This pea & basil-based pasta pesto is creamy, filling and flavor-packed! The sauce is made out of creamy cashews,
Easy Pea Pasta Pesto
Ever since I discovered pesto at an Italian restaurant, I have fallen in love with it. It's so rich, creamy, and flavor-packed. I tried to recreate the dish myself but the sauce at the supermarket was always too oily and disappointing. Then I started researching recipes and making different variants of the pesto sauce.
Traditionally pesto sauce involves pine nuts and basil, however, these ingredients are often costly and inaccessible to many countries. Therefore, in my recipe, I replace pine nuts with cashews and use peas on top of the basil. This gives the pesto its creaminess and bright green colors, not to mention many good nutrients and protein.
Why you'll love this Pea Pasta Pesto
I am very proud of this Pesto Pasta recipe and have been making it for the past year (never going back to the pre-made sauce anymore). This recipe is:
- So quick and easy to make: all you need is to cook the pasta and blend the ingredients in the blender
- Flavor and protein-packed: a lot of flavors and freshness come from the blend of cashews and veggies. At the same time,
- Versatile and nutritious: you can incorporate veggies into the dish to make it even healthier and wholesome. I love the combination of pesto with cherry tomatoes and arugula the most, however, I have tried it with bell peppers and sundried tomatoes and it tastes super yummy as well. So feel free to add the veggies you have in the fridge.
- Can be enjoyed warm or cold
- Can be made ahead of time in batch
If you have tried my recipe, please let me know what you think by leaving me a review on this page or tagging me on Instagram @veggieanh. I would love to see your creations!
📖 Recipe
Easy Peasy Pasta Pesto - 20-minute Meal
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3 people 1x
Description
This pea & basil-based pasta pesto is creamy, filling and flavor-packed! The sauce is made out of creamy cashews, green peas and served with fresh cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients
To make the Pasta
- 200 gram pasta
- boiling water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot
- 250 gram cherry tomatoes
To make the Pesto
- 70 gram cashews
- 200 gram frozen green peas
- 2 cloves garlic
- 15 gram basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon / lime
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional Topping
- 10 gram cashews
- 30 gram arugula
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes to soften. If you have a high speed blender you can omit this step.
- Soak the frozen peas in boiling water.
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to package instruction.
- Meanwhile, chop the shallots and garlic into thin slices. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
- In a blender or a food processor, combine the soaked cashews, peas, garlic, basil, olive oil, lemon/lime, salt and pepper. Blend until you are left with a bright green and smooth pesto sauce.
- On a pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and the shallots. Stir frequently until fragrant.
- Add the chopped cherry tomatoes in the pan and stir until well combined.
- Turn off the heat. Add the pasta and pesto sauce to the pan. Mix together until well combined.
- Serve the pasta pesto on a plate with the arugula and garnish with some cashews.
Notes
The recipe can be enjoyed hot or cold. Leftover of this tastes exceptionally well and can be stored for up to 4 days.
Feel free to switch the ingredients with what you have. Replace the cherry tomatoes with sundried tomatoes or bell peppers to increase your protein intake.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Italian
Marguerite says
Tried making it - my goodness ♥️ the rich flavour, the pleasant aroma, the easy to follow directions... It was perfect! Thank you for sharing! Will make it again for sure.
Veggie Anh says
Thank you so much for your review! Glad you like it <3