This Easy Homemade Pesto Pasta is the perfect dish to serve with grilled vegetables, chicken, or salmon. Can be served cold, warm or at room temperature.
Earlier in the week, I shared my go-to Basil Pesto Recipe as well as tips for freezing. My Lemony Pesto Pasta with Peas came together when I was coming up with a quick and easy lunch for my toddler. Packed with protein, fiber, and plenty of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat from the olive oil – this is a pasta dish that not only satisfies but is good for you too.
Orecchiette is my favorite type of pasta for this dish because the ear-shaped noodles have little crevices that hold the pesto perfectly. Penne, bow-ties or good old fashioned macaroni would also work well.
Another time saving tip is to cook the peas in the same salty water that you’re using to cook the pasta. This method is great for broccoli and greens beans as well and saves you from having to cook the peas in another dish. We used fresh peas because they are in season right now but frozen also taste great.
Your fork is waiting.
Easy Homemade Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz whole wheat orecchiette or any short pasta
- 1 cup green peas fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup prepared pesto
- ¼ cup fresh basil thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Add peas to the pot of water and pasta when there are 2 minutes left in the cooking time.
- Drain pasta and peas in a strainer and place back in the warm pot. Add pesto, fresh basil, parmesan, lemon zest and chili flakes.
- Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly before serving.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes
I love the look of this and that you chose orecchietti to cradle the lovely green pesto sauce. Yummy idea Liz!
Liz DellaCroce
“cradle the pesto” <-- makes me happy
Jenn
That is the * cutest * pasta I have ever seen! Is it made from scratch or where did you buy it? I’ve always loved orecchiette, except how sore my thumb gets when making it!
Liz DellaCroce
It’s store bought – Delallo!!! I have never made homemade pasta!! I wish. :)
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I think I’ll make a big batch of this for a party we’re having next weekend, esp since I can make it the day ahead of time! If it’s a side dish and not a main, do you think if I multiply by 4 that’ll be good enough for 30ish ppl? I know your serving size is 4 but I figured that’s for a main dish portion!
Liz DellaCroce
This would be GREAT for a party!! For 30 people I would probably multiply the recipe by 6. It’s always better to have leftovers than not enough right? Enjoy!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking
I made a variation of this today. I ate all 8 ounces by myself. :'(
And if you don’t mind, I’ll post my variation in the summer! Trying to get some posts done ahead of time. :)
The rating stars don’t work in Firefox, by the way!
Liz DellaCroce
I laughed so hard when I read this comment!!! Pasta is so easy for me to eat 8 ounces of… ;) So glad you enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see your variation!! Thanks for the heads up about rating stars – I’ll put the hubby on it! haha Happy New Year!
Caroline @ chocolate & carrots
Now, this is something I think I could get my son to eat! Yum!
Liz DellaCroce
My son ate two huge bowls of it when I made it!!! Would be great with broccoli too. :)
Erin @ Texanerin Baking
I haven’t left a comment on here before? After obsessing about it for days? That’s weird.
Anyway, just made it and I LOVE it! Thank you so much! My husband loved it too and we’ll have it again really soon. I just need to make a bigger batch of pesto next time so I don’t have to repeat that step all the time.
PS – I doubled the cheese. Left out the peas, too. Muahaha.
Liz DellaCroce
I’m so glad you liked it!!!! I love that you doubled the cheese. ;-)
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Liz,
I love the colors of your pasta dish–very vibrant. I so rarely think of peas, but you’ve got me hoping to get some in the farm share this summer.
Thank you.
Liz DellaCroce
You are too sweet! I’ve been on a pea craze lately – just can’t resist them from the market. :)
Liz
Thanks Liz – Nice Recipe. Have a great day!
Liz DellaCroce
You too Liz!
taylor @ taylormade
I nearly drooled on my keyboard when I saw you post the photo of this on instagram. it’s pretty much my perfect dish! can’t wait to try.
Liz DellaCroce
It’s a really good one to have on hand – great with any veggies really! :)
Amy @ The Little Honey Bee
Yum! Did I miss this? But how many 1 cup servings does this make?!
Liz DellaCroce
You didn’t miss it!! Sorry about that – I updated the recipe to show the number of servings (four!) :)
Amy @ The Little Honey Bee
Thank you so much!
Putputt @ Putputt Eats
Wow, this looks so fresh and luscious! What a fantastic-looking dish! You can never go wrong with pesto. :-) Thanks for sharing!
Liz DellaCroce
That’s pretty much my feeling about pesto too!! :)
Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg
This looks delicious! My mouth is watering. I like that it’s healthy as well.
Liz DellaCroce
I hope you try it Norma – so good!
The Candid RD
This sounds fabulous. I love simple and flavorful pasta recipes (and I love the idea of freezing the pesto!)
Liz DellaCroce
Me too – I’m all about simple and flavorful. :)