This Easy Pea Pesto with Spirali Pasta makes a lovely fresh weekday lunch or dinner when you don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen. The Pea Pesto is very quick and easy to prepare and made from scratch!

Pea pesto is a lovely twist on the tradtional pesto made with basil which is not to everyone's taste. It is mild and flavourful and is a great way to add extra vegetables to a dish.
This is another quick and easy dish the whole family can enjoy together.
What ingredients do I need for pea pesto?
- Peas - High fibre and protein-rich (think pea protein powder)
- Ground almonds, rather than whole, for a faster, smoother finish. Almonds are also protein-rich too and have many health benefits.
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Sea salt
- Black Pepper
This pesto sauce is also a perfect for topping pasta, fish, spread on toast and crackers or a dip with some raw vegetables.
Ready in just five minutes in your food processor!
How to make pea pesto pasta
This whole dish literally takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and get on the table ready to eat!
- Start by putting a large pan of salted water to boil for the pasta. Once at a rolling boil, add your pasta shapes and leave to cook for around 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- The next stage is super easy! Just put all the ingredients for your pesto sauce into a blender and blend for around 1-2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the blender then blend again for another 1-2 minutes. Your sauce should be of a medium consistency.
- Add some of the cooking water from the pasta to thin down the pea pesto if necessary rather than adding more olive oil as this will result in an overly oily sauce. The pasta water will also make the pesto sauce beautifully silky smooth.
- Add your peas to the pasta pan in the last couple of minutes of cooking time which will be enough to soften them and saving using another pan.
- Drain the Spirali pasta shapes and peas and place in a large bowl.
- Add the prepared pea pesto and stir in until fully combined. This will ensure that all the pasta pieces get coated well in the delicious sauce.
What is the best pesto for pasta?
There are no rules here, if you have a favourite pasta, please use it. But there are pasta shapes that lend themselves better to some sauces.
For this easy pea pesto pasta recipe we are using spirali pasta, also known as cavatappi (which is the Italian word for corkscrew). It's a tube like pasta that is shaped into spirals that allows it to cling onto the silky pesto in all its twists and turns.
Fusilli is also a good choice as it also has a spiral-like shape. Ridged Penne pasta rather than smooth is another good alternative.
Can the pesto be made in advance?
Pesto can be prepared and kept in the fridge for 2-3 days or make a larger batch and place in a sterilised jar, then refrigerate. Place a thin puddle of olive oil in the jar on top of the pesto to keep it fresher.
Can you freeze pea pesto pasta?
Pea Pesto will freeze really well, which is great as this recipe makes a good amount. Cooked pasta also freezes well. As this dish is pre-mixed just place in a suitable freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months.
To consume, take out of the freezer and allow to defrost before reheating using one of the methods below.
How to reheat pesto pasta?
Our preferred method to reheat pesto pasta is to use the microwave but the oven is also a good, albeit slower method.
If microwaving, place the pesto pasta into a suitable microwaveable/heat resistant bowl. Drizzle with a little water to moisten the pasta and loosen it up. Microwave for 1 minute on medium, stir the pasta and microwave on high for another 1-2 minutes, stirring at regular intervals.
If using your oven, place in a heat resistant dish, drizzle either a little olive oil or water onto the pesto pasta and cover with foil, this will keep the pesto moist, the pasta soft and not dried out. 15 minutes in a medium oven is enough to warm it through.
Remember, pea pesto is supposed to be warmed up by the hot pasta and not cooked as such. If overheated when reheating, the pesto can become bland with all those delicious flavours being lost.
Variations
- Add chopped vegetables to the sauce, broccoli and asparagus are great choices.
- For extra colour and a great pairing, add chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the hot pasta after mixing in the pea pesto and stir until combined.
Nutritional info links:
More delicious recipes:
- Courgetti (Zucchini) Walnut Watercress Pesto
- Easy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry (Vegan)
- Cheesy Mushroom and Leek Potato Pie
Easy Pea Pesto with Spirali Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 cups Spirali Pasta, see notes below
For the Pea Pesto
- 150 g peas, cooked
- 30 g Ground Almonds
- 30 g Parmesan cheese, grated
- 5-6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- juice of half a lemon
- sea salt and black pepper
- 100 g peas, cooked
Instructions
- Start by putting a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Once at a rolling boil, add your pasta shapes and leave to cook for around 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Put all the ingredients for your pesto sauce into a blender and blend for around 1-2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the blender then blend again for another 1-2 minutes. Your sauce should be of a medium consistency.
- Add some of the cooking water from the pasta to thin down the pea pesto if necessary rather than adding more olive oil as this will result in an overly oily sauce. This will also make the pesto sauce beautifully silky smooth.
- Add your peas (and any other chopped vegetables, see notes below) to the pasta pan in the minute of cooking time.
- Drain the pasta shapes and peas and place in a large bowl.
- Add the prepared pea pesto and combine well to ensure that all the pasta pieces get coated fully in the delicious sauce.
Recipe Notes
*Nutritional data is provided as a courtesy and is accurate to the best of my knowledge. You can verify it using the nutrition calculator of your choice. All data is based on net carbs, without sugar alcohol: Swerve, Erythritol, Monk Fruit or Allulose.
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Honest Mum
This looks wonderful! Light and tasty! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Julie's Family Kitchen
I really like the sound of pea pesto. The pea pesto served with the pasta looks really delicious. I think like you I would add chilli flakes and black pepper too.
Alison
I love pesto and pea pesto sounds gorgeous. Ideal for Spring
Mel
This looks absolutely delicious, and I will pin it straight away. Glad I found you on #recipe of the week. Mel
Nayna Kanabar
Pea pesto sound really delicious, thanks for sending it to Lets cook with green veg event at simply.food. Please can you add the event url to your post.Thankyou for participating.
Choclette
That sounds delicious. I made pea puree for Christmas canapes and everyone was wowed by it. Sadly didn't write down what I did and I can no longer remember 🙁
Louisa, Eat Your Veg
Just when I thought I'd whizzed my way through pretty much every pesto permutation there is I see your Pea Pesto, how exactly did I miss good old peas! My kids love them too and I'm sure would wolf down a bowl of Pea Pesto and their favourite wiggly worm spaghetti. Sounds deliciously creamy and comforting. Thanks so much for linking up to Four Seasons Food.
Alida
I love your pea pesto. It is a great idea and very healthy too. Makes a lovely pasta dish!
Laura @ Kneadwhine
Ooh, this looks really interesting! Might have to have a go - pinned for future reference.