Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad

This Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad is simple, easy to customize, and so delicious! Use whatever soft veggies you have on hand to create this versatile side dish. Great for warm weather meal prep – make-ahead and serve chilled!

What are the ingredients in this Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad?

You can probably guess most of the ingredients here because they’re in the title, but let’s break it down a little further. The roasted veggies in this recipe are quite versatile. You can use everything I used, or completely change it up if you want!

Here’s so info on swaps and substitutions for ingredients in this recipe:

Roasted veggies – This is where you can get the most creative with this recipe. You’ll need a total of 5 cups of raw vegetables for the recipe. I try to use what I have on hand.

• For maximum variation, here are the veggies I used: 1 small zucchini, 1 small yellow squash, 6 baby bella mushrooms, 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, and 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes.

Garlic – I like to roast a whole head of garlic with the veggies, mash it up and mix it into the final pasta salad. Be sure to find a smaller head of garlic for this recipe so it will cook faster.

Pesto – Basic basil pine nut parm pesto is what I’m calling for here, but feel free to get creative if you’re confident in your pesto game. My favorite is the Kirkland brand from Costco (and it’s the best price for pesto).

Pasta – I like to use corkscrew or penne shaped pasta for pesto pasta, but really any normal pasta you might have in the cabinet will work.

What else? – You’ll also need some avocado oil, salt and pepper for roasting the vegetables. 

Equipment you’ll need to make this recipe:

The most important tool you’ll need for making this recipe is a rimmed half sheet pan (affiliate link!) for roasting vegetables. These pans for so multi-purpose, good for roasting anything, making cooking, etc. I usually line it with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

How to make this Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad:

There are just a few simple steps to having this pesto pasta salad ready for the fridge. If you’ve never roasted a sheet pan of veggies before, you might be surprised at how easy it is. The trick is to use veggies that have the same roasting time and cut them all about the same size.

Get the veggies going first, as they will take the longest to cook. Preheat the oven to 425F. Try to cut the veggies all roughly the same size, about the size of a quartered mushroom. This will help them cook evenly.

Line a rimmed half sheet pan (affiliate link!) with parchment paper and dump all the cut veggies on the pan. Add the avocado oil, salt and pepper, then toss the veggies with your hands until they’re coated with oil. 

To prep the head of garlic, peel most of the outer papers off, then cut the top 1/2 inch or so off to expose the tops of the individual cloves. Place the head of garlic on a square of aluminum foil and add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil on top. Pull the sides of the foil up tightly and seal the package. Place it in the center of the sheet pan with the veggies.

Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. When they’re done, the mushrooms should be browned and the edges of other veggies should be starting to brown.

Remove the garlic from the foil and paper and mash with a fork. If it’s not yet soft, wrap it back up put only the garlic back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Set the veggies aside to cool while you finish up the pasta.

Once you get your veggies in the oven, get some water boiling for the pasta. Follow the package directions for your chosen pasta and cook to al dente. Be sure to salt the water well before adding the pasta.

When the pasta is done, rinse with cold water and set aside to cool. Hopefully your pasta and veggies are done around the same time! Both should be cooled a bit before mixing them up with pesto.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cooled cooked pasta, the roasted veggies, the pesto, and the mashed roasted garlic. Gently mix everything together and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve – at least an hour is good!

Which veggies work for this recipe?

For this recipe, softer veggies work better than harder, root style veggies. For example, mushrooms and tomatoes are soft veggies while potatoes and carrots are hard veggies. In my opinion, it’s easier to list the veggies that don’t go with pesto instead of the ones that do.

Veggies that don’t go with pesto: Broccoli 😬🥦

That’s really the only negative veggie pesto experience I’ve had! I did not like how the broccoli smell overpowered everything else going on in the dish. Share in the comments if you tried pesto on a veggies that did NOT work!

I really like this chart from Heal with Food for finding veggies that have similar roasting times, if you’re looking to experiment.

Best tips for making this Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad:

Here are my best tips for making this pasta salad in your own kitchen:

• When cooking your pasta, be sure to salt the water very well before adding the noodles. Another pasta tip – check one noodle for doneness before dumping the water.
• After washing all your produce, do you best to dry it all off very well. This helps the oil, salt and pepper stick to the veggies much better.
• Try to cut all veggies the same size. I already mentioned this, but it’s important! This helps them cook about the same speed.

How to customize this Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad:

Here are a couple of ways to customize this Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta and make it your own:

• choose your own mix of veggies
• make homemade pesto or try a different kind
• add protein like grilled chicken breast

Ways to meal prep this recipe:

To prep ahead, simply make the recipe as directed and store in an airtight container with lid in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You could also prepare some chicken and add feta cheese, then portion into containers for lunch or dinner later.

Is this recipe freezer-friendly?

I do not recommend freezing this recipe – roasted veggies will be quite mushy after freezing and thawing and the pasta would be very dry.

How to store Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad:

This Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta will last 3-4 days in the fridge. The veggies will start to lose some shape by day 3 but it is still good to eat.