Easy-peasy, creamy basil pesto pasta recipe with homemade pesto – A delicious vegetarian pasta recipe that’s perfect for weeknight dinners and for parties and potlucks too!
Like I mentioned in my basil pesto post, you can whip up so many delicious recipes with pesto. Today, I am going to share a classic and straightforward pesto pasta recipe with mushrooms.
This is my humble attempt (not a copy-cat, though) of the restaurant-style creamy pesto pasta, more like Alfredo pesto pasta, of course, the vegetarian version. I always like to sneak in some veggies, so I added some mushrooms, and for texture and crunch, I included some toasted pine nuts and fresh heirloom tomatoes.
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Let’s see the ingredients required for making this quick and easy pesto pasta.
PS – Don’t forget to check my top ten vegetarian pasta recipes.
Ingredients required
While pasta and pesto are the key ingredients, we need a couple of other ingredients for the pasta.
Pasta: While you can use any pasta for this recipe, our personal favorite is long (thin or flat) pasta. My go-to would be either angel hair or spaghetti, or linguine. And for this recipe, I used angel hair pasta. It’s the regular wheat pasta. You can use gluten-free pasta also.
Pesto – It’s, of course, the other main ingredient. I have used my homemade fresh basil leaves pesto for this recipe. You can also make basil pesto in big batch and store them ice cube trays and freeze them and use the frozen ones. Make sure you thaw it before adding it to the pasta.
Pasta Water: We need that starchy pasta water and helps the pasta not to dry out, especially in this pesto pasta. I used about ⅔ cup of pasta water.
Heavy cream: This is the magic ingredient behind the creamy pasta. I did not include any additional cheese here. It’s only the cream. You can either use milk for a lighter version or entirely skip it and use more pasta water.
Seasonings: I want the pesto to shine in this recipe. So apart from salt and pepper, I did not add any other seasonings.
Vegetables: As mentioned before, I love to sneak in some veggies. So I have added mushrooms. You can add broccoli, asparagus too. Make sure not to overcook them. I also included some fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes just before serving.
Pine nuts: Toasted pine nuts add a nice flavor and texture to this pasta. I always reserve some for this pasta when making the pesto.
Dietary specifications
This creamy pesto pasta is a vegetarian pasta recipe with cream and cheese. I have included some nuts and used gluten-free pasta. You can always skip the cheese in the pesto instead of cream, using more pasta water and making it a vegan dish. Also, use gluten-free pasta if you are allergic to gluten.
Now without any further ado, let’s see how to make this vegetarian pesto pasta with detailed ingredients.
How to make basil pesto pasta
Cook the pasta
- Add water, salt and olive oil to a saucepan. Bring it to a rolling boil.
- Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions. We love our pasta al dente.
- Reserve ⅔ cup of pasta water and drain the remaining water.
Toast the pine nuts
- Heat a pan and add the pine nuts.
- Toast the nuts until they turn light brown. Set them aside.
Prepare the pesto pasta.
- Heat a pan and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped mushrooms and ½ tsp of salt.
- Saute the mushroom until they turn soft and tender. Reduce the heat to low.
- Now add the cooked pasta, pasta water, ground pepper, and pesto.
- Mix well, and if using cream, add the cream and mix again. Turn off the heat.
- Add the toasted pine nuts, chopped cherry tomatoes just before serving, and enjoy it warm or cold.
Recipe Notes
- Mushrooms are optional. You can skip them or use other veggies like broccoli, asparagus of your choice. Cook the veggies until they are soft and aldente.
- If you are skipping the cream, you can add more pasta water if you feel the pasta is dry.
- I did not add any cheese to this recipe. If desired, you can add more parmesan cheese.
- Adjust the pesto amount as per your preference.
- Pine nuts and fresh cherry tomatoes add color and texture to this pasta, but they are optional ingredients. Add toasted nuts of your choice. Slivered almonds will work too.
- If you are looking for a no cheese pasta, then check out how to make Asian pasta salad.
Explore other vegetarian pasta recipes
PS: If you try this pesto pasta recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it ASAP. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
📖 Recipe
Basil Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms
Equipment
- saucepan or Dutch oven
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
For cooking the pasta
- 6 to 8 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 320 grams angel hair pasta ¾ of the 1 lb pasta packet
For the pesto pasta
- ⅔ cup of pasta water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 10 brown bella mushrooms approx 200 grams
- ½ tsp salt for the mushrooms
- 10 to 12 tbsp pesto I used the entire ¾ cup of the pesto that I prepared
- ¼ to ½ tsp ground pepper
- ¼ cup heavy cream optional
- 5 to 6 heirloom tomatoes or cherry tomatoes to garnish
- ¼ cup pine nuts toasted optional
Instructions
Cook the pasta
- Add water to a saucepan and add salt and olive oil. Bring it to a rolling boil.
- Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions.
- Reserve ⅔ cup of pasta water and drain the remaining water.
Toast the pine nuts
- Heat a pan and add the pine nuts.
- Toast the nuts until they turn light brown. Set them aside.
Prepare the pesto pasta.
- Heat a pan and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped mushrooms and ½ tsp of salt.
- Saute the mushroom until they turn soft and tender. Reduce the heat to low.
- Now add the cooked pasta, pasta water, ground pepper, and pesto.
- Mix well, and if using cream, add the cream and mix again. Turn off the heat.
- Add the toasted pine nuts, chopped cherry tomatoes just before serving, and enjoy it warm or cold.
Notes
- Mushrooms are optional. You can skip them or use other veggies like broccoli, asparagus of your choice. Cook the veggies until they are soft and aldente.
- If you are skipping the cream, you can add more pasta water if you feel the pasta is dry.
- I did not add any cheese to this recipe. If desired, you can add more parmesan.
- Adjust the pesto amount as per your preference.
- Pine nuts and fresh cherry tomatoes add color and texture to this pasta, but they are optional ingredients. Add toasted nuts of your choice. Slivered almonds will work too.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Hi! I’m making your recipe today. It would be much better for me if i could make it ahead of time with the pasta on the side because it’s going to 2 different homes. Will that mess you the dish? Or any tips if you can cook it that way? Thank you in advance! It looks amazing! I’ve already made my pesto with basil from my garden and have cherry tomatoes from my garden as well. So excited to have a chance to use them in a recipe that will really showcase their flavors!
I am really sorry for the delayed response. I hope you got a chance to make it and it was all ok.
You can make it ahead and it should be ok. Alternatively, you can cook the pasta and pack pesto and pasta separately and mix and heat before serving.