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A round, white bowl holds a pasta salad that's made with a tahini base. The pasta salad is full of cherry tomatoes and peas.
4.38 from 16 votes

Tahini Pesto Pasta Salad

Author - Gena Hamshaw
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the tahini pesto:

  • 6 tablespoons tahini
  • 1-2 cloves garlic (to taste)
  • 1 1/2 cups basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup parsley leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • A few turns freshly ground black pepper
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 cup water

For the pasta salad:

  • 12 ounces pasta of choice
  • 1 heaping cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved or quartered
  • 2 cups zucchini or another chopped green vegetable of choice, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
  • 1 cup green peas fresh or frozen and thawed

Instructions

  • To prepare the pesto, add the tahini, garlic, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast to a food processor. Pulse 10-15 times, enough to break down the herbs and roughly combine everything. Turn the motor on and drizzle in the water. You're aiming for the texture of a thick sauce—so a little thicker than a tahini dressing. Keep processing until the sauce is pretty smooth (it's fine if some of the herbs are visible). Taste and adjust lemon, salt and pepper to taste.
  • To prepare the pasta salad, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions; about 3 minutes before the end of cooking, add the zucchini and peas to the pot.
  • Drain the pasta and veggies, then transfer them to a large mixing bowl and add the cherry tomatoes. Add the pesto and mix everything well to combine. Serve.

Notes

Tahini pesto will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The pasta salad will keep in an airtight container for 2 days.