You know those nights where you're exhausted, maybe because you worked hard all day, or maybe because you watched an entire season of a new show on Netflix, (no judgement). You're tired, you're hungry, you're lazy, and all you want is an enormous bowl of basil-y, garlic-y, cashew-y, vegan pasta. Well what an extreeme coincidence, because I have just the thing for you! (I know, you didn't see that coming at all).
I love making pesto, because it's incredibly easy, and everyone seems to think you're all fancy pants in the kitchen. When really, all you have to do is just shove some things in a food processor, and boil some pasta. It's like if sweat pants were fancy.
Traditionally, pesto has a mound of cheese in it (but bleh, clearly), and it's made with pine nuts. Now, there isn't anything non-vegan about pine nuts, but personally I am just not a huge fan. They are pretty pricey, they spoil easily, and I never have them on hand... which doesn't really work for the lazy part of the meal preparation. So, I swapped out pine nuts with cashews, lots of 'em. I love the creamy, dreamy, soft flavour it provides. If you don't have cashews, walnuts work well too.
To make this dish, simply boil water for pasta (yeah it starts that easy), toss all the ingredients for the pesto into a food processor, and pulse until you have a slightly textured paste. Cook your pasta, then toss the hot pasta with the pesto. Done. (It ends that easy too). Top with a little basil leaf or two, and now you are talking some serious fancy pants-ness.
Vegan Cashew Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta (any shape), gluten-free if preferred
- 1 bunch fresh basil (1 cup), (save some leaves for garnish)
- ¾ cup cashews raw or roasted
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and then cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- Add the basil, cashews, olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a food processor. Pulse until everything is ground into a paste, but it still has a bit of texture, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
- Add the pesto to the pot with the pasta and toss until well combined. Serve hot with a few leaves of basil for garnish.
Notes
Nutrition
 Featured Ingredient: Basil. 128 Days, 58 Recipes to go!
Bon Appetegan
Sam.
Julia says
I can't have yeast. Would I be able to remove it or do you have a plant-based alternative. Thanks so much!
Leni says
I followed receipe and made two changes only.. I had arugula on hand which was about to expire, so I used it instead of basil. At the end I added few tablespoons of cold water to make the consistency ore to my liking.. it was delicious! Thank you for sharing Sam.
cristiana says
I quite literally said "oh my god" out loud when I tried this. Finally a recipe worthy of using the basil I've been growing!
Brianna says
Absolutely scrumptious! Love the cashew alternative since pine nuts are so expensive. Extra notes: I toasted the cashews before blending them, which brought out the flavor and spooned it onto each Mozarella slice for our caprese salad instead of serving it with pasta. Molto delizioso!
Faro says
YUM YUM YUM! I love how the sauce comes together while the water is boiling, so it doesn't take any time! This is my go to recipe every time!
Kristal says
Oh my word!!!! This pesto is absolutely delicious. I added a little bit of plant based milk to thin it out, but that was the only modification I made. It tasted just like Amy's Kitchen Pesto Tortellini Bowl, which I consumed regularly when I ate dairy. Vegan ravioli combined with this pesto sealed the deal for never needing dairy again. You nailed it. Excellent recipe. Thank you!
SusanTownsend says
I am assuming that it’s a packed cup of basil?
Uma says
Loved this recipe. No fuss. Add things together and boom...best kind for my quick dinner for a tired dat after work. I used coconut oil instead of olive oil, which sticks perfectly. I love your enthusiasm in sharing. Thank you.
Maria says
Oh! The flavour, it's just sooo good!
I paired it up with homemade gnocchi from thecuriouschickpea and it was delicious. So simple to make yet so flavourous and rich! The only downside is the consistency, it was not easy to mix to the pasta and didn't stick well. But overall great recipe, thank you!
Dottie says
SO DAMNED GOOD! Never have even bought nutritional yeast before, but I made a special trip to get some for this recipe. Thank you!
Michelle Mather says
OMG Sam! I can't believe it took me this long to try this recipe but I have a garden full of yummy basil and so I turned to the best vegan cooking website on the planet (this one of course!) and found this recipe. It really is gourmazing and yet so quick and easy! I absolutely adore this and now I am trying to figure out how to keep basil growing all year long so that I can eat this all year long!
BRAVO once again to you!!!! I would give this 10 stars if I could!
Sam Turnbull says
Awwww! Melt my heart, Michelle 🙂 So very thrilled you love it so much 😀
Anna Helfand says
So delicious! I had to restrain myself and not eat it all before guests came.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Love it 🙂
Uma says
Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice?
Sue says
Hi Samantha,
How long will a batch of the pesto keep in the refriegerator?
Sam Turnbull says
I would say about a week, or a couple of months in the freezer 🙂
Jo says
Decided to go vegan this week so this is the very first vegan recipe i’ve ever made - and if this is vegan I’m i’m never looking back! This was so much better than my regular shop-bought non-vegan pesto - delicious 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
YAY!! Welcome, Jo and a big congrats on your first week vegan. You're in for a treat, I have endless scrumptious vegan recipes. I hope you enjoy many recipes to come. If you ever have any questions or support just let me know 🙂
Jessica says
THIS IS ABSOLUTLY DELICIOUS! Glad I did the cashews over the pine nuts. So so so yummy! Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Jessica 🙂