Pasta al Pesto (20-Minute Vegan Recipe)

Name: Pasta al Pesto (20-Minute Vegan Recipe)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces 340 g dried linguine or spaghetti; 2 packed cups fresh basil leaves (stems removed); 1-2 garlic cloves (roughly chopped); 3 tablespoons pine nuts; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 3 tablespoons grated vegan parmesan; 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (more to taste)

ByRuth Grindeland Published:November 23, 2025November 29, 2025 Updated:November 29, 2025

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Pasta al pesto is an easy 20-minute pasta recipe! You make the homemade pesto Genoese basil pesto that you make while the noodles are cooking. This recipe is perfect for busy weeknights!

Pasta al pesto on a plate with pine nuts and basil on the plate.

Your weeknights got a lot easier with this pasta al pesto recipe. My vegan pesto pasta recipe and uses plant-based parmesan cheese. If you prefer traditional Genoese pesto, simply swap the vegan parmesan for dairy parmesan. That one swap can make this vegan or vegetarian.

I’m making the pesto from scratch, It only takes a few minutes. But, if you want to save time or simpfly, you can use jarred pesto. If you want a different pesto flavor, I also have recipes for pesto rosso (sun-dried tomato), roasted red pepper, and lemon basil on my blog. All are just as easy to make!

Prep Time
5 Minutes

Total Time
20Minutes

Servings
4 sides

Diet
Vegan

What is Pasta al Pesto?

Pasta al pesto is from Liguriain northwestern Italy. This recipe was traditionally made with a long noodle such as trenette or trofie pasta. But I use linguine. It is also long and very easy to find in the US. In Liguria, the recipe includes potatoes and green beans. I’ve included those instructions in a separate section below.

Watch How to Make Pasta al Pesto

Ingredients

Pasta

Typically made with a long flat noodle. But, you can use any pasta shape you like. I prefer pesto in fusilli, cavatappi, and rotini. This allows the pesto to nestle into the crooks and gives each bite more flavor.

Pesto

I’m going to make mine from scratch. This way I know the pesto is vegan. You can save time by using store bought jarred pesto. Which would also make this a 2-ingredient meal!

Step-by-Step Pasta al Pesto Recipe Instructions

Step One: Cook the Pasta

Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Add a sprinkle of salt, then the pasta. Cook according to the directions.

Step Two: Make the Vegan Pesto

Place fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, vegan parmesan, lemon juice, and salt into a food processor. Pulse until everything is finely chopped. Then slowly stream in the olive oil until the pesto is thick but also smooth. You can add a tablespoon of water if you want the pesto to loosen.

Three stages of making pesto: Ingredients, rough blend, smooth blend.

Step Three: Coat the Pasta

Once the pasta has drained, return it to the pot. Then add 2/3 of the pesto and toss until all the noodles are coated evenly. Continue to toss for 1-2 minutes until the pesto clings to the pasta.

Pesto pasta in a saucepan coiled around tongs.

Did you know?
Al dente pasta means cooked “to the tooth.” This means to cook the pasta to the point where it is firm in the center, but not hard. I like to think of it as slightly undercooked, by one or two minutes depending on the shape. The pasta will finish cooking as it cools.

Step Four: Serve

Serve immediately. Top with extra vegan Parmesan, torn fresh basil, and a squeeze of lemon.

Pesto pasta on a plate with pine nuts and basil on the plate.

Personalize This Recipe

Add veggies: Try mixing in a handful of baby spinach or kale. I like to add in roasted broccoli or air-fryer tomatoes. Both can be ready in ten minutes!
Add protein: Add in half a cup of cooked chickpeas or white beans. I have also added baked tofu cubes.

Diet Modifications

Gluten-free: Make this recipe gluten-free by substituting the pasta with your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Nut-free: You can swap the nuts with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. Another option is to use one teaspoon of nutritional yeast. It has a rich umami flavor and adds depth.

Traditional Ligurian Potato and Beans Variation

In Liguria, this recipe is often served with potatoes and green beans. If you want to go traditional, here are the instructions.

Ingredients

1 cup Yukon Gold or small yellow potatoes. Peel them and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
1 cup fresh green beans (long and thin beans such as haricots verts). Trim them and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Instructions

You will follow the instructions as written above with one change, adding the veggies to the boiling water before the pasta. Here is what you do.
Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add green beans and cook for 3 minutes. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, usually 8 to 9 minutes more, so that everything is tender at the same time.
Follow steps two, three and four as written above.

Storage tips

Refrigerator: Store leftover pasta al pesto in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If it has thickened, add a splash of water or olive oil when reheating. This will help loosen it up.

Freezing: Only freeze the pesto and not the pasta. Start by placing the pesto in ice cube trays. Top with a thin layer of olive oil. Let the pesto cubes freeze, and then you can move them to a freezer-safe bag. When you want to make this again, all you have to do is add the pesto to the cooked pasta!