Best 6 Pasta With Arugula Pesto Recipes

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Pasta with Arugula Pesto: A Symphony of Flavors for the Senses

Immerse yourself in a culinary journey with our tantalizing pasta with arugula pesto recipe, a symphony of flavors that will delight your palate. This delectable dish combines the zesty bite of arugula, the nutty richness of pine nuts, the sharp tang of Parmesan cheese, and the aromatic essence of basil, all blended together to create a vibrant and flavorful pesto. Tossed with al dente pasta, this dish is elevated to a new level of deliciousness, where each forkful bursts with a harmonious blend of textures and tastes.

In addition to the classic pasta with arugula pesto recipe, we also present a collection of enticing variations that cater to diverse preferences and dietary needs. Embark on a culinary adventure with our sun-dried tomato pesto, a vibrant and savory creation that captures the essence of Mediterranean flavors. For a creamy and indulgent experience, try our avocado pesto, where the velvety texture of avocado harmonizes perfectly with the arugula's peppery notes.

For those seeking a vegan delight, our arugula pesto with walnuts offers a delectable alternative, where walnuts lend a delightful crunch and nutty flavor. And if you're gluten-free, our zucchini noodle arugula pesto provides a healthy and flavorful option, where zucchini noodles replace traditional pasta, creating a light and refreshing dish.

With its versatility, ease of preparation, and symphony of flavors, our pasta with arugula pesto is sure to become a staple in your culinary repertoire. So, gather your ingredients, and let's embark on a delightful journey of tastes and textures.

Here are our top 6 tried and tested recipes!

ARUGULA PESTO PASTA WITH GARLICKY BREADCRUMBS



Arugula Pesto Pasta with Garlicky Breadcrumbs image

An easy twist on basil pesto made with baby arugula! Bright, peppery in flavor, and affordable to make, this arugula pesto pasta is a great weeknight dinner for every season. Topped with garlicky breadcrumbs, this elegant pasta will quickly become a favorite! This recipe yields one cup of homemade pesto, which will generously coat at least 1 lb of cooked dried pasta.

Provided by Laura // A Beautiful Plate

Categories     Pastas, Risottos, and Grains

Time 25m

Number Of Ingredients 14

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sourdough breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove (very finely minced )
kosher salt (to taste)
freshly ground black pepper (to taste )
3-4 large garlic cloves
5 ounces baby arugula
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (plus more for garnishing)
1 tsp lemon juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup finely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (plus more for serving )
kosher salt (to taste )
freshly ground black pepper (to taste )
12 ounces dried pasta (*I recommend bronze-cut rigatoni, fusilli, trofie, farfalle, or spaghetti)

Steps:

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  • Prepare the Garlicky Breadcrumbs: Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the breadcrumbs and toast for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until they are golden and crispy. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and continue sautéing for an additional 30 seconds or so. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
  • Prepare Arugula Pesto: Pulse the garlic cloves in a large food processor until finely minced. Add the arugula, pine nuts, lemon juice, and olive oil. Pulse until mostly smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  • Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve one cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta in a colander. Transfer the pasta back to the same pot, add the arugula pesto, grated parmigiano cheese, and toss until evenly coated - adding a couple splashes of pasta cooking water as necessary.
  • Serve the arugual pesto pasta with a sprinkling of garlicky breadcrumbs. Top with additional toasted pine nuts (as desired) and grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 serving, Calories 555 kcal, Carbohydrate 42 g, Protein 12 g, Fat 39 g, SaturatedFat 6 g, Cholesterol 7 mg, Sodium 568 mg, Fiber 3 g, Sugar 2 g, UnsaturatedFat 30 g

LINGUINE WITH AVOCADO AND ARUGULA PESTO



Linguine with Avocado and Arugula Pesto image

Provided by Giada De Laurentiis

Categories     main-dish

Time 17m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

1 pound linguine pasta
2 medium avocados, halved, peeled, and seeded (about 12 ounces total)
3 cups baby arugula leaves (3 ounces)
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 large limes)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted (see Cook's Note)

Steps:

  • Cook's Note: To toast the almonds, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Place in a serving bowl.
  • Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the avocados and place in a food processor. Add the arugula, basil, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
  • Pour the pesto over the pasta and toss together. Add the cheese and almonds and toss together until coated, adding the pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce.

ARUGULA PESTO WITH PASTA



Arugula Pesto with Pasta image

Any variety of arugula will work, as will any other peppery green for that matter; dandelion greens or cress are great substitutes. And of course basil or parsley work, too. As for the pasta, if you don't feel like making your own, any store-bought will do. I'd choose orecchiette, fusilli or gemelli.

Provided by Hank Shaw

Categories     Condiment     Pasta

Time 10m

Number Of Ingredients 7

3 garlic cloves, (chopped)
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, (chopped)
Salt, (to taste)
2 tablespoons grated cheese ((I like pecorino))
About 2 cups chopped arugula
1 tablespoon lemon juice, (or to taste)
Olive oil ((use the good stuff))

Steps:

  • Put the garlic and pine nuts, plus a pinch of salt, into the mortar and pound it until the bits no longer jump out of the mortar. Add some of the cheese and some of the arugula a little at a time and keep pounding and mixing with the pestle. Keep doing this until you have a pretty good paste. Grind in the lemon juice, then drizzle in a little olive oil and keep grinding and pounding. Keep doing this, little by little, until the pesto is the consistency you want: You'll need between 1/4 and 1 cup, depending on how loose you want the sauce.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 36 kcal, Carbohydrate 1 g, Protein 1 g, Fat 3 g, SaturatedFat 1 g, Cholesterol 3 mg, Sodium 18 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 1 g, ServingSize 1 serving

ARUGULA PESTO



Arugula Pesto image

To most people, pesto means one thing: pesto Genovese, the famous and fabulous basil paste from the Italian Riviera. But there are sauces made with copious amounts of other herbs or greens not destined for pasta. They aren't called pestos, yet that's what they are - all made by grinding herbs and other ingredients to a paste, then thinning out and enriching with oil. This dish is inspired by one found in southern Italy. This sauce, like other forms of pesto, is all pungent with garlic. In addition to serving this vibrant pesto with pasta, it can be used with grains - risottos made with rice, barley, or wheat - and as a topping for tomatoes. It's great on its own, spooned onto a thick slice of country bread. Don't use a sharp olive oil with this, or it will overwhelm the arugula.

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Categories     easy, quick, condiments

Time 10m

Yield Makes about 2/3 cup

Number Of Ingredients 6

2 garlic cloves, cut in half, green shoots removed
2 heaped tablespoons shelled walnuts
4 ounces arugula, stemmed, washed and dried 2 cups leaves, tightly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1/3 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, to taste

Steps:

  • Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic cloves. When they are chopped and adhering to the sides, stop the machine, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the walnuts. Turn on the machine, and process until they are finely ground. Scrape down the bowl again, and add the arugula and the salt. Pulse until the arugula is finely chopped, then turn on the machine and run while you slowly drizzle in the olive oil. When the mixture is smooth, stop the machine, scrape down the sides and process for another 30 seconds or so. Scrape out into the bowl of a mortar and pestle. Grind the mixture with the pestle for a smoother texture. Work in the cheese and combine well.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 851, UnsaturatedFat 67 grams, Carbohydrate 8 grams, Fat 86 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 17 grams, SaturatedFat 16 grams, Sodium 511 milligrams, Sugar 2 grams

BASIL AND PARSLEY PESTO



Basil and Parsley Pesto image

Toss this parsley pesto with pasta, spread it over sandwiches or try it in one of these creative recipes using pesto. It's also delicious stirred into an Italian-style soup, like minestrone. -Lorraine Fina Stevenski, Land O' Lakes, Florida

Provided by Taste of Home

Time 15m

Yield 1-1/4 cups.

Number Of Ingredients 10

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed Italian parsley
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 garlic cloves
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Steps:

  • Place basil, parsley, almonds and garlic in a small food processor; pulse until chopped. Add lemon zest, juice, honey and salt; process until blended. Continue processing while gradually adding oil in a steady stream. Add cheese; pulse just until blended., Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze option: Transfer pesto to ice cube trays; cover and freeze pesto until firm. Remove from trays and transfer to a resealable plastic freezer bag; return to freezer. To use, thaw cubes in refrigerator 2 hours.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 148 calories, Fat 13g fat (2g saturated fat), Cholesterol 3mg cholesterol, Sodium 195mg sodium, Carbohydrate 6g carbohydrate (4g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 2g protein.

FUSILLI WITH ARUGULA PESTO AND CRISPY PANCETTA



Fusilli with Arugula Pesto and Crispy Pancetta image

Provided by Geoffrey Zakarian

Time 40m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

1/4 pound thinly sliced pancetta
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound adult arugula, large stems removed
1/2 pound basil leaves
1 pound whole wheat fusilli
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as desired
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup grated Pecorino-Romano, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons European style (high-fat) butter

Steps:

  • Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice water bath. Stir the arugula into the boiling water and cook until it is bright green and tender, about 15 seconds. Remove the arugula directly to the ice bath and let cool completely, then drain, gently squeeze out the excess water and set aside. Do the same for the basil. Once the arugula and basil are blanched, cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente.
  • Meanwhile, make the pesto. Add the arugula and basil to a food processor and blend until mostly pureed, about 30 seconds. Add oil, pine nuts, garlic and salt and pepper and puree for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the cheese and pulse, drizzling more oil as desired, until combined but not fully pureed, another 30 seconds. (See Cook's Note.)
  • Place the pesto and butter in a large bowl and add drained pasta to the bowl, reserving some pasta water to thin the sauce as desired. Mix the pesto and pasta, season to taste and crumble the slices of crispy pancetta on top. Serve with extra grated Pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil.

Pasta with Arugula Pesto offers simple yet flavorful culinary experience, embracing the aromatic freshness of arugula and the nutty texture of toasted pine nuts. The secret lies in achieving the right balance of ingredients to create a harmonious taste.

Tips:

  • Choose Fresh, Vibrant Ingredients: High-quality ingredients elevate the dish. Use fresh, tender arugula, fragrant basil, and plump pine nuts. Selecting flavorful cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese enhances the overall taste.
  • Proper Pesto Consistency: Aim for a creamy yet slightly chunky pesto. Process the ingredients in a food processor or blender until they are well combined, but not completely smooth. This gives the pesto a rustic texture and ensures that the flavors remain distinct.
  • Balance the Flavors: The key to a successful arugula pesto is achieving the right balance between the nutty, earthy flavors of arugula and basil, the savory sharpness of Parmesan cheese, and the acidity of lemon juice. Adjust the ingredients according to your taste preferences.
  • Don't Overcook the Pasta: Perfectly cooked pasta is essential for a delightful meal. Cook the pasta al dente, meaning slightly firm to the bite. This prevents it from becoming mushy and ensures a satisfying texture when combined with the pesto.
  • Garnish Wisely: Add a final touch of freshness and color by garnishing the dish with additional arugula leaves, shaved Parmesan cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil. This enhances the visual appeal and adds an extra layer of flavor.

Conclusion:

Pasta with Arugula Pesto is a versatile dish that can be enjoyed as a main course or a delectable side dish. Its vibrant green color and aromatic flavors make it a feast for both the eyes and the palate. Experiment with different types of pasta, such as penne, spaghetti, or fusilli, to create a unique culinary experience each time. Whether you're preparing a casual lunch or an elegant dinner, this dish is sure to impress with its simplicity and delightful taste.

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