Easy Pasta al Pesto (Linguini with Basil Pesto Sauce)

Focus on the pesto sauce over a bowl of pasta (linguini).

5 from 1 vote

Easy Pasta al Pesto (Linguini with Basil Pesto Sauce)

This easy pasta al pesto, also known as linguini al pesto, is one of our favorite recipes for a quick weeknight dinner. It's a simple Italian pasta dish made with pine nuts (with or without cashews), basil, lemon, garlic and olive oil. Ready in under 15 minutes, it bursts with amazing fresh and summery flavors and is good-for you too. I have also included a few variations to fit many diets!

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: dinner, healthy, Vegan, vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 518kcal

Author: Jessica Laroche

Equipment

Food processor

Ingredients

12 oz pasta of choice I used linguini
¾ cup pine nuts or raw cashews or a mix I used ½ cup pine nuts + ¼ cup cashews
2 packed cups fresh basil (about 40-50g.)
2 cloves of garlic crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice or to taste
2 tbsp olive oil or more to taste, see notes for an oil-free recipe
salt to taste

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the linguini (or pasta of choice). Cook until al dente (set a timer!). Once done, set aside about 1 cup of pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
Meanwhile, make the basil pesto sauce: in a food processor, add the pine nuts and cashews and process until fine. Then, add the crushed garlic, lemon juice, salt and fresh basil. Process until smooth.
Then, use a spatula to scrape down the walls and process again while pouring the olive oil slowly through the "tube feed". Keep processing until desired consistency and taste to see if needs more lemon/salt/olive oil.
Allow the pot you used to cook the pasta to cool down and then add the noodles back to it. Then, pour all the pesto sauce over the noodles and add about ¼ cup of pasta cooking water. Stir well until combined and add more pasta cooking water as needed. Taste to adjust the flavors and serve right away with a side of lemon wedge and some vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days. Can also be frozen.
For a cheesy recipe, feel-free to add some nutritional yeast to the food processor (about 1-3 tablespoons).
Serve with some roasted vegetables (such as cherry tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, butternut squash, etc) and add some extra plant-based protein for a more filling meal. This balsamic marinated tofu and this pan-roasted tempeh would be great matches for this recipe. Make sure to check out the blog post for more ideas!
Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.

Nutrition