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International · Italian

Pesto Pasta with Peas

Vegetarian

Pasta tossed with a quick homemade basil pesto, sweet peas and a little starchy cooking water for a creamy, bright green sauce.

Pesto Pasta with Peas is an International pasta dish, ready in about 22 minutes and made with dried pasta and basil. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
12 min
Total
22 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
618

Ingredients

4 servings

For the pesto

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to the boil with the salt and cook the pasta (opens in a new tab) according to the packet, adding the peas (opens in a new tab) for the last 2 minutes.

    Pasta boiling in a pot of water
    How it looks · Photo: Gianpiero Ferraro on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts (opens in a new tab) in a dry pan over medium-low heat until pale golden, 2–3 minutes, and let cool. Blitz the basil (opens in a new tab), pine nuts, garlic (opens in a new tab) and parmesan (opens in a new tab) in a food processor (opens in a new tab), then add the olive oil (opens in a new tab) and lemon juice (opens in a new tab) and blend to a loose paste.

  3. Step 3

    Scoop out a mugful of cooking water, then drain the pasta (opens in a new tab) and peas (opens in a new tab). Return to the pot off the heat and toss with the pesto and a few splashes of cooking water until creamy.

    • 2 min

    Never heat pesto in the pan — it darkens and loses its fresh flavour.

About this dish

Origin
Not attributed to one place · Origin uncertainBasil pesto comes from Liguria in Italy; this quick pea version is an everyday home-style dish rather than a Ligurian one.Also popular in Italy, United Kingdom, United States, Australia
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Pasta · Main courses
Cooking method
Boiled, Blended
Taste
herby, nutty, garlicky, fresh
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
With the listed swaps: No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Child-friendly
Cook more with
Dried pasta · Basil · Green peas · Pine nuts · Garlic · Parmesan
Techniques
Boiling · Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom parmesan
  • May contain: Eggsfrom dried pasta
  • Contains, can be adapted: Tree nutsfrom pine nuts
  • Contains: Wheatfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Glutenfrom dried pasta

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

618 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 313 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 48%
  • Fat 40%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy618 kcal198 kcal
Protein19.1 g6.1 g
Carbohydrate74.1 g23.7 g
Net carbohydrate68.6 g21.9 g
Sugars5.2 g1.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre5.5 g1.8 g
Fat27.4 g8.8 g
Saturated fat4.6 g1.5 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol7 mg2 mg
Sodium776 mg248 mg
Salt equivalent1.9 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
367 mg
Calcium
248 mg
Iron
4.7 mg
Magnesium
106 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
105 µg
Vitamin C
12 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
380 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: lemon juice.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Pesto keeps its colour better if you add the lemon juice and blend only briefly.

Common mistakes

  • Draining away all the cooking water — a few spoonfuls of starchy water are what make the pesto coat the pasta.

Serve with

  • Top with extra parmesan and serve with a tomato salad.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days in the fridge; extra pesto keeps a week covered with a layer of oil.

Reheating

  • Good cold as a pasta salad, or warm gently with a splash of water.

Variations

  • Pesto alla genovese (Italy): The Ligurian classic pairs pesto with trofie or trenette, potatoes and green beans.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in step 1

Reviews & corrections

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