Pesto Pasta Recipe
This pesto pasta recipe is an easy, fresh & delicious dinner ready in 15 minutes! Pasta & pesto is made with the best, 5-minute pesto sauce and is a family favorite!
Servings: 10 Servings
Cost: $6
Ingredients
Homemade Pesto Sauce
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 6 Tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)
- 4-5 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ Tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Pasta
- Salted Water
- 16 ounces bucatini spaghetti (or your preferred pasta)
- 2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- Baby tomatoes, fresh basil, parmesan cheese, etc. (optional garnishes)
Instructions
Cook Pasta
- Cook pasta according to package instructions, be sure to use salted water.
- Drain (do not rinse), return to warm pot, cover with a lid and set aside.
Make the Pesto Sauce
- Heat pine nuts in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, stirring often until they are browned (4 to 5 minutes). Watch them closely.
- Transfer the pine nuts to a bowl to cool. You will use ¼ cup (4 Tablespoons) of nuts in the sauce, and reserve 2 Tablespoons roasted pine nuts for serving over the finished pasta.
- Put olive oil and basil leaves into the container of a blender or food processor.. Blend or process for about 60 seconds until the ingredients are combined but not totally smooth. You may need to pause, scrape down the sides, and then continue blending.
- Add ¼ cup pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and blend or process until you reach your desired consistency (about 30-60 seconds). You may need to pause, scrape down the sides, and then continue blending.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired, pulse to combine.
Assemble & Serve
- Add the pesto sauce to the warm pasta in the pot and stir to combine.
- Transfer the pesto pasta to a serving dish.
- Garnish with remaining toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, chopped fresh basil and if desired some fresh tomatoes (cooked or raw).
- Serve warm or transfer to the refrigerator to chill and serve cold.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Pasta: I really enjoy using thick spaghetti noodles (Bucatini) in this recipe. However you can use any other pasta with great results. Here are some suggestions:
- Spaghetti noodles: like I said, bucatini is my favorite. But angel hair, tagiatelle, linguine, etc.
- Shaped pasta: bow ties (aka Farfalle) , rigatoni, fusilli, wheels (rotelle), etc.
- Chickpea pasta is a great gluten-free option!
- Use zucchini noodles (or any other veggie noodles) for a veggie version.
- Olive oil. You can use flavor-infused olive oils (like garlic, herb, etc.) just make sure it would compliment the basil. Another neutral oil like avocado oil works well.
- Pine nuts. Pine nuts are key to making a classic pesto recipe, and shouldn't be substituted if you're going for a 100% authentic flavor. If you must, you can try using other nuts like walnuts, pecans or almonds.
- Minced garlic. Fresh roasted garlic works well.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 292IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg