Pesto Pasta Recipe Ideas
Whether you make it from scratch using fragrant basil (or leafy greens) or rely on your go-to premade version, pesto never disappoints — especially when it’s paired with al dente pasta and all your favorite add-ins!
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Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto
Tyler's simple, classic pesto sauce comes together with just 5 ingredients (plus a little salt and pepper). He tosses it with delicate angel hair pasta for a flavorful side that's perfect with chicken, seafood or steak.
Get the Recipe: Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto
Silky Blender Pesto Pasta Sauce with Fettuccine
Valerie whips up an ultra-smooth pesto by combining all of her ingredient in the blender. The resulting sauce is so silky and decadent, this might just become your new, go-to method for making pesto!
Get the Recipe: Silky Blender Pesto Pasta Sauce with Fettuccine
Pesto Pasta with Shrimp
The basil-and-pine-nut pesto for this dish has a secret ingredient that makes it extra rich and creamy: Greek yogurt. Simply pulse a little it in along with the Parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Get the Recipe: Pesto Pasta with Shrimp
Pesto Lasagna Rolls
Each of these noodle roll-ups has just the right amount of filling and bakes in a fraction of the time a traditional deep-dish lasagna takes.
Get the Recipe: Pesto Lasagna Rolls
Arugula-Basil Pesto with Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Ricotta
Add a peppery kick to traditional pesto with arugula. Pine nuts bring rich, buttery flavor (and texture) to the pasta of your choice.
Get the Recipe: Arugula-Basil Pesto with Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Ricotta
Gemelli with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans
The key to getting your pesto to evenly coat the pasta, potatoes and green beans is to save a little bit of your starchy pasta cooking water. It will bind everything together and guarantee lots of basil flavor in every bite.
Get the Recipe: Gemelli with Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans
Fettuccine with Mint-Spinach Pesto
This quick-and-simple pasta dish comes together with just a handful of ingredients, making it a great go-to for any occasion. Instead of basil, we sub spinach and mint when making the pesto — for a variation that's easy enough for weeknights yet impressive enough for guests.
Get the Recipe: Fettuccine with Mint-Spinach Pesto
Fusilli with Pesto and Green Beans
Giada upgrades simple pasta with green beans and peas that she sautees in fragrant shallots. After giving everything a toss in pesto, she tops the pasta with dollops of creamy ricotta cheese for a 15-minute dish that's sure to please.
Get the Recipe: Fusilli with Pesto and Green Beans
Orecchiette with Truffle-Asparagus Pesto
A quick and easy upgrade for pasta with homemade pesto? Replace some of the Parmesan cheese with a fragrant truffle pecorino.
Get the Recipe: Orecchiette with Truffle-Asparagus Pesto
Kale Pesto with Walnut and Parmesan
Use three cups of kale, plus toasted walnuts for this easy weeknight pasta.
Get the Recipe: Kale Pesto with Walnut and Parmesan
Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Fans call Ina's 5-star recipe "light and filling", "soooo delicious" and "exactly what I was looking for". Sounds like a winner to us!
Get the Recipe: Pasta, Pesto, and Peas
Garlic Knots and Easy Pasta Bake
Sunny's decadent baked pasta uses frozen raviolis and premade pesto — which gives you plenty of time to twist pieces of premade pizza dough into savory garlic knots for the topping!
Get the Recipe: Sunny's Garlic Knots and Easy Pasta Bake
Christmas Pasta Salad
Sure, this pasta salad is loaded with festive holiday color, but we'd gladly eat it any day of the year! The pesto can be made three days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container, making this an easy dish to whip up for dinners, parties, cookouts and more.
Get the Recipe: Christmas Pasta Salad
Broken Lasagna with Parsley Pesto, Lettuce and Potatoes
If you've ever opened up a box of lasagna noodles to find many of them broken and wondered what to do, this is the recipe for you. Break up the rest of the noodles (yep, you read that right) and use them to make a hearty dinner tossed with a bright and flavorful spin on classic pesto sauce.
Get the Recipe: Broken Lasagna with Parsley Pesto, Lettuce and Potatoes
Gnocchi Pesto Pasta Salad
Katie upgrades pasta salad by swapping noodles for gnocchi and dressing them in a creamy, mayo-based pesto sauce. What's not to love about that?!
Get the Recipe: Gnocchi Pesto Pasta Salad
Kale and Pistachio Pesto Spaghetti
Kale adds a rich, earthy note and brilliant green color to this hearty pesto. This makes about 1-1 1/2 cups pesto, which would also be good on fish, chicken, pork, or steak.
Get the Recipe: Kale and Pistachio Pesto Spaghetti
Romaine Pesto with Sesame Seeds, Asiago and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes add a pop of color to this simple romaine-Asiago pesto.
Get the Recipe: Romaine Pesto with Sesame Seeds, Asiago and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Broccoli-Walnut Pesto With Pasta
Low in cholesterol and high in vitamins, broccoli packs this pesto with extra nutritional value. Using walnuts instead of the traditional pine nuts is less expensive, subtracts calories and adds fiber.
Get the Recipe: Broccoli-Walnut Pesto With Pasta
Pistachio Pesto Pasta
Ree keeps a lot of the classic pesto ingredients for this recipe (basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic and olive oil) but swaps the pine nuts for shelled pistachios. It's a great substitution when you don't have pine nuts on hand.
Get the Recipe: Pistachio Pesto Pasta
Fettuccine with Creamy Pesto
This rich and creamy pasta starts with a simple homemade sauce of butter, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. We up the flavor by stirring in some jarred pesto right before serving.
Get the Recipe: Fettuccine with Creamy Pesto
