VEGAN PESTO PASTA RECIPE

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.

Jump to:

• 🥘INGREDIENT NOTES & SUBS
• 🔪HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PESTO PASTA RECIPE
• 💭 PRO TIPS
• STORAGE
• 👪HOW TO SERVE IT?
• 🧾FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• 🍝OTHER PASTA RECIPES
• Vegan Pesto Pasta Recipe
• OTHER RECIPES

🥘INGREDIENT NOTES & SUBS

For Basil Pesto:

1. 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.
2. NUTS: The recipe can use pine nuts, cashews, or walnuts. I have used cashews as it gives a creamy texture to the recipe.
3. OLIVE OIL: Extra virgin olive oil works best in pesto. Apart from that, you can also add avocado oil or coconut oil.
4. ADD-ONS: You can add garlic, nutritional yeast, and vegan parmesan to the recipe to make the pesto more rich and delicious.

For Pasta:

1. 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.
2. ONIONS: I like adding sauteed onions to the basil pesto pasta recipe. It gives a little sweetness to the recipe.
3. TOMATOES: I have added cherry tomatoes to the recipe. They give a nice color and tangy flavor to the pasta recipe.
4. VEGGIES: Apart from these, you can also add your choice of roasted veggies like zucchini and asparagus. Also, mushroom works great too.
5. 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

1. 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.
2. To make the pesto, you can add cashews, pine nuts, or walnuts. Or you can also use some hemp seeds to avoid nuts.
3. You can add veggies like asparagus, arugula/spinach, bell peppers, mushroom, or olives.
4. You can customize the flavors as per your liking.
5. You can also add vegan cheese or mayonnaise to make the Pasta creamy & delicious.
6. 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

🍝OTHER PASTA RECIPES

1. LEMON ORZO PASTA SALAD
2. TRI-COLOR PASTA SALAD
3. MUSHROOM GARLIC SPAGHETTI
4. PANEER STUFFED LASAGNA
5. VEGAN LENTIL BOLOGNESE

Rate it by clicking the stars below if you liked the recipe. However, if you want to check what is new in my kitchen, check out my Instagram & Facebook.

OTHER RECIPES