Basil Pesto Pasta Recipe (2024)

This is a delicious, vegetarian pasta recipe packed with the flavor of fresh basil and walnut pesto. Homemade Pesto Sauce is the best use for all the fresh summer basil growing in your herb garden. Follow my tried and true tips to make a perfect pesto pasta that won’t turn black or bitter.

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Basil Walnut Pesto

Pesto or the pesto alla genovese is a traditional Italian sauce made with fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, salt, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.

The homemade pesto sauce has a coarse, rustic texture, the freshness of basil leaves, and the nuttiness of pine nuts.

I am using a basil and walnut pesto sauce for this pasta recipe. The walnuts give an earthy, robust taste to the pesto sauce. You can combine broccoli with the basil to make a unique broccoli pesto pasta or almonds and spinach for a vegan pesto sauce.

We are talking about a plant-based creamy sauce that is so full to the brim with good things such as basil, walnuts, cheese, and olive oil.

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Ingredients For Pesto

You need only 7 ingredients and a food processor to make this pesto sauce. It is a no-cook sauce. Blitz the ingredients and the pesto sauce is ready.

Fresh Basil: Use only fresh basil leaves for making pesto. Italian Basil will be a perfect choice.

Walnuts: You can use pine nuts or cashews as well instead of walnuts.

Cheese: Grated or shredded Parmesan cheese works for this sauce

Garlic: Adjust the number of garlic cloves according to personal preference

Olive Oil: Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

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Basil Pesto Turning Black & Bitter

Nothing is more satisfying than preparing a batch of pesto sauce at home with handpicked basil leaves from the kitchen garden. It is one of the quickest and easiest sauce recipe.

But the biggest challenge with the basil pesto is at times – it turns black and bitter.

I am sharing a few tips and tricks to avoid black and bitter pesto sauce:

1) Pesto Sauce is not meant for robust cooking. In fact, the pesto hates the heat. The more you cook the sauce, the more it loses nutrients, freshness, and color.

Tip: Combine pesto sauce while the pasta is hot in a mixing bowl and not on the stovetop. Serve immediately.

2) Pesto turns black when exposed to air for a longer duration due to oxidation.

Tip: This can be prevented by pouring a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto and by storing it in an airtight container.

3) Often pesto tastes bitter. Usually, there are two reasons responsible for the same. First, nuts or olive oil has gone rancid. Second, the sauce blended for too long leading to the release of bitter juices of basil leaves.

Tip: Ensure that you are using quality ingredients and specifically check that the nuts or the olive oil. Second, one or two blitzes in a food processor are enough to make pesto sauce. Or use the traditional mortar and pestle to make the sauce.

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Best Pasta For the Pesto Sauce

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). The thick and luscious pesto sauce clings nicely to these shapes of pasta.

I feel the delicate texture of pasta like angel hair also works perfectly to make basil pesto pasta.

How To Make Basil Pesto Pasta

It is a very simple, straightforward process that requires minimal cooking.

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

Make Pesto Sauce: Start with blending the ingredients in a food processor to make the pesto sauce.

Combine: Add pesto sauce to the cooked pasta. Mix nicely, add ¼ cup of reserved pasta water to make it saucy. Add the remaining ¼ cup of water, cream, cherry tomato, mix, and the basil pesto pasta is ready to serve.

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How to store leftover basil pesto?

Transfer the pesto to an airtight container, drizzle some olive oil to cover the top, place a cling foil to cover the layer of olive oil. Close the lid of the container and store it in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 days. The color of the sauce might change after a day or so.

Can I eat raw pesto sauce?

Pesto sauce can be consumed either raw or cooked. It can be used as a dip, salad dressing, or as a gluten-free sandwich spread.

Can I reheat basil pesto pasta?

You can re-heat the pesto pasta on a stove-top or microwave. However, this may impact the taste, and color of the pasta. It will not be as fresh and flavourful. It is best to cook and serve immediately.

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