Basil Pesto Pasta Recipe

side close up shot of basil pesto pasta in a white pan

5 from 18 votes

This is a delicious, vegetarian pasta recipe packed with the flavor of fresh basil and walnut pesto. Learn how to make pesto pasta at home in a few simple steps.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 542kcal

Author: Hina Gujral

Equipment

Food Processor
Saucepan

Ingredients

Ingredients For Cooking Pasta:

200 gram penne pasta (approx 2 Cups)
6 Cup water
1 tablespoon salt

Ingredients For Basil Pesto:

2 Cup fresh basil leaves
½ Cup walnuts
¼ Cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
4 - 6 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste

Other Ingredients:

1 Cup cherry tomato, cut into halves
2 - 4 tablespoon heavy cream (optional)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped walnuts

Instructions

Cook Pasta:

Boil water in a saucepan with salt. Add the desired shape of pasta and cook till al-dente. Reserve 1 cup of boiled pasta water. Drain the remaining water. Transfer the cooked pasta to a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Make Basil Pesto:

While the pasta is cooking, start making pesto sauce.
Add all the pesto ingredients except olive oil in a food processor with the blade attachment. Seal the lid of the food processor. Start blending the ingredients while slowly and steadily pouring the olive oil. You may need to stop. scrape, and again blend the ingredients. But do not blend more than 1 minute.
Store pesto sauce in an airtight conatiner in the refrigerator or use it immediately.

Assemble:

Transfer cooked pasta to a mixing bowl. Add pesto sauce, cherry tomato, cream, and ¼ cup of reserved boiled pasta water. Toss to evenly coat pasta with the sauce. The sauce should cling to the pasta.
If the pasta dries up or soak the sauce, add ¼ cup remaining boiled pasta water and toss once again.
Garnish basil pesto pasta with chopped walnut and cheese.
Serve Basil Pesto Pasta immediately with focaccia bread.

Notes

Pesto Sauce is not meant for robust cooking. Combine pesto sauce while the pasta is hot in a mixing bowl and not on the stovetop.
Pesto turns black when exposed to air for a longer duration due to oxidation.
Do not blend the pesto sauce for too long in the food processor as it might turn bitter.
Feel free to pick pasta of your choice to coat in the green pesto sauce. My personal favorites are either spaghetti (long noodle shape) or penne (the tubular shape).
To make the pesto pasta saucy and juicy use the boiled pasta water.
Adding heavy cream is optional. It makes pesto pasta creamy and rich.

Nutrition