Veggie pesto pasta is so flavorful and filling. This simple pesto vegetable pasta recipe is a great use for summer produce and the perfect simple weeknight meal or lunch meal prep. Ready in about 20 minutes, this veggie pesto pasta recipe can be made even quicker by using storebought pesto and no cook veggies.
If you love pesto pasta recipes, be sure to check out this Mushroom Pesto Pasta or Pesto Tuna Pasta.
Why you will love this recipe
- Easy to make – pasta is one of those go-to meals I love to make when I want something delicious but don’t want to put a ton of effort into the dish. This veggie pesto pasta recipe is so easy to make, simply boil the pasta, saute the veggies and then combine everything with your favorite pesto sauce. You can even make this without cooking the veggies for an even simpler meal.
- Meatless meal everyone will enjoy – this pesto vegetable pasta is a super filling, easy to make meatless meal. Make this even more filling by using chickpea pasta or lentil pasta in place of regular pasta. These legume based pastas are much more filling because they are higher in protein and fiber.
- Simple ingredients – this recipe for pesto primavera uses simple veggies, pasta and pesto to create a really delicious meal. The summer veggies in this pesto pasta recipe are bright and colorful and create a really fun to eat meal. You can find all the ingredients you need to make this vegetable pesto pasta recipe at your local grocery store (or use pantry staples and the fresh veggies from your garden).
- Customizable – use any veggies you have on hand for this pesto pasta recipe. You can make your own pesto or use your favorite store bought brand. It’s really so easy to change up this recipe based on what you have on hand.
Ingredients
- Zucchini and Summer Squash – zucchini and yellow summer squash are abundant all summer long and are so easy to cook. I love how the squash are slightly sweet and pair so well with the bell peppers, tomatoes and pesto in this dish. You can use all zucchini or all yellow squash if needed.
- Bell peppers – red, yellow or orange bell peppers are best for this recipe, as their natural sweetness pairs really well with the flavors from the pesto. Green bell peppers tend to be less sweet so won’t give the recipe that same sweetness if you use them.
- Tomatoes – use whatever tomatoes you have on hand. Be sure they are cut into bite size pieces. If you are using large tomatoes, squeeze out some of the seeds before adding them to the pan with the other veggies.
- Pasta – use whatever pasta you love for this recipe. I prefer to use a chickpea pasta or lentil pasta (I love Tolerant brand legume based pastsa) or rice pasta (Jovial is my go to brand for gluten free pasta).
- Chickpeas – chickpeas add some heartiness to this dish, making it more of a meal. You can use any white bean here, including cannellini beans, great northern white beans or even butter beans.
- Pesto – you can use your favorite store bought pesto or make your own. See below for my go-to pesto recipe.
Spinach Cashew Pesto
- Basil – fresh basil is what gives pesto its vibrant color and taste. Be sure to remove the basil leaves from the thicker stems before adding them to the food processor. When measuring the basil, you want to lightly pack it in the measuring cup.
- Fresh garlic – fresh garlic adds an intense garlic flavor to the pesto. I recommend grating the garlic into the food processor to ensure that you don’t have any large chunks of garlic in your pesto. If you don’t love the taste of fresh garlic, omit it from the recipe.
- Olive oil – olive oil helps to emulsify the pesto, making it thick and creamy. Be sure to use a high quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Lemon juice – lemon juice helps to brighten the pesto and also helps to cut through some of the harshness of the fresh garlic and the pungent flavor of the basil. If you don’t have lemon juice, add some white wine vinegar.
- Cashews – cashews make the pesto thick and creamy without using any dairy. They are soft enough to break down easily in the food processor and are neutral tasting, almost sweet in flavor. If you don’t have cashews or cannot have nuts, you can use sunflower seeds or hemp hearts in place of cashews.
- Spices: Salt, garlic powders – salt helps to elevate all the flavors, the garlic powder adds another layer of garlic flavor and helps to give the pesto some umami flavor.
- Baby spinach – baby spinach blends into the sauce, giving it more volume and also helping create a really bright green color for the pesto. It also is a great way to add more veggies to the dish.
How to make veggie pesto pasta
Make the pesto in the food processor or blender if you are not using store-bought pesto. For the pesto recipe above, add the basil, olive oil, lemon juice, cashews and baby spinach to the food processor and process on high for 1-2 minutes until thick and creamy. You will likely need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides 2-3 times to get everything evenly combined.
Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil on one burner. On a second large burner add a large skillet and preheat over medium to medium high heat.
Chop the veggies: Cut the zucchini and squash into 4 long pieces then chop into about ½ in chunks. Cut the bell pepper and tomato into bite size pieces.
Cook the veggies: When the skillet is hot, spray with some olive oil or avocado oil spray and add the zucchini and yellow squash. Cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring regularly.
After the zucchini and squash have been cooking for 4-6 minutes, add the bell peppers and tomatoes and cook together with the squash for 4-6 additional minutes, stirring regularly until the squash starts to soften. Turn off the heat once the squash is soft.
Cook the pasta: Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to the directions to get the pasta to al dente (usually the lowest number on the instructions – for example if the box says 4-6 minutes, cook to 4 minutes).
Reserve pasta water: Right before the pasta is done cooking, use a ladle or measuring cup with and reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water for the sauce. Drain the pasta and add it to the large skillet with the vegetables.
Add chickpeas and pesto: Rinse and drain the chickpeas and add them to the skillet along with at least ¾ cup of pesto. Stir well.
Check the sauce: Add about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water, stir well. Add more if needed. Taste for salt (add more if needed) and serve hot, cold or at room temperature.
Top tips
- Use enough pesto – the star of this recipe is really the pesto, it’s what brings the flavor and makes it really delicious. Be sure you are using enough pesto that it is able to shine through all the veggies and pasta. I recommend using at least ¾ cup of pesto, but if you can get closer to 1 cup, that is ideal.
- Use pesto that you really love – if you have a favorite store bought pesto or favorite pesto recipe, be sure to use that for this recipe, as the pesto really is the star!
- Be sure to reserve some of the pasta cooking water before draining it. The starchy water helps to create a super creamy pesto sauce that sticks to the pasta easily.
- I like to cut the zucchini and squash a little thicker for this recipe, but if you need them to cook even quicker, you can cut them a bit thinner.
- If you don’t have time to cook the veggies, I recommend using roasted red peppers, canned or jarred artichoke hearts (chopped), and fresh chopped tomatoes. Simply boil the pasta, reserve some of the water and add these chopped veggies along with the pesto to the pot after you drain the pasta. Stir well and add as much of the reserved pasta water as needed to create the sauce.
- Save time by making the homemade pesto in advance (or using store bought) and chop the veggies in advance. You can store chopped vegetables in the fridge in a airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Make this even more filling by adding in your favorite protein. You can use things like tofu or a second can of white beans for vegan/vegetarian meals or you can add chicken, shrimp, salmon or chicken sausages if you eat meat.
- Make this pesto veggie pasta lower in carbs, replace the pasta with spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or hearts of palm pasta.
Other additions to pesto vegetable pasta
Spice: Add a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes
Creaminess: Add some avocado, goat cheese, parmesan (regular or dairy free) or feta cheese (regular or dairy free)
Protein: Add some shredded chicken, cubed chicken, salmon, shrimp or tofu
Other veggies: Add broccoli (cook it in the last 2 minutes in the boiling pasta water), asparagus, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, spinach, kale, peas, eggplant
Common questions
What is the best pasta to use
For any meatless pasta meal, I love to use chickpea pasta or lentil pasta to add more protein and fiber. This helps to make it super filling and doesn’t change the flavor much. Look for chickpea pasta with just one ingredient (chickpeas) or lentil pasta with just one ingredient (red lentils or green lentils). I find these pasta are much easier to digest and don’t break apart as easily when cooking.
I love using rotini for pesto based dishes because the pesto sticks to all the little swirls around the pasta. Some other great shapes are:
- Fusilli
- Penne
- Farfalle (bow-tie)
- Elbow
Other pesto recipes to use
- Sunflower Seed Pesto – this is made with roasted sunflower seeds, making it nut free
- Tahini pesto – this pesto is made with tahini, which gives it a creamy texture and it’s also nut free
- Pea Pesto (this is a little sweeter and such a great pesto for this dish in early spring)
- White bean pesto – this would make this pesto veggie pasta even more filling with the addition of the white beans
- Cashew Arugula Pesto – this recipe uses arugula, which as a more peppery flavor than spinach in the pesto
- Spinach Walnut Pesto – this recipe uses walnuts in place of the cashews
What is the best store-bought vegan pesto
Personally I love the Cashew Arugula Pesto from Trader Joe’s. It’s made with really great ingredients and it’s pretty budget friendly. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s around, you can pick up Seggiano Brand in Whole Foods (or online).
Some other great dairy free, vegan friendly pesto that you can buy online are from ROI and Compagnia Sanremo. These are less budget friendly than the Trader Joe’s pesto but are a great option if you are short on time.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: Store leftover pesto vegetable pasta in the fridge in a well sealed container for up to 4 days. Note that the pesto will start to get darker in color the longer it sits. The color may change but the flavor will still be there. This is why I like to add baby spinach to help preserve the green color.
You can enjoy the leftover veggie pesto pasta cold from the fridge (making it great for meal prep lunches), as room temperature or reheated (in the microwave 2-3 minutes or on the stove in a small skillet, covered over medium low heat with a tablespoon or two of water added).
Freezer: While you can freeze this pesto pasta for up to 3 months in a freezer safe bag or container, I don’t recommend it as written. The zucchini and yellow squash can get soggy when frozen and defrosted. If you know you will be freezing leftovers, use just bell peppers and tomatoes.
Substitutions
- Zucchini, yellow summer squash, bell peppers, tomatoes – use more or less of any of these veggies or any of the veggies listed above. In total you want 4-5 cups of chopped raw vegetables.
- Pasta – use whatever pasta you have on hand. If you don’t have pasta, you can use quinoa. To make this lower in carbs, use spaghetti squash, hearts of palm pasta or make zoodles (zucchini noodles).
- Chickpeas – use whatever white beans you have on hand including cannellini beans, great northern white beans, navy beans or butter beans (fava beans). If you don’t love beans, omit them.
- Pesto – use homemade or store bought pesto for this recipe. If you don’t have pesto, you can make this with creamy tomato sauce instead.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Pesto Pasta Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes
Veggie Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini squash
- 1 medium summer squash
- 1 medium bell pepper
- 1/2 cup tomatoes
- 12 oz pasta
- 1 can chickpeas
- 3/4 cup pesto
Spinach Cashew Pesto
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium lemon, juiced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1 cup baby spinach
Instructions
- Make the pesto by adding all the ingredients to a food processor and processing on high until thick and smooth (1-2 minutes, scrape down the sides if needed).
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Preheat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.
- Chop the vegetables: cut the zucchini and yellow squash into 4 long pieces then chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut the bell pepper and tomatoes into bite size pieces.
- When the skillet is preheated, spray with olive oil or avocado oil and add the zucchini and squash. Cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring regularly.
- After 4-6 minutes, add the bell peppers and tomato the skillet with the zucchini and squash and cook 4-6 additional minutes. Turn off the skillet once the squash gets soft.
- When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente.
- Right before draining the pasta, reserve about 1/2 cup of starchy pasta water.
- Add the pasta, rinsed and drained chickpeas and pesto to the skillet with the vegetables. Stir well.
- Add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta. Stir well and add more of the pasta water if needed.
- Test for seasoning and add any additional salt if needed.
Notes
- Use enough pesto – the star of this recipe is really the pesto, it’s what brings the flavor and makes it really delicious. Be sure you are using enough pesto that it is able to shine through all the veggies and pasta. I recommend using at least ¾ cup of pesto, but if you can get closer to 1 cup, that is ideal.
- Use pesto that you really love – if you have a favorite store bought pesto or favorite pesto recipe, be sure to use that for this recipe, as the pesto really is the star!
- Be sure to reserve some of the pasta cooking water before draining it. The starchy water helps to create a super creamy pesto sauce that sticks to the pasta easily.
- I like to cut the zucchini and squash a little thicker for this recipe, but if you need them to cook even quicker, you can cut them a bit thinner.
- If you don’t have time to cook the veggies, I recommend using roasted red peppers, canned or jarred artichoke hearts (chopped), and fresh chopped tomatoes. Simply boil the pasta, reserve some of the water and add these chopped veggies along with the pesto to the pot after you drain the pasta. Stir well and add as much of the reserved pasta water as needed to create the sauce.
- Save time by making the homemade pesto in advance (or using store bought) and chop the veggies in advance. You can store chopped vegetables in the fridge in a airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Make this even more filling by adding in your favorite protein. You can use things like tofu or a second can of white beans for vegan/vegetarian meals or you can add chicken, shrimp, salmon or chicken sausages if you eat meat.
- Make this pesto veggie pasta lower in carbs, replace the pasta with spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or hearts of palm pasta.
- Fridge: Store leftover pesto vegetable pasta in the fridge in a well sealed container for up to 4 days. Note that the pesto will start to get darker in color the longer it sits. The color may change but the flavor will still be there. This is why I like to add baby spinach, as the color doesn’t change as quickly when you add it to the pesto.
- You can enjoy the leftover veggie pesto pasta cold from the fridge (making it great for meal prep lunches), as room temperature or reheated (in the microwave 2-3 minutes or on the stove in a small skillet, covered over medium low heat with a tablespoon or two of water added).
- Freezer: While you can freeze this pesto pasta for up to 3 months in a freezer safe bag or container, I don’t recommend it as written. The zucchini and yellow squash can get soggy when frozen and defrosted. If you know you will be freezing leftovers, use just bell peppers and tomatoes.
