Creamy Pesto Pasta
Creamy pesto pasta is one of those recipes we genuinely make on repeat, and honestly it never gets old. There's something about a proper homemade pesto, blitzed up fresh with basil, garlic and lemon, that absolutely blows the jarred stuff out of the water. It's rich, herby, and coats every strand of pasta in this gorgeous creamy sauce that feels a bit indulgent but comes together in 15 minutes. We love this one for those weeknight evenings when you want something that tastes like you really tried, without actually having to really try. Make it tonight, you will not regret it.
Before You Start
- Blender
- Saucepan
- Large saucepan for boiling pasta
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp plant-based cream cheese
- 200g fresh basil
- 120g toasted pine nuts
- 1 clove garlic clove
- 2 nutritional yeast
- 100ml olive oil
- 250ml soy cream
- 400g wholewheat penne pasta
- Salt & pepper to taste
- side salad
- lemon wedges
- basil leaves
- nutritional yeast
- 100g spinach
Method
Make the pesto
- Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a blender. Peel the garlic and put that in, too
- Put all the remaining ingredients in the blender and blitz to a creamy sauce (don’t put the basil stalks in - only use the leaves)
Prepare your pasta
- Boil a saucepan full of water over a high heat
- Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt
- Add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions
- Save 3-4 tbsp of pasta water
Make your sauce
- Pour the pesto into a saucepan and warm over a gentle heat, stirring continuously
- Add the soya cream and dairy-free cream cheese to the pan and stir to combine
- Add the spinach and fold until wilted
- Taste the sauce and season to perfection with salt and pepper
Almost time to eat!
- Add the pasta to the pan and fold it into the sauce. If the sauce needs loosening, add some pasta water and stir
- Transfer the creamy pesto pasta into bowls, garnish with basil leaves, nutritional yeast and serve immediately with a simple side salad and a wedge of lemon
Tips & Variations
- Use the pasta water generously: We know it sounds weird keeping the cooking water but trust us on this one, it transforms the sauce. Add it a splash at a time until the pesto coats the pasta like a dream.
- Swap the nuts: If you're not a pine nut person, or just want to save a bit of money, cashews work brilliantly in this pesto and give it an even creamier finish.
- Make it a meal: We love throwing in some roasted cherry tomatoes or a handful of wilted spinach to bulk it out a bit. Henry always adds a bit of extra lemon zest on top at the end too, and honestly it makes it sing.
Why This Works
The trick here is saving that starchy pasta water before you drain it. Stirring a few tablespoons into the pesto is what gives you that silky, clingy sauce instead of something that just sits in a clump at the bottom of the bowl. The other thing is blending the pesto until it's properly creamy rather than just roughly chopped, because that texture change makes a huge difference to how the whole dish feels.