As the days start to get warmer, seasonal produce starts to fill the shelves of grocery stores and local farmer’s markets. One of my resolutions for the year was to branch out and create more recipes that highlight fresh seasonal produce and this zesty Arugula Pesto Potato Salad checks all the boxes!

A typical potato salad is usually found at a summer BBQ that’s simply bland and covered in mayonnaise.

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Luckily, this recipe is full of delicious produce and makes a wonderful side dish or light lunch! The herbaceous pesto is simply made in a food processor and tossed in with a big bowl of roasted potatoes.

So let’s get to it!

What You’ll Need To Make Arugula Pesto Potato Salad

for the salad:

• 2 lbs of mini medley potatoes – halved
• 1 Tbs of Salt and Pepper
• 2 Tbs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Cups of Arugula
• 6-8 Radishes, thin sliced

For the pesto:

• 2 Cups of Arugula
• 1/2 Cup of Fresh Rosemary, chopped
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Tbs of Salt and Pepper
• 1/3 Cup of Sunflower Seeds or Pine Nuts, toasted
• 1/3 Cup of Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese, grated
• 1 Tsp of Lemon Zest
• Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
• 1 Tbs of Honey
• 3/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

How to Make It

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. After coating with salt, pepper, and olive oil, spread the potatoes into one even layer and roast for 30-45 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
2. Add the arugula and sliced radishes to a large salad bowl.
3. For the pesto, combine the arugula, rosemary, garlic, toasted pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and honey in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add in the olive oil and pulse a few more times until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the roasted potatoes to the salad bowl. Add enough pesto to your liking, tossing to combine, and reserve any extra for later or for another dish.
5. Serve the potato salad at room temperature or chilled and garnish with pine nuts and parmesan cheese.
6. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

If you’re wanting to make this recipe in advance, you can either make the pesto or the entire salad the night before and let the flavors marinate overnight.

Just make sure to use a high quality container to keep air out and keep the pesto fresh.

The beautiful part about this Arugula Pesto Potato Salad is that it’s so versatile! You can easily swap out the rosemary for basil, the pine nuts for sunflower seeds or walnuts, the options are limitless!

I just love this recipe because it’s full of fresh zesty flavors and has such great texture with the crisp arugula, fresh radishes, and toasted sunflower seeds on top!

I would serve this recipe in a large serving salad bowl and let people just help themselves. The simpler the better, am I right?

Happy Cooking,