Creamy Pesto Potato Salad is a refreshing summer salad with roasted baby potatoes, fresh greens, and a creamy vegan cashew basil pesto! It’s a filling side salad that you can pair with grilled meats, hamburgers, and Sunday roast, or enjoy it as a vegan meal with some artisan bread or crackers. It's a new twist on a traditional potato salad, refreshing and with homemade pesto.
1poundBaby gold or red potatoes sliced thick or just halved, with or without skins
3-4cupsArugula, ruccola, washed and dried
¼cupchives or green onions diced
½cupcashew basil pesto or similar green pesto
2Small cucumbers sliced
5-8medium radishes sliced thin
2tablespoonOlive oil
Lemon juice to taste
Salt
Black pepper to taste
Fresh basil for garnish optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and dry the potatoes. If you are going to leave the skins on, scrub the potatoes well to remove the excess layer and dirt. Cut them into at least 1-inch thick slices or the very small ones just in half. Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil and drizzle with olive oil and seasonings.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. Insert a knife into one potato to see if it’s done. It should slide out easily.
Meanwhile, in a smaller bowl, prepare arugula and drizzle it with olive oil. Massage the leaves gently. Transfer onto a serving bowl or platter.
Let roasted potatoes cool down a little (but not cold) and transfer them into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients: chives, pesto, more salt, and pepper if needed, lemon juice, radishes, and cucumbers. Mix thoroughly and arrange on a serving platter on top of the arugula. Serve while the potatoes are still warm with lemon zest, lemon slices, parmesan cheese, and more pesto.
This salad can be served both, cold and warm. Potatoes will soak up more pesto flavor while still warm which is exactly what we want here.