Pesto Pasta is a classic Italian dish that’s easy to master. It consists of simple spaghetti noodles topped with pine nut basil and parmesan sauce to enjoy.
Basil Pesto is a traditional recipe from Northern Italy with a unique and delicious flavor that’s great for tossing over Grilled Shrimp, spreading on a sandwich, using it as a dip, or making it into a Pasta Dish like this one. If you are looking for busy weeknight Dinner, you can’t go wrong with this traditional pasta recipe that’s ready in under a half-hour.
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Sabrina’s Pesto Pasta Recipe
My basic Pesto Pasta is an excellent recipe for both beginners and seasoned cooks. The creamy sauce is easy to throw together in just a few minutes, and you get a fantastic dish every time. Blend toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, basil, and olive oil to make the sauce. Then, toss it over freshly cooked pasta for the perfect meal in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- Pine Nuts: Toasted pine nuts are the foundation of classic pesto sauce. Blending the nuts in a food processor gives the sauce a nice earthy flavor, and the crushed nuts give the sauce structure.
- Basil: Fresh basil leaves give the pesto sauce its green color and bright, herby taste. You’ll need a lot of leaves so typically I buy a basil plant since it’s less expensive and the leaves will grow back for more sauce another day!
- Olive oil: Mix olive oil into the pesto to thin the ingredients into a creamy sauce. You’ll want to use a quality extra virgin olive oil, preferably cold pressed, for the best flavor.
- Parmesan Cheese: I just added chunks of Parmesan cheese to the food processor and let it do the work versus grating it before hand. I also topped my pasta with shaved cheese for more of that salty, nutty flavor.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Skillet: I used a skillet to toast the pine nuts and then later to warm the sauce before adding the pasta.
- Food Processor: A food processor makes this sauce so much easier than the old days of making pesto by hand with a mortar and pestle.
- Large Pot: When pasta, it’s important to use a large pot to ensure the pasta cooks evenly and doesn’t stick together.
How to Make
Time needed: 30 minutes.
- Toast pine nuts:
Add the pine nuts to a small pan and set the stovetop to medium heat. Toast the pine nuts until fragrant.
- Blend
Add the toasted pine nuts, basil, garlic cloves, and parmesan cheese to a food processor. Rough blend to combine.
- Add Oil
Once everything is mostly combined and blended, continue to blend while slowly pouring the olive oil into the food chute.
- Blend until Creamy
Continue to blend until the mixture has a creamy sauce consistency.
- Cook the pasta:
Put a large pot of water on the stovetop and add salt. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute shy of the package instructions—reserve ¼ cup pasta cooking water. Then, drain the remaining water without rinsing the cooked pasta.
- Serve:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and fresh basil pesto sauce to the pan. Toss until evenly coated and heated through. If the pesto sauce is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of pasta cooking water until it reaches your desired consistency. Top the Pesto Pasta with shaved Parmesan cheese and enjoy.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 3 cups fresh basil , packed
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese , shaved
Instructions
- Add the pine nuts to a small pan on medium heat and let toast until you can just smell the pine nuts.
- Add toasted pine nuts, basil, garlic and Parmesan cheese to food processor and blend while slowly pouring in the olive oil through the food chute.
- Add pasta to salted boiling water and cook one minute shy of the package instructions.
- Drain and set aside, reserving ¼ cup pasta water. Do not rinse.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add pasta and pesto to the pan and toss until heated through.
- Optional: Thin sauce with pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
- Top with shaved Parmesan cheese before serving.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: Tips for Perfect Pasta
- Add a generous amount of salt to the boiling water. It should taste like the sea. This helps to season the pasta as it cooks.
- Reserve a cup of pasta cooking water before draining. The starch in the water can help to thicken the sauce and allow it to adhere to the pasta.
- For pesto sauce, I prefer long thin noodles like spaghetti because the sauce clings to them evenly and mixes better without pooling (like in hollow pasta shapes) so you get more balanced bites.
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can definitely make Pesto Pasta ahead of time! My recommendation is to make the sauce a day or two ahead, then make the pasta fresh. Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutritional Facts
What to Pair With Pesto Pasta
- Italian Roasted Vegetables: These vegetables are tossed in balsamic vinegar, garlic, and Italian herbs and roasted to crisp-tender perfection on a sheet pan.
- Garlic Bread with Sliced Bread: Easy Semi-Homemade Garlic Bread turns a regular bread loaf into the best buttery, garlicky bread in just 20 minutes!
- Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction: This is a classic Italian dish with mozzarella, tomato, and basil topped with a homemade sweet and tangy dressing.
- Italian Antipasto Skewers: All the flavors of your favorite Italian Antipasto salad on one deliciously easy skewer! Pepperoni, tortellini, pepperoncini, and artichoke heart.
- Lemon Pepper Chicken: This perfectly tender and juicy chicken is seasoned with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. It’s ready in just 30 minutes!
- Baked Rosemary Chicken: This delicious, crispy baked chicken recipe uses fresh rosemary and garlic and is ready in less than 45 minutes.
How to Store
- Store: You can transfer leftover Pesto Pasta to an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: Warm the pasta and sauce in a skillet over medium-low heat, tossing or stirring occasionally until it’s warmed through.
- Freeze: You could freeze this pasta dish for up to 4 months. Store it in a freezer safe container after it has cooled completely. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Frequent Questions
Yes, homemade basil pesto sauce freezes quite well! If you want to make a batch ahead, transfer the finished sauce to an airtight container and freeze it for 4 months.
You can use different types of pasta. However, I prefer classic spaghetti. You don’t need thicker noodles for this sauce, and the long pasta scoops up a lot of pesto sauce when you twirl it around your fork.
Variations
- Chicken Pesto Pasta: If you want to make a more hearty meal with filling protein, you can make your Pesto Pasta with chicken. This is an excellent option if you have leftover grilled or Roasted Chicken. Then, you can slice the leftovers into strips and heat them in the pasta and pesto sauce. But, if you don’t have any leftovers, you can cook boneless chicken breast for the recipe. Season the breasts with salt and black pepper, and add any other seasonings. Cook the chicken breasts in a grill pan before slicing and adding them to the pasta dish.
- Pesto Pasta Salad: You can also use this sauce recipe to make a chilled pasta salad. Substitute the spaghetti for macaroni, bow-tie noodles, or rotini. Then, toss the cooked noodles in the homemade pesto sauce without heating them. Add cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cubes, and any other chilled ingredients. Then, serve the Pesto Pasta Salad as a side dish.
- Walnuts: Although Basil Pesto is traditionally made with pine nuts, you could make this recipe with walnuts. Just swap the pine nuts for an equal amount of walnuts, toast them, and blend the nuts into the sauce as usual. This alternative is an excellent option if anyone has a pine nut allergy. It’s an easy change, and the walnuts still taste delicious in the basil and pesto blend.
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