Three cheers for carbs! I am a pasta lover through and through and this pesto pasta is no exception. It takes less than half an hour to prepare and only has 9 ingredients. Seriously, what are you waiting for?
If I’m having people over for dinner, or even if I’m just cooking dinner for myself and my boyfriend, this is my go-to dish. It’s great to share with others, because literally everyone I’ve ever met loves pesto. (If you’re not a pesto fan, don’t be mad – I just seriously haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like it!) Try it out – this pesto really is the best-o.
Pesto Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Flavourful, quick, easy pesto that'll have your friends asking if it's really vegan.
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- 1.5 cup raw walnuts
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1.5 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
- Salt to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)
- 1 340g box of spaghetti (or your favourite kind of pasta)
For the Tomatoes
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pinch of salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Combine all pesto ingredients (aside from pasta) in a food processor* and blend until ingredients are combined. It’s okay if the nuts aren’t completely smooth – it will add texture to the dish! If you need more liquid, add additional olive oil one tablespoon at a time. Set sauce aside
- Fill a large saucepan with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil
- While the water is coming to a boil, prepare the tomatoes – combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir until the tomatoes are coated in olive oil, and lay on a cookie sheet
- Roast tomatoes in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until they blister
- Cook pasta in boiled water for approximately 8 minutes, or according to box directions. Drain pasta and return to pot
- Add pesto sauce to the cooked pasta and stir to combine, adding extra olive oil as needed, as well as salt and pepper to taste
- Plate pasta and top with cherry tomatoes – garnish with extra basil if desired!
*Using a food processor is key in this recipe. If you don’t own a food processor and decide to use a blender instead, expect a very thick, creamy sauce that may be difficult to stir into the pasta.
Hope you love this pesto and agree that it’s the best-o…not just pretty good-o. (You watch Friends. You get it).
xo – M
Plantiful Kitchens 