I love this easy pesto pasta recipe for busy weeknights.
Make the homemade pesto in your food processor and store it in the fridge. Then you're only minutes away from a delicious bowl of pasta. Bacon sprinkles optional (but yummy).
This has to be one of my all time favourite recipes. I love the fact that pesto pasta is quick, easy and really delicious. Best of all, the kids gobble it up!
I make up a big batch of homemade pesto every few weeks and store it in my fridge. Then I'm safe in the knowledge that a quick dinner is only minutes away.
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Quick to make
- An easy mid week meal
- Add cooked chicken, bacon or roasted vegetables
🥘 Ingredients
My go to pesto recipe has only 6 ingredients, and takes just minutes to whip up in your food processor.
I've cut the cost of the pesto, by using almonds instead of pine nuts, which tend to be more expensive. You could use other nuts too, such as plain cashew nuts or even walnuts.
- For the pesto;
- Garlic cloves
- Basil
- Parmesan
- Whole almonds
- Juice of half a lemon
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pasta of your choice to serve
🥄 Equipment
Homemade pesto is really easy to make in a food processor. Then it's just a matter of cooking some pasta, and voila, you have a tasty and quick meal served up.
A food processor or handheld blender is needed to make the pesto sauce. Store the pesto in a sealed jar or container in your fridge, it will keep for a couple of weeks. Alternatively, you can freeze the pesto.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Weigh out the ingredients for the pesto.
Two: Put all of your pesto ingredients in a food processor and whiz up to a smooth paste-like consistency.
Three Cook your pasta until al dente and drain.
Four: Stir the pesto into the pasta and serve!
🍴 Serving suggestions
I usually serve the pesto pasta in bowls with some extra Parmesan. If I have bacon, I'll grill a few rashers until really crispy and sprinkle the bacon bits on top.
Garlic bread or focaccia alongside the pesto pasta is always welcomed by my hungry kids, and if it's just hubby and me, I might serve a green salad with it.
You could also serve it as a side dish with air fryer chicken breasts and roasted vegetables (like this ratatouille)
📖 Variations
- Replace the basil with rocket or parsley, or use a mixture of basil, rocket and parsley. Another frugal option is using kale instead of basil.
- Swap the nuts around depending what you have in.
- Use cheaper grana Padano cheese rather than Parmesan if you're on a budget.
- To make the pesto pasta more creamy and decadent, stir in a couple of heaped tablespoons of creme fraiche. That's proper comfort food!
- Add leftover gammon to the recipe.
❓ FAQS
Traditionally long pasta like spaghetti or linguine was served with pesto. Nowadays any pasta goes. When I'm serving it to kids I prefer shorter pasta as they find it easier to eat. Penne or Fusili would both work well.
No there is no need to heat the pesto prior to adding it to the pasta. Add the pesto straight onto drained pasta and it will warm in the residual heat.
1. Spread it on chicken or fish fillets, before grilling.
2. Spoon some into your favourite macaroni cheese recipe, before baking.
3. Dollop small spoonfuls onto homemade pizza (or shop bought pizza for that matter!).
4. Make pesto pinwheels or pesto focaccia.
5. Spread it onto bruschetta and top with cherry tomatoes and goats cheese, for a tasty appetiser.
6. Turn it into a dip by mixing it with mayonnaise. Great for dipping cucumber, carrot and celery sticks in.
7. Stir some through your scrambled eggs at breakfast, for a weekend treat!
😋Related recipes
Here are some more easy pasta recipes to try;
- Marmite spaghetti
- Baked feta pasta
- Creamy BBQ chicken pasta
- Easy lasagne
- Chorizo and pepper pasta
- Chicken penne arrabbiata
- Creamy spinach and basil penne
- Tomato, bean and garlic spaghetti
- Creamy sausage pasta
You might also like my 50 Easy School Night Dinners round-up which features pasta dishes, meat feasts, meat-free meals, vegan recipes, slow cooker dinners, and Instant Pot wonders!
🍽️ More family-friendly recipes
Recipe
Easy Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- Kitchen Scales
- Food Processor
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 2 Garlic cloves chopped
- 80 g Basil
- 70 g Parmesan
- 70 g Almonds
- ½ Lemon juice of
- 150 ml Extra virgin olive oil
- 6 Streaky bacon rashers (otional)
- 350 g Pasta
Instructions
- Put the garlic, basil, Parmesan, almonds and lemon juice into a food processor bowl and whiz until smooth.
- Slowly add the olive oil down the funnel and pulse into the pesto. Spoon into a bowl and season with salt if needed.
- Grill the bacon rashers (if using) until crisp and chop them up into small bits.
- Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and cook your chosen pasta according to instructions.
- Drain the pasta, then spoon through enough pesto to coat the pasta (you'll have some leftover, which you can store in the fridge in a clean jar).
- Spoon into bowls and sprinkle over the crispy bacon bits. Serve with extra Parmesan if you like things cheesy.
Notes
- Replace the basil with rocket or parsley, or use a mixture of basil, rocket and parsley. Another frugal option is using kale instead of basil.
- Swap the nuts around depending what you have in.
- Use cheaper grana padano cheese rather than parmesan if you're on a budget.
- To make the pesto pasta more creamy and decadent, stir in a couple of heaped tablespoons of creme fraiche. That's proper comfort food!
- Add cooked chicken pieces, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped roasted red peppers or olives to the pesto pasta.
Yeah Lifestyle
My kids love Pasta with pesto in them and I often make them, your recipe looks so delicious especially with the addition of the bacon rashers. Would love to try your version of it.
Rebecca Smith
Pesto pasta is one of my most favourite meals ever! Such delicious flavour and super filling too.
Playdays and Runways
I have never thought about making a pesto pasta. Looks amazing
Liam | Whatthedadsaid
Looks yummy and simple to make,i love a good pasta but I'm a bit up and down on pesto at times, seems like a good recipe to try
Rhian westbury
I am a fan of pesto pasta and it's such a good idea to have a batch of pesto in the fridge so you can use it whenever you need a quick meal x
Hollie Burgess
This looks so delicious I could eat it now and so handy to keep stored away too.
Samantha Donnelly
I love pesto and pasta together and have a recipe for a meal using sausage meat that my family love. I have never made my own pesto though
Mellissa Williams
I adore Pesto and now I have a nutribullet I may give it a go to make it. Looks delicious
Melanie williams
This is such a win win for me and my family...we love pesto and also love pasta...this looks yummy x
Jenni
This sounds so great! I will have to give it a go, we really should eat more pasta and pesto is so tasty.
Rachel
This sounds delicious, I'm down to eat any pasta, any time. The best food.
Jenny
We all love pesto with our pasta but I've never tried making it before - this sounds great!
Jenni
I love pesto! I’ve never made pesto pasta before though so will try it for lunch