Description
If you’re looking for an easy, simple, and low-effort meal that’s perfect for a weeknight dinner, enter this creamy vegan pesto pasta. This dish is packed with homemade basil pesto, creamy butter beans, chewy pasta, and tons of garlic.
Ingredients
Scale
Homemade Basil Pesto
- 6 cups (4 oz) basil
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Optional, 1/2 cup grated parmesan if not dairy-free
Creamy Pesto Pasta
- 2 cups (4 oz) paccheri or any tube-shaped pasta
- 1 can (14 oz) butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup homemade basil pesto
- 4 tbsp pasta water
- 4 tbsp cashew milk or creamy milk of choice
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
- Handful of minced fresh basil
- Nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Boil the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package instructions (make sure to generously salt the water). Once the pasta is done, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, drain the pasta, and set aside in a colander.
- Make the basil pesto while the pasta cooks. Add all the pesto ingredients into your blender and blend on low for about 1-1.5 minutes. The goal isn’t to make a paste but to grind the nuts and basil into tiny pieces, which will mimic the mortar and pestle technique. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pesto and store any leftover basil pesto in an airtight glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. I haven’t had the pesto oxidize on the top, but if you’re worried about it turning brown, drizzle a super thin layer of olive oil on top to prevent oxidation.
- Make the basil pesto sauce. Heat the same pot used for the pasta on medium heat and add the basil pesto, pasta water, cashew milk, black pepper, and kosher salt. Cook the sauce on medium heat until bubbling and it’s emulsified into a thick and creamy sauce. Make sure to whisk the sauce as it cooks to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter beans and cooked pasta into the sauce. Mix gently to coat the pasta and warm it up a bit, about 1-2 minutes. Adjust salt as needed.
- Serve. Pop the pasta into a bowl, and top with thinly sliced basil, freshly cracked black pepper, a generous drizzle of olive oil (optional), and nutrition yeast.