Vegan Pesto Pasta (GF)

This Vegan Pesto Pasta is super easy to make, nutty and fragrant, and easily customisable! 

Why you'll love this Vegan Pesto Pasta:

• it's fresh and fragrant
• it's nutty and garlicky
• it tastes SO much better than store-bought
• it's gluten-free
• it's nut-free
• it's oil-free optional
• it's a super easy meal
• it's easily customisable!

How to make this Vegan Pesto Pasta

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Place all the ingredients for the pesto in a food processor.

• Whizz until smooth.

Tip: Add a little extra water or plant-based milk if you're having trouble blending it.

• Add the pesto sauce to the pan with the cooked and drained pasta.

• Mix well.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

• you can substitute the pine nuts with any nuts or seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, cashews etc
• for an oil-free version, you can substitute the olive oil with water or any plant-based milk.

Ingredients you can add to the recipe:

• I like to add frozen green peas to this and cook them at the same time as the pasta, but you can add any other vegetables you like. Broccoli or kale can be cooked with the pasta,  spinach can be wilted in at the end. Or you could add some pan-fried sliced courgette (zucchini) or mushrooms.
• Coconut bacon or almond bacon!
• Chickpeas or white beans
• Tinned sweetcorn
• Olives.

How to make Creamy Vegan Pesto Pasta

If you want to make this Vegan Pesto Pasta creamy, you can do this very easily using plant-based milk (I like unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened cashew milk or unsweetened oat milk for this) and cornflour (cornstarch).

For the serving size specified in this recipe, you'll need to use 230 ml (1 cup) plant-based milk and 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch).

Be very careful with how you use the cornflour, though! You have to dissolve the cornflour first in a very small amount of cold water and then only add it to the sauce once it's very hot and bubbling. If you add the cornflour straight to the hot sauce without dissolving it in cold water first, it'll form small clumps that refuse to dissolve and if you add the dissolved cornflour when the sauce isn't very hot, the same thing will happen.

Troubleshooting tip: However, if you do end up with a sauce full of clumps of cornflour, you can just tip the sauce back into the blender you made your pesto in until you get rid of the lumps and then reheat the sauce in the pan, gently stirring it, and it should thicken up.

More vegan pasta recipes:

• Creamy Tomato Sauce Pasta
• Pumpkin Chestnut Pasta
• Creamy Miso Pasta
• Browse my whole vegan pasta collection!

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Vegan Pesto Pasta (GF)

This Vegan Pesto Pasta is super easy to make, nutty and fragrant, and easily customisable! 

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: vegan pesto, vegan pesto pasta

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 2

Calories: 632kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

• ▢ 200 g (7 oz) pasta (ensure gluten-free if necessary - I like brown rice spaghetti)

For the pesto*:

• ▢ 30 g (1 oz) fresh basil
• ▢ 1 clove garlic , peeled
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 3 tablespoons pine nuts (or sub any other nuts or seeds)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil (or sub water)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• ▢ Salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

• Boil pasta according to instructions on packet - add a handful of frozen green peas if you wish
• Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the pesto into a food processor and whizz until smooth - add a little extra water or plant-based milk if you're having trouble blending it
• Drain the cooked pasta 
• Add the pesto sauce to the pan with the drained pasta and mix well
• Enjoy immediately!

Notes

*You can also use store-bought vegan pesto

I like to add peas to this and cook them at the same time as the pasta, but you can add any other vegetables you like. Broccoli or kale can be cooked with the pasta,  spinach can be wilted in at the end. Or you could pan-fry some courgette (zucchini) or mushrooms. 

How to make Creamy Vegan Pesto Pasta

If you want to make this Vegan Pesto Pasta creamy, you can do this very easily using plant-based milk (I like unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened cashew milk or unsweetened oat milk for this) and cornflour (cornstarch).

For the serving size specified in this recipe, you'll need to use 230 ml (1 cup) plant-based milk and 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch). 

Be very careful with how you use the cornflour, though! You have to dissolve the cornflour first in a very small amount of cold water and then only add it to the sauce once it's very hot and bubbling. If you add the cornflour straight to the hot sauce without dissolving it in cold water first, it'll form small clumps that refuse to dissolve and if you add the dissolved cornflour when the sauce isn't very hot, the same thing will happen.

Troubleshooting tip: However, if you do end up with a sauce full of clumps of cornflour, you can just tip the sauce back into the blender you made your pesto in until you get rid of the lumps and then reheat the sauce in the pan, gently stirring it, and it should thicken up.

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Pesto Pasta (GF)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 632 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 7mg0%

Potassium 506mg14%

Carbohydrates 81g27%

Fiber 5g20%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 19g38%

Vitamin A 790IU16%

Vitamin C 9mg11%

Calcium 48mg5%

Iron 3.1mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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