Homemade Pesto Pasta
This Italian-inspired pesto pasta is one of my favorite recipes to make all year long! Unlike most pasta dishes, it can be eaten hot or cold and is just as delicious either way.

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3 Ingredient Pasta With Pesto Sauce
With just ten minutes of prep time and ten minutes of cooking time required, it’s virtually failproof and a true lifesaver on busy weeknights. Plus, it comes together with just three ingredients I almost always have on hand.
Bright, savory, and herbaceous, this pasta is perfectly tasty as is but can easily be customized to suit all your preferences. For instance, I love to add cooked shrimp or leftover shredded chicken thighs for extra protein. Or, I sometimes switch up the flavor by adding red pepper flakes for a bit of spice or a splash of creamy for a richer taste.
No matter how you serve it, this pasta dish is always a huge hit. There’s a reason it has a five-star rating, after all!
Pesto Tip! I like using my homemade pesto in this recipe but you can certainly use store-bought pesto as well. Just make sure it’s fresh and good-quality.
Ingredients For Pesto Noodles
- Dry Pasta – Any pasta of choice works here. My personal favorites are spaghetti and penne.
- Basil Pesto – This recipe tastes the best with Homemade Basil Pesto. But you can certainly use store-bought pesto. Make sure to buy refrigerated pesto. It’s going to be fresh tasting than the jarred pesto.
- Lemon Juice – Lemon juice will brighten up the taste of this pasta dish. Use fresh lemon juice for best flavor.
- Also, freshly grated Parmesan is optional for serving.
What Kind of Pasta Goes with Pesto?
There are lots of different kinds of pasta that work well with pesto. You can choose your favorite and go from there! Some amazing options include tortellini, bowtie, penne, rigatoni, orecchiette, or farfalle.
Ultimately this is up to you and what you have in your pantry or can find at the grocery store. This recipe is easily adaptable to fit exactly what you want.
Tips For Making Pasta With Pesto Sauce
- Remember to toss the cooked pasta with the pesto off the heat, so the basil doesn’t oxidize and turn black.
- Also, don’t throw out the pasta water. It’s the key to making an excellent saucy consistency for your pasta.
Off heat, toss the cooked pasta with pesto and some reserved pasta water to create saucy consistency. Add lemon juice. Taste, add more salt, black pepper, or pasta water.
Serve immediately topped with fresh Parmesan cheese.
Pesto Pasta Dish Variations
You can add veggies, seafood, or meat to this delicious pasta. Here are some tasty options:
- Meat: lemon pepper chicken tenders, bone-in turkey breast, chicken parmesan meatballs, sausage, bacon
- Vegetables: broccoli, cherry tomatoes, spinach, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, arugula, garlic, artichokes
Make this Pesto Pasta Creamy
This green basil pesto can be made creamy simply by adding half and half, heavy cream, or garlic cream sauce to the dish, which makes the dish richer and adds dairy.
Vegan Pasta With Pesto Sauce
If you follow a vegan diet, this pasta recipe is easily altered to fit your needs.
Simply make sure to use vegan-friendly pesto, either from the store or homemade. Also, use pasta without eggs or create your own at home.
What Goes Well With Pesto Pasta?
This pasta is delicious as a main course or side dish. Some other dishes you can serve on side are:
How to Store Leftover Pesto Noodles
Refrigerate: After this pesto pasta has been prepared, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container. To serve, simply bring it to room temperature and enjoy. You can reheat it, however, the basil will turn black.
Freeze: This dish isn’t well suited for freezing. Cooked pasta is best eaten fresh. You can freeze pesto, though! After making your pesto, pour it into an ice cube tray, set it in the freezer, transfer it to a large zip-top bag, and store it in the freezer for up to three months.
FAQs
You’ll need anywhere from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of pesto. This is enough to make the pasta flavorful but not so much that it’s overwhelming. Simply start off with 1/2 cup pesto, taste, and add more if needed.
Besides Parmesan cheese, there are some delicious cheeses that go well with pesto pasta. These options include feta cheese, shredded mozzarella, Havarti, ricotta, gruyere cheese, or Pecorino Romano.
If you want to eat pesto but don’t want to eat pasta, you can use this tasty sauce on top of spiralized zucchini noodles, balsamic salmon recipe, roasted vegetables, or eggs.
More Pesto Recipes
If you try our pesto pasta dish, please leave a star rating and a comment letting us know how you liked the recipe.
PrintPesto Pasta Dish
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This 3-ingredient pesto pasta is an easy side or main dish that’s perfect for warm weather. It’s made with pasta, basil pesto, and lemon juice.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. dry pasta of choice
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup basil pesto
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- Shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
- Immediately, off heat, toss the cooked pasta with 1/2 cup pesto and some of the reserved pasta water to create saucy consistency. Add lemon juice. Taste, add more pesto as needed.
- Serve immediately, garnished with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Pesto: If using store-bought pesto, look for fresh refrigerated pesto. It’s better tasting than pesto found in the pasta sauce aisle.
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 pasta tossed with pesto
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 272.5 mg
- Fat: 15.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.1 g
- Protein: 9.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg