This Vegan Pesto Pasta Recipe is delicious and perfect for those hot summer days. Make it healthier by adding your favorite summer roasted veggies to this delicious Pasta.
This refreshing pasta salad is great for those warm days when you just want to relax. It can be served as a main dish or as a side. Either way, it tastes great. The best thing is that you can customize it based on the ingredients available in your pantry.
I can never get bored of this vegan pesto pasta. It is refreshing and has a beautiful basil flavor. I had a big basil plant in my backyard & used it to make the delicious basil pesto. I used most of the bail leaves in the pesto but spared a few to garnish the Pasta.
If you like making fresh homemade sauces, do try my favorite Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce that goes great in Chimichurri Rice. Also, try my Mushroom Garlic Spaghetti; it is easy, and its creamy flavor is unbeatable.
The post contains Helpful Tips & Tricks for making Vegan Pesto Pasta Recipe. But if you're in a hurry, you can also click "Jump to Recipe' under the Heading to go directly to the Recipe Card or click Recipe Card from the Table of Contents below.
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🥘INGREDIENT NOTES & SUBS
For Basil Pesto:
- BASIL: For making basil pesto, you need fresh basil leaves. You can also use kale, spinach, or mint leaves to make different variety of pesto.
- NUTS: The recipe can use pine nuts, cashews, or walnuts. I have used cashews as it gives a creamy texture to the recipe.
- OLIVE OIL: Extra virgin olive oil works best in pesto. Apart from that, you can also add avocado oil or coconut oil.
- ADD-ONS: You can add garlic, nutritional yeast, and vegan parmesan to the recipe to make the pesto more rich and delicious.
For Pasta:
- PASTA: For making this Pesto Pasta recipe, you need Pasta. Any variety of Pasta works great in the recipe. You can use orzo, farfalle, and elbow pasta. I have used the Pasta that I had in the pantry.
- ONIONS: I like adding sauteed onions to the basil pesto pasta recipe. It gives a little sweetness to the recipe.
- TOMATOES: I have added cherry tomatoes to the recipe. They give a nice color and tangy flavor to the pasta recipe.
- VEGGIES: Apart from these, you can also add your choice of roasted veggies like zucchini and asparagus. Also, mushroom works great too.
- VEGAN CHEESE OR MAYONNAISE: To make Pasta extra creamy, you can add vegan cheese or mayonnaise to the recipe.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PESTO PASTA RECIPE
** For the full recipe, check the recipe card below, but you refer here for step-by-step photo instructions.
Make Vegan Basil Pesto:
First, make homemade basil pesto using fresh basil leaves. Then, add basil leaves, garlic, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper in a food processor.
Close the lid and pulse until well blended and chunky. If needed, add more olive oil.
Cook Pasta:
Heat the large pot with salted water until boiling. Once the water is boiled, add the Pasta & cook as per package instructions.
Once Pasta is cooked, drain the water and keep the Pasta aside for later use.
Vegan Pesto Pasta:
In a skillet, add oil. WHen oil is hot, add chopped onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft & tender.
Next, add cherry tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes until they turn a little soft. Transfer the cooked Pasta.
Also, add homemade vegan basil pesto. Stir the ingredients until well combined. Lastly, garnish with some basil leaves and serve!
💭 PRO TIPS
- Be generous with the oil. Don't skim on olive oil when making pesto or even pesto Pasta. The Pasta is better when Pasta is well coated with oil.
- To make the pesto, you can add cashews, pine nuts, or walnuts. Or you can also use some hemp seeds to avoid nuts.
- You can add veggies like asparagus, arugula/spinach, bell peppers, mushroom, or olives.
- You can customize the flavors as per your liking.
- You can also add vegan cheese or mayonnaise to make the Pasta creamy & delicious.
- Make sure the Pasta is well cooked and al dente before adding it to the recipe.
STORAGE
You can store the pasta salad in the refrigerator for 2-5 days in an air-tight container. However, some people prefer to store the salad in the fridge for a day so that all the flavors are combined properly.
You can also freeze it for 1-2 months by storing it in a freezer-safe container or a Ziploc. Then, before eating it, just defrost the Pasta overnight and heat it as needed in the microwave or stovetop.
👪HOW TO SERVE IT?
This vegan pesto pasta serves 4-6 people. You can serve it for lunch, dinner, or even for breakfast.
You can pair the Pasta with Air Fried Asparagus to make the meal more spectacular.
🧾FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A pasta salad is not rocket science. You can use any pasta you have in your pantry. Many varieties of Pasta are available like penne, fusilli, farfalle, ziti, orzo, etc. Again, you can use any pasta that is available in your pantry.
You can cook it in an Instant pot or on the stovetop. I like making this dish in the Instant Pot.
Yes, if you have some leftover pesto, you can freeze it. First, pour the pesto into an ice tray and chill until hard. Then remove the pesto from the ice tray and store it in freezer-safe bags like Ziplocs.
You can add almost anything to a pasta recipe. You can add roasted veggies like asparagus. You can add greens like spinach or arugula, sauteed mushrooms, olives, etc. To make it creamier, you can also add vegan cheese or mayonnaise.
Yes, the pesto pasta recipe is healthy when eaten in moderation. It is rich in fat and calories as it is made by adding extra virgin olive oil, so when eaten in moderation can provide some necessary vitamins.
🍝OTHER PASTA RECIPES
- LEMON ORZO PASTA SALAD
- TRI-COLOR PASTA SALAD
- MUSHROOM GARLIC SPAGHETTI
- PANEER STUFFED LASAGNA
- VEGAN LENTIL BOLOGNESE
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📖 RECIPE CARD
Vegan Pesto Pasta Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz Pasta any variety like Farfalle, Pennne, etc.
- ½ Red Onion chopped
- 10-15 Cherry Tomatoes cut in half
- ¾- 1 cup Vegan Basil Pesto optional
- ¼ cup Vegan Cheese or Vegan Mayonnaise
Instructions
How to Make Pesto:
- Add basil leaves, garlic, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper in a food processor.Close the lid and pulse until well blended and chunky. If needed, add more olive oil.
How to cook Pasta:
- Instant Pot: In 1 cup of Pasta, add 2-3 cups of water. And pressure cook for 5-8 minutes or as per instructions, with the vent in the sealing position. Once the timer beeps, immediately do Quick Release. When pressure is released then, open the lid.(Note: Pressure Cook Timer depends on the pasta. Check the instruction on the pasta bag. Divide the cooking time by half (½) and -1. That is, Cook Time for pasta is 12. Divided by ½= 6. Then -1= 6-1=5.Stove-Top: Heat the large pot with salted water until boiling. Once the water is boiled, add the pasta & cook as per package instructions.Once pasta is cooked, drain the water and keep the pasta aside for later use.
Vegan Pesto Pasta :
- In a skillet, add oil. When oil is hot, add chopped onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft & tender.
- Next, add cherry tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes until they turn a little soft. Transfer the cooked pasta.
- Also, add homemade vegan basil pesto. Stir the ingredients until well combined. Lastly, garnish with some basil leaves and serve!
Video
Notes
- Be generous with the oil. Don't skim on olive oil when making pesto or even pesto pasta. The pasta is better when pasta is well coated with oil.
- You can add cashews, pine nuts, or walnuts to make the pesto. Or you can also use some hemp seeds to avoid nuts.
- You can add veggies like asparagus, arugula/spinach, bell peppers, mushroom, or olives.
- You can customize the flavors as per your liking.
- You can also add vegan cheese or mayonnaise to make the pasta creamy & delicious.
- Make sure the pasta is well cooked and al dente before adding it to the recipe.
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