Back to school season is just around the corner, which means you might find yourself packing more lunches. Over the next two weeks, I am going to share three easy lunch recipes that your whole family will love. These meals are easy to prepare in big batches and are foods that travel well.
Today I am sharing a recipe for Roasted Vegetable Pesto Pasta Salad, which can be prepared in large quantities and holds up well for several days. Preparing big batches and packing up several lunches at a time is a great way to save time throughout the week.
I especially love this Roasted Vegetable Pesto Pasta Salad because it is loaded with fresh seasonal vegetables, and it can be eaten hot or cold. The total preparation time is just about 20 minutes and only basic cooking skills are required. Anyone can prepare this lunch with ease.
If you would like some more fun lunch recipes, here are a few of my favorites!
Turkey and cheese pinwheels can be made in just 5 minutes and the combination of shredded carrots, fresh baby spinach, and thinly sliced cucumbers give the pinwheels a crunch of freshness. I completed the meal with some hummus, veggies, and chocolate covered pretzels.
If you want a sophisticated lunch with fall flavors, I love this Farro and Butternut Squash Salad with goat cheese, walnuts, and arugula. The farro is hearty enough to keep me full, and you can add as much arugula as you like!
This Curry Chicken Salad is inspired by a restaurant I used to work at when I was in college and it combines Greek yogurt, a touch of mayonnaise, grapes, celery, and walnuts and is seasoned with a blend of paprika and curry powder. If you want to save some time you can use rotisserie chicken, and you can opt to serve the salad over lettuce, in a wrap, or as a sandwich!
Roasted Vegetable Pesto Pasta Salad
Yields 6 servings
20 minPrep Time
20 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 lb Rotini
- 1 cup of store bought Pesto
- 2 Zucchinis
- 1 Yellow Squash
- 1 cup pearl-sized Mozzarella (or diced Mozzarella)
- 1 cup Tomatoes (I used both red and yellow)
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/8 teaspoon Pepper
- Variations:
- You could also substitute Italian Dressing for the Pesto.
- Want to boost the amount of protein? Add diced chicken.
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions, until al dente. Then drain and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, slice the zucchini and squash into half circles 1/8 inch thick. Then heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the sliced zucchini, squash, salt, and pepper and toss together. Cook until the zucchini and squash are lightly browned, this will take about 6-8 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Make sure that the pasta has cooled enough so that it won't melt the cheese.
- Divide into containers for lunch and refrigerate. Serve chilled.
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