayo or any other dressing is required. But I think that if you would like to make it lighter, you can replace some pesto with Greek yogurt.
Easy. Plus it comes together in 30 minutes or so.
And be sure check this Pesto Pasta Salad, too.
More Potato Sides to Enjoy
Looking for more potato sides? I have some on the Havoc in the Kitchen.
I hope you like this Pesto Potato Salad, so you will try it this or next season. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Pesto Potato Salad
This creamy Pesto Potato Salad with an addition of arugula, parmesan, and pine nuts makes for a great summer side dish.
6-8
servings10
minutes20
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 lb. (900 gr.) waxy baby potatoes – skins off or on
1/2 cup (about 125 gr.) pesto or more if desired, homemade or good quality store-bought
few handfuls of arugula
few basil leaves, chiffonade
2-3 tbsp. (20-30 gr.) of pine nuts, toasted
few parmesan shavings, optional
few cracks of pepper, optional
Directions
- If necessary, cut the potatoes in half (or few parts) so they are all roughly the same size.
- Bring a medium-large pot with lightly salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender; check their doneness by piercing them with a sharp knife.
- Drain the potatoes then return the pot, cook them for a minute or two over a low heat to remove any excess water. Off heat and leave to cool slightly.
- While the potatoes are still warm, add the pesto and gently toss to coat. Season with the black pepper. While the pesto is quite salty itself, you still may want to season it a bit. You may also want to add a bit of extra pesto if the salad looks “drier” to your liking.
- You can serve the salad right away still warm, at room temperature, or after chilling in the fridge. Just before serving, stir in the arugula and basil and sprinkle with the parmesan and pine nuts directly individual plates.
- Leftovers (without added arugula) would be safe when refrigerated in a container for up to 3-4 days, otherwise I would suggest to enjoy it within 2 days as wilting arugula may not be as pleasant when sitting too long. Enjoy!
Sorry I’ve been MIA again — this time in Botswana. I love this salad recipe — perfect for a picnic!
No worries and thank you David!
This is the perfect side dish to cap off the summer grilling season. This will definitely be a hit at any BBQ or just as a tasty main course, now I am taking over summer now here down under 🤣definitely giveing this a shot!
Thank you Raymund!
Hi Ben, I make a version of pesto potato salad very often, it’s certainly a terrific side dish!! We love pesto in my house too :)
Thank you Marcelle!
I’m not usually much of a potato salad girl, but with the addition of pesto {one of my favorites!}, pine nuts and arugula, I have a feeling I would like this one. I’m saving it to my Sunday dinner ideas!
Thank you Tasia!
A great way to use that basil from summer! Some added smoked salmon would be sublime!
Thank you Michelle!
Pesto is a favourite but I never thought to put it into potato salad, it would certainly be a lovely pairing with the pesto’s creaminess. I cannot believe how quickly summer came and went! It was an unpresidented rainy summer in the Big Smoke, so many huge thunderstorms, the city was deluged. Even our relatively dry basement had a little water come in. Fortunately, we found the area easily and were able to fix it for future storms.
Thank you Eva!
who can resist potatoes in any form? :=) I like to make a Dutch salad (which is probably meant to be German as in Deutsch) but this sounds good too:)
cheers
sherry
Thank you Sherry!
This is the ideal meal for me as well!
Thank you Tandy!
Fabulous! Great ingredients and flavors.
Thank you Mimi!