Creamy Pesto Pasta

Name: Creamy Pesto Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1/2 Cup Basil Pesto, or Arugula Pesto, check recipe link above; 1/2 lbs Pasta, linguine or penne pasta; 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese, divided; 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream, adjust per taste; Salt and Black Pepper, as per taste; Cherry Tomatoes, for serving; 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil; 1/2 Red Onion, sliced into thin strings

Linguine coated in creamy pesto sauce, served with caramelized onions and fresh cherry tomatoes.

Posted On: Jul, 14 | Author: Savita

Pastas Main Course Italian Under 20 Minute Meals

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Diet Info: DF GF F LF Na LS VG V Fa

My family loves Pesto Pasta! Other than taste, for me, Pesto Pasta means - worry-free-delicious-dinner! Really, pesto is a kind of sauce that can help you serve, a flavorful Italian dinner, using a few simple ingredients.

For these reasons, I LOVE to keep a batch of Homemade Pesto in my refrigerator. Then, whenever we crave for Italian Pasta dinner, this one pre-step helps me serve dinner in just 20-25 minutes!

Even though I love Traditional Basil Pesto...... with time, my pesto recipes have evolved with my taste. I love going all-non-traditional and pretty much replace, all main ingredients of classic pesto, with whatever greens and nuts I have in-hand. This not just helps me utilize my fresh produce and keep it under-budget, but also helps avoid serving the SAME old monotonous Basil Pesto Pasta every-time.

Dinner under 20 minutes with Linguine Pasta coated in Creamy Pesto Sauce | chefdehome.com

Today, I paired my fresh batch of Spicy Arugula Pesto (I shared this recipe a few weeks ago) with Linguine/Linguini pasta, caramelized onion, quintessential parmesan cheese, and some fresh sweet cherry tomatoes to cut-thru the richness!

Basil Pesto Pasta with Caramelized Onion and Cherry Tomatoes | chefdehome.com

For your convenience, I have mentioned "Classic Basil Pesto" in recipe ingredients. However, you can really choose any pesto of your choice. I prefer homemade, but store-bought pesto sauce will also work fine.

Please note, since pesto is the base for this creamy sauce, the flavor of pasta will change depending on kind of pesto used. Like, if you looking for a pronounced basil taste, then go for classic basil pesto or if you want a spicy sharp taste, then opt for something like Spicy Arugula Pesto (listed below).

Here is the link to Pesto Recipes that I have shared so far:

1. Classic Basil Pesto
2. Basil and Pistachio Pesto
3. Spicy Arugula Pesto

I know!! I'm still counting this list!

Now, you know how much my family loves pesto! :)

This Creamy Pesto Linguine pictures, I took while I shared Arugula Pesto, on blog. I decided to share these two recipes in separate posts since Arugula Pesto was vegan and this recipe does not like the "vegan" word :) I mean, heavy cream and nutty parmesan are two key components of any good creamy pesto sauce, almost irreplaceable for me.

You know, Vishal is SO die-hard fan of this creamy pesto that if I'll attempt a vegan-version....... I know, we will be eating-out that day...... and next whole day, I will savor my "vegan creamy pesto pasta" leftovers! So, I have not taken these chances yet ;-)

Vegan?

However, if you still insist, I can tell you, to make it vegan: replace cream with coconut milk and replace parmesan with nutritional yeast.

Basil Pesto Pasta Linguine | chefdehome.com

Now, I will sign-off. You all have a great day! - Savita

Few more easy Pasta Dinners from my recipe repertoire:

Masala Pasta in Spiced Tikka Masala Sauce Lemon-Herb Pasta Primavera Pasta with Basil and Pistachio Pesto