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Pesto Potato Salad: Summer’s New Favorite Side

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red potatoes with pesto in a bowl

Rethink serving ordinary potato salad as a side dish at your next BBQ and grilling cookout thanks to this delicious recipe for pesto potatoes.

Pesto is a savory pasty green sauce that is the specialty of the region around Genoa, Italy, where it probably originated. The word pesto means “pounded” or “crushed” in Italian, called that because the ingredients were pounded or crushed with a mortar and pestle before the food processor was invented. The classic recipe includes basil leaves, olive oil, plenty of garlic, pine nuts or walnuts, and parmesan cheese. It is usually served over pasta, but it also tastes great on that other great starch, potatoes. You can make your own pesto or you can buy lovely pesto in jars.

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Pesto Potatoes Recipe


red potatoes with pesto in a bowl
Tried this recipe?Tell others what you thought of it and give it a star rating below.
3.16 from 44 votes
Pesto is a savory pasty green sauce that traditionally includes basil leaves, olive oil, plenty of garlic, pine nuts or walnuts, and parmesan cheese. In this recipe, it makes the perfect dressing for boiled potatoes.

Course:
Dinner
,
Lunch
,
Salad
,
Side Dish
,
Vegetable
Cuisine:
American
,
Italian
difficulty scale

Makes:

About 3/4 pound (340.2 g)
Servings: 1

Takes:

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Notes:
About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works. 
Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

  • Prep. Peel the potatoes (or not), and cut them into bite-size chunks.
  • Cook. Boil until soft, but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain.
  • Prep again. Toss the pesto in with the potatoes.
  • Serve. Add a splash or two of a really good fresh olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve. What could be simpler? Or more tasty?

Nutrition per Serving

Calories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 1548mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg

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Published On: 7/12/2012 Last Modified: 2/15/2024

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