Pesto Pasta Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated March 23, 2017
From spaghetti tossed in a fresh zucchini pesto to angel hair coated in blended, roasted red peppers, these amazing pesto pasta recipes will give you plenty of creative dinner ideas that go outside the box.
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Ricotta-Filled Handkerchief Pasta with Pesto and Marinara

Credit: © Con Poulos
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Known in Italian as mandilli, this delicious dish, from Tim Cushman at Manhattan's Covina, consists of sheets of pasta coated with pesto sauce, stuffed with ricotta and topped with tomato sauce. It's great with a berry-rich Piedmont red, like the 2014 Piazzo Barbera, Cushman says. To save time, you can use store-bought pasta sheets.

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Pappardelle with Summer Squash and Arugula-Walnut Pesto

Credit: © Con Poulos
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This recipe is a fantastic showcase for superfresh summer squash. Zucchini and yellow squash are cut lengthwise into ribbons on a mandoline then tossed with hot pasta so they just barely cook.

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Spaghetti with Parsley Almond Pesto

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Parsley, rather than the traditional basil, makes this pesto a year-round staple. Because the taste of almonds is more delicate than that of the usual pine nuts, we have chopped rather than ground them. Their flavor really comes through when you bite in to a nutty chunk.

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Fusilli with Spinach and Sun-Dried-Tomato Pesto

Credit: © David De Vleeschauwer
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Our tomato pesto packs a wallop of flavor. Use it in this colorful pasta salad or toss it with hot pasta instead. You may also want to try the pesto on top of grilled chicken, lamb, or vegetables; as a sandwich spread; or mixed with cream cheese on a bagel.

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Spaghetti with Fresh Zucchini Pesto

Credit: © Con Poulos
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This light and fresh-tasting zucchini pesto coats spaghetti, but it also includes raw zucchini matchsticks to give the dish a bit of crunch.

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Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce

Credit: © Bree Hester
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Here's a true crowd pleaser: pasta shells in a simple sauce of ground beef, tomatoes, and pesto, layered with mozzarella and Parmesan and baked until bubbly. Fusilli or orecchiette would work well here, too.

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Pasta with Cauliflower, Peppers and Walnut Pesto

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This vegetable-loaded pasta is equally delicious warm or cold. It features the Eastern Mediterranean staples of cauliflower and bell peppers, which taste great together, especially when tossed in a garlicky walnut pesto.

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Angel Hair Pasta with Red Pepper Pesto and Basil

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This simple summery sauce blends roasted red peppers with traditional pesto ingredients, like basil and pine nuts, gets tossed with with cool angel hair pasta. The pesto freezes beautifully and is also delicious spread on grilled cheese sandwiches or swirled into soups.

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Farfalle with Zucchini and Parsley-Almond Pesto

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A combination of roasted almonds, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese make for a nutty, fresh-tasting pesto. This pasta dish is terrific served warm, but it can also be refrigerated and served as a cold pasta salad.

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Spaghetti with Radish-Greens Pesto

Credit: © Con Poulos
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Radish greens make a superfresh, flavorful pesto. You can also use beet or turnip greens.

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Orecchiette with Pistachio Pesto

Credit: © Con Poulos
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This amazing pesto has a key ingredient that makes it stand out: Sicily's famous pistachio nuts, which are sweet, fruity and almost shockingly bright green.

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Cheese Tortellini with Walnut Pesto

Credit: Christina Holmes
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Here's one of the quickest pesto sauces you'll come across. It's a perfect match for cheese tortellini, but you can use other tortellini such as mushroom or meat instead. The pesto is also great with just about any plain pasta.

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Broccoli Pesto with Campanelle Pasta

Credit: © Evi Abeler
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Broccoli florets stand in for herbs in this hearty take on pesto pasta.

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Whole-Wheat Fettuccine with Arugula Pesto

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Both the silky whole wheat pasta and the simple arugula pesto topping are homemade here. The dish is finished off with cherry tomatoes.

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Pesto Spaghetti with Peas and Corn

Credit: © Ian Knauer
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If you can find fresh peas, feel free to use them instead of the frozen peas.

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Rigatoni with Lemony Kale-and-Pecorino Pesto

Credit: Fredrika Stjärne
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Making pesto with kale instead of basil isn't just healthier, it's unexpectedly delicious.

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Pasta with Spicy Almond Pesto

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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Using almond butter is a great shortcut for making this delicious spicy dish. Or try hazelnut butter for an earthier pesto.

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Asparagus Pesto with Whole Wheat Pasta

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Pesto is traditionally made with basil, but here, asparagus does the heavy lifting.

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