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Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta

  • Author: mary
  • Total Time: 30 minutes or less
  • Yield: 1 pound of pasta with pesto 1x
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Fresh, vibrant, and ready in no time, this vegan arugula pesto pasta is the perfect quick meal! Toss tender pasta with a bold, peppery arugula pesto made from walnuts, cashews, lemon, and nutritional yeast. It’s dairy-free, packed with nutrients, and delicious warm or at room temperature — ideal for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or a light lunch.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 5 or 7oz. package baby arugula

  • 1/3 cup raw cashews

  • 1/2 cup raw walnuts

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 1 lemon

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 lb. pasta

 

Instructions

  1. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for a few minutes, until fragrant. Set aside.
  2. In a food processor, pulse the garlic and cashews until crumbly.
  3. Add toasted walnuts, nutritional yeast, half of the arugula, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Pulse 7–8 times.
  4. Add the remaining arugula and pulse again until everything is well-blended. Scrape down the sides as needed.
  5. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.
  6. Return pasta to the pot or a large bowl. Toss with arugula pesto, adding pasta water a bit at a time if the sauce needs loosening.
  7. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with extra arugula or a sprinkle of nutritional yeast if desired.

Notes

We’ve used penne pasta for this recipe. Use any shape you prefer.

Whole wheat pasta tastes great with this arugula pesto sauce.

The pesto can be refrigerated for a few days if you want to make it ahead of time and before you use it.  It can also be frozen. Just make sure you cover the pesto with a layer of olive oil to keep air from turning the pesto brown. Similarly to how you would refrigerate or freeze a basil pesto.

Try arugula pesto on potato gnocchi, spaghetti squash, rice, and grilled or roasted vegetables.

  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: vegan arugula pesto pasta, arugula pesto with cashews and walnuts, vegan pesto sauce, vegan arugula pesto

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Find it online: https://tastefullyplantbased.com/vegan-arugula-pesto-pasta/