Did you plant basil this summer feeling like an expert gardener?!? Today, I am sharing an amazing summer basil pasta salad that I whipped up to use basil that I dared to plant. The basil is officially out of control now, and I harvest 4 cups of basil literally every 3 days… no joke! And I am stumped on how to use all this basil.
What can I make with all this basil?!?

I polled my Instagram audience, and the most popular recommendations to use basil were:
- Basil pesto – here is a super easy recipe I have tried!
- Pizza/pasta with basil – great recipe for a classic margherita pizza with basil
- Basil rice – a great vegan thai fried basil recipe here!
- Thai food with basil – this lemon basil chicken looks killer!
- Basil infused water/basil detox water – find a full recipe here
I love all these amazing basil ideas, and put on my thinking cap on what to do with all this basil!
Here is an easy solution: raid your pantry and find things you love which for me is pasta, olives and tomatoes. These ingredients come together to make an amazing summer basil pasta salad which everyone will be reaching for!
I love a good summer salad, so I decided to create a summer salad with tons of basil and other summer flavours like tomatoes ???? – but here, I used sun-dried tomatoes, because I find they pair better in taste with basil and don’t make you salad runny.
Another thing I love about this salad is that it can be solely made from pantry staples likes canned olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pasta so I can easily throw this salad together on a weeknight where I have nothing left in the fridge and only basil staring at me in the garden. You can also omit the cheese or substitute the feta cheese for fresh mozzarella for a delicious twist as well.
So there you have it! I even made a little video for you to see the full process. I think this pasta salad would pair really well with a more decadent dessert, like these dulce de leche dessert jars which are perfect to take along for a picnic too.
Summer Basil Pasta Salad by mintcandydesigns on Jumprope.


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