This Homemade Pasta with Basil Pesto Sauce is the Ultimate dish you need to try. Pasta made with fresh ingredients tastes better than store-bought.
Pasta with Pesto is a classic Italian dish. This Pasta Recipe uses fresh pasta mixed with aromatic Basil Pesto Sauce. Traditional pesto sauce is made by crushing or grinding its ingredients like basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Make spinach pasta with this easy recipe with a twist and let me know how you like it.
I have also made a few more pasta dishes like Pasta Salad, Mac and Cheese, and Gigi Hadid Pasta.
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⭐Why You'll Love This Homemade Pasta with Basil Pesto Sauce
- Uses Basic Ingredients: All the ingredients for making Pesto Pasta are common items found in your pantry or fridge.
- Quick, Simple, and Easy to Make: With just a few easy steps, you can whip up this homemade spinach pasta quickly for a tasty meal.
- Rich and Creamy Texture: Enjoy the wonderful texture of the pesto sauce, wrapping pasta in a creamy sauce.
- Comfort Food: This pasta combines a creamy sauce with perfectly cooked pasta, giving a warm and comforting feeling.
- Versatile: You can tailor it to your taste. Add different ingredients like cherry tomatoes, shrimp, or chicken.
🧾Ingredients
Here is a list of everything you need:
Ingredients for Homemade Pasta:
- Flour: Start with good-quality flour for the pasta dough.
- Baby Spinach: Use small leaves with a clean and mild flavor. Add a green freshness and color to the pasta dough.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of the pasta dough.
For the Basil Pesto:
- Walnuts: Provide warmer and nuttier notes to the pesto sauce. You can substitute walnuts with pine nuts, almonds, or cashews.
- Garlic Cloves: Add a pungent taste to the pesto sauce.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Add a rich, fruity flavor and smooth consistency to the pesto sauce.
- Basil: Add a delightful fragrant aroma and herbaceous flavor to the pesto sauce with a vibrant bright green color. You can use arugula, parsley, cilantro, or mint instead of basil.
- Spinach: Add freshness, a nice clean and mild flavor to the pesto sauce with a vibrant bright green color.
- Pecorino Cheese: Adds richness, creaminess, and distinguished flavor to the pesto sauce.
- Parmesan Reggiano Cheese: Adds richness, creaminess, and distinguished flavor to the pesto sauce.
- Juice of ½ Lemon: Add a touch of freshness to balance out the richness of the other ingredients.
- Salt: Season the pesto sauce.
- Ground Black Pepper: For seasoning the pesto sauce. Adds a spicy, slightly hot kick to the dish.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
👩🏻🍳How to Make Homemade Pasta with Basil Pesto Sauce
These step-by-step instructions and photos will help you to visualize how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for a printable version of this recipe.
1: In a medium pot, heat water over medium-high until it reaches a rolling boil and stir in some salt.
2: Put flour and spinach in a food processor. Pulse until a soft dough forms, scraping down the sides as needed.
3: Take the dough out of the food processor and put it in a medium bowl.
4: Sprinkle a little flour, knead the dough for 1 minute until it is smooth and elastic, then shape it into a disc.
5: Put the dough on a cutting board and flatten it to about 1.5 cm thick.
6: Hold the disc over the boiling water and cut it into pieces with kitchen scissors, letting them drop into the water as you cut.
7: Cook the fresh pasta for about 5 minutes, or until it floats to the surface.
8: Put garlic, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, basil, spinach, Pecorino cheese, Parmesan Reggiano cheese, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper into a food processor. Pulse until it becomes a smooth pesto paste.
9: Heat the pesto paste in a large pan over medium-low heat for about 1 minute, or until warmed through.
10: Take the homemade pasta out of the boiling water and add it to the pan with the basil pesto sauce. Cook for 1 minute, adding some pasta water until it reaches the desired creamy texture.
11: Put the fresh pasta on a plate and top it with Parmesan shavings.
📖Variations
- Switch up the Pasta: Instead of fresh pasta, you can use linguine, fettuccine, penne, or even fun shapes like fusilli or farfalle.
- Add Vegetables: Sauté or roast your favorite vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes, red peppers, zucchini, or mushrooms, and toss them with the pasta and pesto.
- Get Creative with the Greens: In addition to basil and spinach, try adding arugula, kale, parsley, cilantro, or even mint to the pesto.
- Try Different Cheeses: Instead of Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, try using a hard cheese like aged Gouda, Manchego, or a combination of cheeses for a more complex flavor.
- Add a Kick of Spice: If you like your food spicy, add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the pesto sauce.
- Creamy Version: For a richer sauce, mix the pesto with heavy cream before adding it to the pasta.
🍽 How to Serve
- Serve with Garlic Bread: Pair the pasta with freshly baked garlic bread or seed crackers to soak up the delicious pesto sauce and elevate the dining experience.
- Pair with a Fresh Salad: Complete the pasta dish with a Cold Stuffed Tomato Salad, Waldorf Salad, or Potato Salad to create a healthy and satisfying meal.
💭Tips for Recipe Success
Use a Food Processor: To achieve your desired pesto texture and avoid over-processing, use a food processor instead of a blender.
Cook Pasta Al Dente: Cook your pasta until it's al dente, which means it should still have a slight bite to it. Overcooking the pasta can result in a mushy texture.
Season Thoughtfully: Taste the pesto and add salt and pepper as needed to ensure a well-balanced flavor.
Reserve Pasta Water: Save some of the water used to cook the pasta. It helps the pesto stick to the pasta and makes a smoother sauce.
Storage: If you have leftovers, put them in a sealed container and keep it in the fridge. It will stay fresh for 2-3 days.
🍛More Comfort Food Recipes!
Here are more of my favorite comfort food recipes! Try these:
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Pasta with Basil Pesto Sauce
Ingredients
For the Pasta
- 150 g 00 Flour
- 150 g Baby Spinach
- 1 tablespoon Salt
For the Basil Pesto
- 50 g Walnuts
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 70 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 30 g Basil
- 50 g Spinach
- 30 g Pecorino Cheese
- 50 g Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
- Juice of ½ Lemon
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Over medium-high heat bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil. Stir in salt.
- Add flour and spinach to a food processor. Pulse until a soft dough forms and scrape down the sides as needed.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and place it in a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle a little flour, knead the dough for 1 minute until it is smooth and elastic, and shape it into a disc.
- Place the dough on a cutting board and flatten the disc to around 1.5 cm thick.
- Hold the disc above the boiling water and cut the dough into pieces with kitchen scissors, letting them fall into the boiling water as you cut.
- Cook the fresh pasta for around 5 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
- Add garlic, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, basil, spinach, Pecorino cheese, Parmesan Reggiano cheese, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse and blend them until a smooth pesto paste.
- Place the pesto paste in a large pan over medium-low heat and heat for around 1 minute or until warmed through.
- Remove the pasta from the boiling water and place over the pesto sauce in the pan, cook for 1 minute and add some pasta water until the desired creamy texture is achieved.
- Place the fresh pasta on a plate and garnish with parmesan shavings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Sandra says
I love this recipe for Pasta using Basil Pesto, I thought making pasta from scratch is a difficult process but this recipe has change my thoughts.