This Aldi Italian Sauce Is All You Need For Richer Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is a versatile dish that's especially popular in the summer because it's served cold, but it can be enjoyed any time of year as a side dish or a main entrée. Plus, it's easy to whip together — some properly cooked pasta, a few chopped veggies, and a quick, homemade dressing are all you need. But if you want to simplify your recipe even further, opt for a good-quality store-bought pesto or sauce like Priano's Rosso Pesto, available at Aldi.

Traditional pesto has a basil base; it's rich in flavor and a deep green color with a strong profile of basil, parmesan, and garlic. But the Priano Rosso Pesto at Aldi has a sun-dried tomato base, giving it an entirely different profile that's more sweet, tart, and rich with deep umami notes. It also has some basil as well as garlic, Grana Padano, and Pecorino Romano, so you'll still get some of that traditional pesto flavor. A little goes a long way here, so you don't need much, and to get the texture of a typical pasta salad, you should mix the pesto with mayonnaise. The mayonnaise will help round out the pesto's flavor while also increasing the volume of the dressing, meaning you don't have to use a whole jar for one box of pasta.

Those who have tried the Priano Rosso Pesto seem to love it, with one r/aldi Reddit user detailing a fantastic dish they made that was "not at all difficult & SO good" thanks to the jarred pesto. Someone else referred to the pesto as "an [all-time favorite] in my home!" The pesto's flavor works well in dishes beyond just pasta salad, too. One Reddit user recommended combining a few tablespoons of pesto with pasta water for an easy, flavorful sauce. Another person mentioned they love spreading it on their panini alongside fresh mozzarella. If you want an extra boost of flavor to go with the rosso pesto, you can easily make sun-dried tomatoes at home and toss them into your pasta salad and other dishes, too.

While the exact shelf life of the pesto after it's opened isn't accurately available, those who have purchased it suggest that it lasts about a week before its freshness diminishes. If you don't think you'll use it in that time, a number of fans recommend freezing it in an ice cube tray, then sealing and storing the cubes in the freezer. This way, the pesto will be easily accessible whenever you need a tablespoon or more for all your pasta salads and more.