Believe me when I say, you are going to be obsessed with this Vegan Pesto Pasta! This pesto sauce recipe is completely plant-based and dairy free but still rich and flavorful! I love to pair this pasta with an easy protein like roasted tofu or tempeh and a side salad like my Longevity Salad. If you love pasta just as much as I do, you have to try my One Pot Pasta, All Your Greens Pasta, or Beauty Beet Pasta.
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Notes on Ingredients
- Nutritional Yeast: You can typically find nutritional yeast either in the spice or baking aisle in your grocery store. It’s the perfect dairy-free, cheesy addition to this recipe!
- Cashews: These add the perfect amount of rich and nutty flavor, plus provide a great boost of healthy fats. Make sure to use dry roasted, unsalted cashews for this recipe, otherwise I recommend reducing the amount of salt you add to the sauce.
- Olive Oil: Be sure to use high quality, 100% extra virgin olive oil to ensure your olive oil is completely pure and not diluted with filler refined seed oils. It will also make this pesto 100x more flavorful!
Please take note that this is important information about the ingredients used in this recipe and the FULL recipe with measurements and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.
How do you make Vegan Pesto Pasta?
- Boil your pasta. While pasta is boiling, blend all ingredients in food processor until completely combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Strain pasta (rinse if gluten-free), then mix pesto into pasta.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Step 1: First, add spinach, basil, cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to a food processor.
- Step 2: Once blended, pesto should be a smooth consistency.
- Step 3: Next, boil and strain spaghetti.
- Step 4: Finally, add the pesto into the spaghetti.
Commonly Asked Questions
Store the Pesto Pasta in an airtight container for up to 4 or 5 days in the fridge.
Definitely! Feel free to use any type of pasta here including whole-wheat, gluten-free like brown rice pasta, or even a protein pasta such as lentil pasta.
You could swirl it into Lasagna Soup or in Mediterranean Pesto Quinoa Salad.
A neutral green like kale or arugula would work! Keep in mind this may alter the flavor of the pesto slightly.
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Extra Helpful Tips
- If using spaghetti noodles and they don’t fit in the pot at first, break the noodles in half before putting them in the water so they fit and can cook evenly.
- Make a double batch of pesto and use the extra on top of avocado toast, as a dip, or swirled into my Dairy-Free No-Boil Pasta Bake.
- Use any type of pasta.
- Adjust pesto accordingly with more olive oil to thin or more spinach to thicken. Scrape down the sides in between blending.
How to Store
Store in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. To reheat, simply microwave or put back on the stove top.
More Vegan Lunches & Dinners
If you tried this Vegan Pesto Pasta or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Vegan Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Lemon Squeezer optional
- 1 pot
- 1 Colander
- 1 spoon large
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz box of pasta any kind of pasta you prefer
- 3 cups basil fresh
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ cup cashews raw
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt pink salt
Instructions
- Boil your pasta. While pasta is boiling, blend all ingredients in food processor until completely combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Strain pasta (rinse if gluten-free), then mix pesto into pasta.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If using spaghetti noodles and they don’t fit in the pot at first, break the noodles in half before putting them in the water so they fit and can cook evenly.
- Make a double batch of pesto and use the extra on top of avocado toast, as a dip, or swirled into my Dairy-Free No-Boil Pasta Bake.
- Use any type of pasta.
- Adjust pesto accordingly with more olive oil to thin or more spinach to thicken. Scrape down the sides in between blending.
Mike says
Hi this recipe looks great. Gonna have to try it. When measuring cups of basil and spinach, do you measure whole leaves or chopped? Thanks
Alison Shaw says
I measured whole leaves and it turned out great!
I’m wondering if the pesto can be made in advance and frozen.
Jordan Stacy says
I love this vegan pesto because it is so versatile! I use it on tofu, mixed into pasta dishes, or to make pesto aioli!