When it comes to summer side dishes, some have affection for pasta salad, salsas and corn on the cob, but my heart lies with potato salad. Ahh, potato salad. If you were a river, I’d swim in you. If you were a love song, I’d sing you. If – is this getting weird? Yea, sorry about that.
Point being: I love potato salad.
I’ve eaten plenty of varieties but only ever made it one way, so I decided it was time to mix it up with a vibrant new flavor. Enter: basil pesto. Gotta love that colorful, fragrant green mix of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan… beautiful and basil-icious!
I’ve tossed pesto with pasta, slathered it on garlic bread, and even stuffed it into cream puffs, but never thought to use it to spruce up a potato salad. As opposed to the usual, Southern style mustard-celery-egg mixture that is my go-to during the warmer months, this combination of grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, potatoes and fresh pesto made for an absolutely delicious, long overdue change in routine.
The recipe couldn’t be easier, either – Just boil your potatoes for about 8 minutes and rinse them under cold water to stop further cooking. Place them in a serving bowl and toss with the pesto, then throw in your grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Add a dash of salt and pepper, serve, and it will just be a matter of time ‘til the whole bowl is empty!
This is a fun, very flavorful side dish to bring to a summer party, or just to serve alongside your favorite Mediterranean meal and grilled meats. I’ll be giving you a delicious dinner idea for this pesto potato salad later in the week, so keep an eye out!
Basil Pesto Potato Salad with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. potatoes, scrubbed and cut in bite-sized pieces
- 1/3 cup basil pesto, or your favorite pesto
- 6 oz. grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
- 3 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into chunks
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Boil the potato chunks in a large pot of water until they are tender when pierced with a fork, but not falling apart, 8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop further cooking.
- Place the potatoes in a serving bowl and gently toss with pesto until well combined. Gently toss with tomatoes and mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
I love this idea! The pesto itself sounds lovely, and I know it would be awesome on potatoes. Yum!
Oh my, you’ve taken two of my favourite things and fused them together into awesomeness. Pesto and Potato salad. I consider myself the world’s biggest fan of both (lol) so consider this dish officially approved! :D Beautiful pictures!
What a fantastic idea for a potato salad!
Have a happy week.
:-) Mandy
I love potato salad, too. I like this twist with pesto. It looks delicious.
Georgia, this sounds fabulous. Wish I had some nice ripe tomatoes on the counter to do this for dinner.
What a pretty and refreshing variation of potato salad – and caprese salad!
This looks so fantastic…and different from what I grew up eating with all the mayo and mustard! Hope the summer hasn’t been too brutal for you…it’s not normally THIS hot for THIS long!!
Wow … this looks amazing and light! Love this take on the potato salad and can’t wait to try it and share it with my friends!
I’m not usually a big potato salad fan, but combined with pesto, even I’d lick my plate clean! Yum.
That looks delicious! I love any take on potato salad that disregards the mayonnaise component. Replacing it with pesto is perfect!
Ooh, with spring coming up this sounds like the perfect side to any bbq dish! Love the colors in your photos, Georgia.
Looks absolutely gorgeous! I have had pesto in my potato salad and it is.. da BOMB!! :)
summery mayo-free potato salads are my favorite! love this twist with the pesto.
Yum! This looks like a great mayo-free potato salad.
Love this! I’ve been craving pesto lately – this looks delicious.
Oh wow, my dear this looks so delicious..what a great shoots you took here..totally mouthwatering! Yummy salad!!
Looks delicious. I’m a huge pesto fan and pretty much like it on anything, so I know I’d love this. But really, how could you not? Pesto, potatoes, mozzarella…must I go on? :)
Looks amazing! I am a big sucker for basil. Your pics are awesome.
wow this is so pretty and looks fantastic!
Pesto and potatoes, a marriage made in heaven! And those chunks of mozzarella too…delicious.
This is such a great idea- it reminds me of the genovese pesto pasta; with pesto, green beans and potato nudging up next to the noodles. Such lovely flavour combinations.
I made this recipe for the fourth of July and lovedddd it! Much better than its mayo counterpart!
I love pesto! This sounds amazing!
Beeeeeeeeeeeooooootiful recipe. I’m changing my dinner plans right now!
Donna
apronstringsblog.com
This looks delicious!! Your pictures are all awesome as well!
+followed!
I’ve never been a fan of potato salad, but my husband definitely is. I LOVE pesto, so maybe if I try this recipe I will like it! The pictures are gorgeous! So glad I stumbled across this blog!
~Joanna
This looks so delicious Georgia! I would’ve never thought to use pesto in a potato salad.
I have potatoes that are dying to be used up… soon… but I’ve been uninspired with potatoes lately. You gave me potato inspiration! :)
Wonderful idea for a potato salad and I still have fresh basil to use!
This sounds like such a delicious mix of potato salad and caprese salad! This would be perfect for the upcoming long weekend!
god im so hungry now, looks delish!
What a beautiful idea for a potato salad! I really have to try this…just delicious :)
What yummy pesto! And I bet it tastes delicious on potato salad!
Gorgeous potato salad- so fresh! I love the idea of the pesto and mozzarella- cant’ wait to try it :)
Wow Georgia, this looks soo good! Time for me to make some pesto before its too late! Mine doesn’t look too great this year, but its plentiful at local vegetable stands.
This looks so delicious!
I made this today and it was amazing! I doubled the recipe and added a little more than doubled the pesto. I can’t wait to make it again!