Summertime Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Corn and Jalapeño Pesto
Healthy pasta salad featuring bold summer flavors, including tomatoes, corn and black beans tossed in fresh pesto! It's a great vegetarian side dish.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Here we are, smack dab in the middle of June, and I’m looking out at gray skies. Why?! I don’t know about you, but dreary weather slows me down and sunshine motivates me to skip right along. At least I have a bowl full of summertime goodness in the fridge to tide me over for a while.
This salad concept came to me when I found an ear of corn in my vegetable drawer, a remnant of my cowboy caviar recipe. I whipped up a bold pesto made with fresh cilantro and parsley, toasted pepitas and a jalapeño, which adds extra freshness and a bit of kick.
Then I tossed in some sliced tomatoes, raw corn and black beans. Pasta salad for days! You can easily change up the flavors, and I’ve typed up some suggestions below.
If you’re sensitive to spice or find the idea of jalapeño in pesto to be downright strange (I think it’s lovely), you can skip it altogether. For less spice, be sure to remove all the membranes and seeds from the jalapeño. You might also taste the jalapeño beforehand to make sure you haven’t gotten an overpoweringly spicy pepper on your hands.
Feel free to change up the herbs in the pesto, too. I’m crazy for cilantro but basil would be great, too (or just double the parsley for parsley pesto). If you find the pesto to be too strongly flavored for you, try letting it rest for 30 minutes or mixing in some Parmesan to temper the flavor a notch.
I love the salty, creamy feta in this recipe, but for a dairy free/vegan version, replace it with avocado. You might need to add a bit more salt, to taste. Sun-dried tomatoes are a great add-in, if you have some. I like the dehydrated kind from Trader Joe’s, which are somehow still pliable enough to eat right out of the bag.
Summertime Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Corn and Jalapeño Pesto
This healthy pasta salad features bold summer flavors, including tomatoes, corn and black beans tossed in spicy, fresh pesto! It’s a great vegetarian side dish for potlucks and barbecues. See paragraph above for variations and substitution suggestions! Recipe yields about 8 cups salad, which is enough for 4 main or 8 side servings.
Ingredients
Pasta salad
- ½ pound whole grain bow-tie pasta or rotini or penne
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (10 ounces), sliced into thin rounds
- 1 ear fresh corn, shucked (about ½ cup fresh corn kernels)
- ½ to ¾ cup crumbled feta or diced avocado
Jalapeño herb pesto
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh parsley
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro or basil
- 1 to 2 medium jalapeños, roughly chopped (remove seeds and membranes for less heat), optional
- 1 medium lemon, juiced
- 1 medium garlic clove, roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or slivered almonds
- ½ cup olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Before draining, reserve about a cup of cooking water. Drain and return to pot. Set aside.
- Toast the pepitas in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they are making little popping noises and turning lightly golden on the edges. Set aside to cool a bit.
- To make the pesto, combine the herbs, jalapeño, lemon, garlic and salt in a food processor. Pour in the pepitas. Pulse a few times and then run the machine while drizzling in the olive oil until the mixture is well blended, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
- Pour enough pesto into the pasta to lightly coat it once tossed (you might not quite need all of it). Add a small splash of pasta cooking water and toss well. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and add the drained black beans, sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh corn and feta or avocado. Stir until combined. This salad tastes best after it’s had a chance to marinate for about 30 minutes, but you can serve it right away if need be.
Notes
Make it vegan/dairy free: Omit the cheese and use diced avocado instead.
Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free pasta.
Make it nut free: Be sure to use pepitas, which are seeds, rather than almonds or another nut in the pesto.
Storage suggestions: This recipe keeps well for several days in the refrigerator, covered. Leftovers are great served warm or chilled. If you want to change it up/stretch it out, add some fresh, leafy greens and a drizzle of lemony dressing.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I never get tired of summer pasta salads. They are beautiful to look at and, most importantly, totally satisfying! Glad to have another awesomely delish recipe to add to the recipe box!
As usual, your recipe was delicious! I always come to your site first when I’m looking for a recipe, knowing I will love it. Thank you for sharing your recipes Kate ❤
The salad has a little too much starch for me, but the pesto sounds very interesting. I have been investigating making basil pestos with different nuts.
I was wondering, have you ever thought about substituting avocado for some of the oil in the pesto?
I love playing around with pestos! You might find some ideas here. I’ve tried adding avocado and it turns out pretty well. I just have this weird issue with warm avocados (they taste overripe to me), so I didn’t like it so much on pasta.
Thank you for sharing! This looks absolutely gorgeous. Cannot wait to make it! xx
This pesto is similar (or at least reminds me of) a chimichurri (recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/05/ted-allens-grilled-steak-with-roasted-jalepeno.html) I make to top veggie tacos!
Maybe roasting the jalapeno for this recipe will temper the spice for those who don’t like things too spicy. Thanks for the tex-mex pasta salad idea!
You’re right, they are very similar! Love me some chimichurri. Great idea to roast the jalapeño!
wow this pesto sounds incredible. I bet it would be a great marinade as well. Pasta salad is always a favorite of mine in the summer this will be a fun change!
I bet you’re right! Hope you love this salad, Sam.
I think you’ve figured out the only way to make pesto better…add jalapenos! I’m LOVING this, and we’ll definitely try it this summer!
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!!
Gorgeous photos! I am so inspired by summer produce lately. I’m going to include your salad in my roundup for Foodie.com for summer salads! :)
Thank you, Jennifer! :)
Pasta salads are my favorite for summer parties. This version is so pretty and I am sure it has so much flavor. Sounds delicious!
Yes! Eat all the salad! This is the kind of thing I like to make in a big batch and eat all week for lunch. Super fast and super delicious.
This recipe looks SO mediterranean =D
Jalapenos in pesto- can’t wait to try it!
im always looking for new ideas for pasta salads and this one looks wonderful.
Delicious! Awesome summertime recipe!
One of my favorite things about summer is all the salads. How perfect is this!!
so fresh! love the idea of jalapeno pesto – very creative.
Jalapeno pesto you say? I haven’t thought of that one! Yes please! And the combo of fresh corn and tomatoes sounds perfect for summer. Can’t wait…pinning now!
Oh my god, Jalapeno pesto sounds amazing.
This salad looks great and I have some feta in the fridge that I used last night with courgettes, pine nuts, lemon and mint. I will definitely have to try this.
This salad looks great for summer when it’s too hot to eat heavy food :)
so simple yet so delicious :) love it it’s perfect for a summer lunch
I made this for our dinner tonight – I’m having a hard time staying out of it while the flavor meld for half an hour. Seriously yum! Thanks.
Yay! Thank you, Amy!
God, this looks brilliant! Adding jalapenos to pasta isn’t something I would ever have thought of, but I think it works perfect. Italians probably didn’t have access to jalapenos, but I think you cannot really go wrong with a neutral flavoured, carb-y thing like pasta (or couscous, or rice, or quinoa etc) and a delicious Mexican/ Tex Mex thing like this green herb salsa. I’m having a barbecue this weekend and I wanted to make your salad with roast corn, bell pepper, red onion and avocado, but this one would be an amazing addition too!
Thanks, Evelyn! I love jalapeños for their super fresh flavor, so they seemed like a natural fit in a Mexican-ish pesto. Now I want to come to your barbecue! :)
Jalepeno Pesto?! Goodness gracious that sounds impossibly good. I’m with you on the grey skies… COME ON SUNSHINE!
C’monnnnnnn sunshine!!! Maybe if we yell loud enough, in unison?
I tried jalapeno in my pesto for the first time just recently..and now i can’t think of any better way to eat it!! This pasta salad is what I want…FOR DAYS ON END. Probably weeks, really.
Girl, we are always on the same page! High five!
This pesto will be popular in our house for sure! I love the addition of jalapenos and the combination with coriander/cilantro is simply perfect! I can’t wait to make a big bowl of this for our next get together!
Made this tonight. It was a home run!!!. My whole family loved it and remarked on how flavorful it was. Thanks for a great tasting meal that I could put on the table in no time flat!! We love your website. Especially my 16 y.o daughter. Keep it coming!!
Thank you, Sheila! Delighted to hear it!!!
All I got to say, is that this recipe was great, I just finished eating it and it was so freshly delicious that it made all the time making it worth it. I really enjoy this blog because it keeps its recipes with ingredients that are really simple and yet healthy. Will be coming back for more.
Thank you very much, Manuel! :D
Thanks for a fantastic recipe! It was delicious, healthy, and simple. Perfect salad dinner for those hot summer days. Even the cilantro disliking wife enjoyed the salad.
Yes! Thank you!
This was DELISH!
I’m so thankful for coming across your blog. I’ve literally been trying at least 2 of your recipes per week…you never let me down.
Thank you!!!
Yay! Thank you, Tina!!!
I never post comments but this salad is so good and easy that I just had to! Thanks for this delightful recipe. We just harvested some hot peppers from the garden and this was a fine way to use them!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment, Sonja! Delighted that you enjoyed this one!
Made this yesterday and we loved it. Serving it again tonight since we have a tough hike planned for tomorrow. Have enjoyed so many of your recipes. Off the top of my head I would say Deb’s Kale Salad recipe and the Lentil Soup recipe with cumin and curry are definitely favorites. Tried the Best Brownie recipe this week. Tough to stir but delicious and will definitely try again. Thanks for the wonderful meals.
Deborah, so glad you’re enjoying my recipes! Yay!
I was a little worried about the black beans as I have never used them before. I was also wondering whether the jalapeno would be too hot for my toddler. I need not have worried, I used 1 jalapeno and it wasn’t hot at all. The dish is delicious! I made a big batch which we lived off for a few days.
Thanks, Emmy! I’m glad this one turned out well for you, too. Black beans are SO nutritious—they’re actually so blue (like blueberry blue) that they’re black, which means they’re full of antioxidants!
Ok so I know its January and it’s about -5 where I am now, but I am so excited to have this for my lunches next week! Although I am cheating slightly and using store bought pesto (very bad of me I know!)but I’m hoping it will still taste good!
Hope it turns out great with store-bought pesto! It’s way too cold outside here, too. Brr!
Just made this for my lunches and it’s absolutely delicious! It’s so easy I love this thank you!
Thanks for this recipe – I live in Mexico and its always nice to find one with ingredients that are easily available here. I used only cilantro and served with queso fresco and cold avo on top, yum!
Made this last night and what a breeze for such a great dish! Easy, healthy, yummy (my three must be’s) I cut the olive oil to 1/4 cup and added dbl the avocado instead of feta (Vegan here)
Thanks for the great dinner…..:)
Even without the add-ins this is delicious! I love that the recipe calls for inexpensive, accessible ingredients. I can’t make a lot of the pesto recipes out there because of the cost of nuts and fresh herbs.
I made this last night to pack for lunches this week. Easy ingredients, simple to pull together, incredibly delicious, and so beautiful! I’ll definitely be bringing this as a side to summer cookouts!
Love this recipe! Made it for dinner tonight. What is the calorie count per serving?
Sorry Pam, I don’t know the calorie counts for my recipes. Feel free to run this recipe through a nutrition calculator such as myfitnesspal.com for an estimate.
Just finished making this for a party this evening and, I’ve got to say, It’s the bomb! I did not use the hot peppers as most of the folks there do not like hot, but the flavors are so yummy! I did add 1/2 t sugar because the pesto was very tart and needed “something”. Also only used 3 oz of olive oil.
This will be a staple in my potluck recipe box! Thank you!
I made this yesterday evening and, although it was absolutely delicious, the corn and the cherry tomatoes together were a little sweet for my tastes. Next time I’m gonna up the jalapenos to 3 to give the pesto more of a kick but, if you were going to sub out the cherry tomatoes for something less sweet, what might you go for? I’m thinking maybe bell pepper and some arugula.
I feel you; it’s hard to balance out the sweetness of corn sometimes. Definitely up the jalapeños next time. I think adding some arugula is a great idea. I often find cherry tomatoes to be a little more tart than sweet, and bell peppers can be even sweeter, so I’m not sure that will do the trick.
Thanks for getting back to me! My cherry tomatoes were crazy sweet so that might have been part of the problem – I’ll try to pick out some tarter ones for next time. LOVE your site by the way; I came across it a couple of months ago and I make one of your recipes nearly every week now. Thanks for creating such great content (and thanks in particular for all the great salads and for introducing me to the wonders of quinoa).
So I finally got around to re-making this salad! I used 3 jalapenos in the pesto, reduced the number of cherry tomatoes and added in some sundried tomatoes. WOW. I’m sad it took me nearly 2 years to try this again because it might just be my favourite pasta salad ever.
I love all of your recipes!!!:))thank you!
This is super delicious and even wonderful a day or two later.
I made this salad for friends who are vegan and it was a big hit. I will be making it for every summer party from now on! Even non vegans loved it!
Awesome summer salad! Delicious and filling! I made a simpler version by buying pesto and adding jalapeños for an added kick. Everything else I did as suggested in recipe. I love the fresh corn element.
Thank you, Marie! So glad you enjoyed it.
This was so easy and delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Yay! Thanks, Tiona!
Delicious! It’s going on the Family “make again” list. Just in time for the Australian summer.
Didn’t have feta for this attempt, will try adding it next time. Think it will round the flavours nicely.
Another winner! :D my mom and I both loved it. The feta addition paired well with the dish.
Yes! Glad to hear it, Niki :) I hope the streak continues.
Just devoured this for lunch! So good! My toddler loved it too, so I’m sure we will be making this many times this summer. Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks, Sarika.
Yummy, once again, I am blown away by great flavors! Thanks so much Kate, loving your recipes.I used super greens rotini instead of regular noodles. Who doesn’t deserve extra servings of greens right. LOL
The more greens, the better!