This Easy Parsley Pesto Pasta Recipe is a take on traditional pesto for those of us that are not exactly fans of basil or pine nuts. I use parsley and almonds, but also have used walnuts which work equally as well. The food processor does all of the work here, so this recipe comes together in just minutes. Toss with your favorite cooked pasta and serve with additional parmesan cheese. Let me show you how to make it.
Ingredients needed to make this recipe
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- Cooked pasta, we chose Farfalle as it holds up well to the sauce
- Very finely chopped almonds, you could also use walnuts or traditionally, pine nuts
- Flat leaf Italian parsley, this is not the time for curly parsley
- Extra virgin olive oil, or you could also use vegetable oil
- Grated parmesan (or Vegan Parmesan) cheese, plus more for serving
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Some of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin the pesto or loosen the pasta as needed
How to make Easy Parsley Pesto Pasta
The first step is to add the parsley to the food processor. Since we are processing this, I do not take as much care to remove the stems. They are full of flavor.
Add your grated parmesan, or vegan alternative. There are some really great vegan parmesan alternatives out there these days. I find them in my regular mainstream grocery stores in the vegan refrigerated section.
Add your salt and pepper now as well.
Because almonds can quickly turn to almond “butter” when over processed, I did these separately and add after processing the parsley and parmesan.
Add the oil in a stream through the top of the processor until smooth. At this point, it’s best to add some of the reserved cooking water if it remains too thick. You can also do this after tossing the pasta if you find that it needs thinning out. That pasta water contains the starch and helps the cheese stick to the pasta. It’s a great little trick!
So here is what you should have at this point.
Toss with your pasta and again, don’t be afraid to loosen it with a bit more of that reserved pasta water.
Make it vegetarian, make it vegan…either way, it’s simply delicious! I really hope you give it a try.
Doesn’t that look amazing? And how easy was this recipe to pull together.
Did you make my Easy Parsley Pesto Pasta Recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought.
Easy Parsley Pesto Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb Farfalle Pasta boiled to package instructions and drained
- 1/4 c Almonds very finely chopped
- 2 c Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
- 1/3 c Olive Oil or vegetable oil
- 1/4 c Parmesan Cheese or vegan alternative
- Salt taste
- Pepper to taste
- Water as needed to thin
Instructions
- Cook pasta to package instructions and drain.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add parsley, parmesan and almonds with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Process while drizzling oil until smooth, adding water as needed to thin.
- Toss the pasta with the pesto and serve warm with additional parmesan.