It’s tough to surpass a bowl of pesto pasta. Today, I’m presenting a traditional basil pesto pasta recipe from beginning to end! You’ll discover how to prepare basil pesto from scratch and combine it with freshly cooked noodles in just the right amounts.
I enjoy my pesto pasta with plenty of sauce, so I opted for a generous portion of pesto here, which becomes more economical when you create your own. Making pesto in a food processor takes ten minutes or less, but you can certainly opt for store-bought pesto if you have a preferred brand.
This colorful pesto pasta is swift and simple to whip up for a weeknight dinner. It also serves as a delightful side dish for a dinner party or a laid-back summer barbecue. Prepare yourself for the finest pasta dish you’ve ever tasted.
Pesto Pasta Ingredients & Variants
You’ll find the complete recipe and an instructional video below. Here’s what you’ll require for this recipe and the reasoning behind each ingredient:
Pasta
The ideal pastas for pesto include spaghetti or angel hair, spiral shapes such as rotini or fusilli, or farfalle (bow ties). Pesto adheres well to these shapes, so pick your favorite. Aim to purchase bronze-cut pasta, which features more texture for clinging to sauces (this is the traditional Italian method for extruding pasta).
Tip: Make sure to salt your pasta cooking water adequately, or your pasta will lack the flavor it could have had.
Fresh basil
This recipe is a fantastic way to use an excess of garden basil. You can also create it using a large pack of store-bought basil. If basil is unavailable, substitute arugula in this recipe.
Tip: Keep your basil at room temperature—the best way is to use a paper towel in the container to absorb moisture, or even better, store it in a vase with the stems submerged in an inch of water. Basil is a warm-weather plant and dislikes the refrigerator!
Pine nuts
Pine nuts are traditionally used in pesto. Alternatives include almonds, walnuts, pecans, or pepitas (green pumpkin seeds). I’ve experimented with and savored them all.
Tip: For a deeper nutty flavor, lightly toast the nuts in a skillet before blending them into the pesto. I’ve included this step in the recipe because it makes a noticeable difference.
Parmesan cheese
Pesto usually contains Parmesan cheese, which adds a deliciously salty, nutty, cheesy flavor that complements the other ingredients. Technically, most Parmesans aren’t vegetarian, but you can find versions made by Whole Foods 365 and BelGioioso that are.
Lemon juice
I prefer to add a touch of lemon juice to my pesto to enhance the flavors. It’s not mandatory, but I enjoy the added flavor boost.
Garlic
It appears that garlic cloves have become larger in recent years, so use two small-to-medium cloves or one large one. Excess garlic could overshadow the basil’s flavor. There’s no requirement to press or mince the garlic. Just cut it into a few pieces and let the food processor handle the rest.
Olive oil melds the pesto together. We’ll drizzle it into the food processor while it’s operating to aid in blending it with the other components.
Reserved pasta cooking water
Before draining the pasta, pour some of the cooking water into a heat-safe container like a glass measuring cup. Pasta cooking water is like magic—it contains starches that create a creamy emulsion, helping the sauce stick to the pasta.
Pesto Pasta Serving Recommendations
Prepare pesto pasta when you’re in the mood for a refreshing noodle dish. Serve it as a base for protein or vegetables, or as a simple side to accompany something like Eggplant Parmesan.
To enhance your pasta with produce, think about adding marinated artichoke, avocado, olives, peas, tomatoes (try raw or roasted cherry tomatoes with small mozzarella balls), or zucchini (perhaps ribboned with a julienne peeler).
Pesto pasta is a delightful dish to enjoy during summer when basil is in season, though I will happily relish it any time of the year. Here are some tips to help expand your menu.
More Pesto Recipes to Adore
As you’ll notice, I love inventive pesto recipes. Here are some exciting methods to blend bold pestos and veggies into your meals:
Kindly share how your pesto pasta turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Pesto Pasta
Create pesto pasta for a swift and straightforward meal! These saucy pesto noodles are made with homemade pesto, which comes together quickly in the food processor. This pesto yields ¾ cup, which will generously cover 8 ounces of pasta once cooked (you can extend this quantity of pesto to coat up to 12 ounces of pasta or easily double the recipe to utilize an entire 16-ounce package of pasta).
Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta (it should taste salty). Cook the