Spaghetti Al Pesto

5 from 21 votes

Spaghetti Al Pesto is a super quick and easy recipe. Using homemade basil pesto tossed through al dente spaghetti in less than 15 minutes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: spaghetti al pesto, spaghetti with pesto

Servings:

Calories: 766kcal

Make the pesto: add the fresh basil leaves, garlic, pistachio nuts and pecorino romano cheese to the food processor bowl and blitz for about 15 seconds. Then scrap the edges down with a spatula to keep all of the ingredients low in the bowl.
Oil: drizzle in the olive oil and blitz for around 5 seconds to combine. Then take a teaspoon and test a little bit of the pesto.
Lemon juice: pour in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and blitz to combine. Use the spatula again to scrape down the sides of the pesto. Take the teaspoon and test another small amount of pesto. Add remaining tablespoon of lemon juice as needed to balance the flavours. Transfer combined pesto to a small bowl and set aside.
Spaghetti: read and follow the packet instructions to cook the spaghetti in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water. Before draining, use a heatproof jug to scoop out 1 to 2 cups of pasta water. Then use a colander to drain the spaghetti and discard the water.
Combine pesto and pasta: add the cooked spaghetti to a large sauté pan. Turn the heat to low. Dollop in the pesto. Pour in ½ cup of the reserved pasta water and use a wooden spoon and pair of kitchen tongs to toss and combine. Keep stirring till the pasta, water and pesto is consistently combined.
Serve and enjoy: portion the pesto spaghetti into serving bowls, garnish with freshly grated pecorino romano cheese, cracked black pepper and fresh basil leaves. Provide forks and spoons for the eating.

Note 1 - Pistachio nuts: you can also toast some roughly chopped leftovers of these to garnish the top of the dish if you want to. Substitute the equivalent amount of pine nuts, cashews or walnuts.
Note 2 - Garlic cloves: if using fresh cloves, use a knife and chopping board to cut the small end bit of the base, before adding to the food processor. You can use ½ to 1 tablespoon of minced garlic if you don't have garlic cloves.
Note 3 - Lemon juice: this lifts the flavour of the pesto, but can also quickly over power it if too much juice is used. So taste the pesto before adding any lemon juice, then add 1 tablespoon and combine, then taste again before deciding if you want to add the other tablespoon. You will know quickly from the taste if it is spot on or needs the extra amount. (I do use the 2 tablespoons, but also taste it repeatedly to ensure that specific batch of pesto needs the 2).
Note 4 - Reserved pasta water: we only need ½ cup of this for the recipe. It is added once the cooked spaghetti and pesto have been added to the sauté pan together. Pour it in slowly and then use a wooden spoon and tongs to toss and combine. I refer in the post to taking out 1 to 2 cups. This is because you can leave this in the fridge in a sealed, jar with lid and then use a little to juice up the leftovers before heating (simply drizzle it in and then stir).