The freshness of peas is combined with basil and mint along with pine nuts, garlic and lemon for an easy, nutritional, family pleasing meal.
I love the subtle fresh taste of pea pesto. Now that my children are older I don’t really have to hide vegetables in sauces but, when I did, this one was a godsend!
I always have a bag of peas in the freezer, they provide a big protein punch as well as being full of all those useful vitamins and minerals we all need.
How To Make Pea Pesto
My super simple pea pesto pasta sauce is made with frozen peas, a generous amount of basil, a little mint, some pine nuts, garlic, oil and lemon.
Bunging some sun dried tomatoes and spring onions on top lifts it from tasty to delicious, adding a depth of flavour which complements the herbs in the sauce perfectly.
No need to defrost your peas before you start, just chuck everything into a blender of food processor, press start and whizz it all until it’s smooth!
This no cook method for pea pesto means it retains all that vibrant green colour.
What To Make With Pea Pesto
Obviously pea pesto pasta is the bees knees but pea pesto also works brilliantly in risottos, with couscous and as a sauce for salads.
It’s even great in baked potatoes or spread on sandwiches with some tasty vegan cheese on top.
Pea pesto is something I take along with us to the boat, it’s so simple and so delicious it has become a firm family favourite. I hope you will be tempted to try it!
Looking For More Simple Pasta Dishes?
Check out these recipes for more simple weeknight family pasta dishes:
Pea Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
For the Pea Pesto
- 150 g of frozen peas
- 25 g fresh basil be generous, you can’t really have too much basil!
- 25 g fresh mint
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 40 g toasted pine nuts
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 125 ml olive oil you may need a little more
- salt and black pepper
To Serve
- 300 g spaghetti pasta
- 6 sun dried tomatoes in oil drained and chopped
- 6 spring onions scallions trimmed and sliced
- a handful of baby spinach leaves per person or salad leaves of your choice
- black pepper
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients for the pesto (start with 1/2 cup of oil) into a blender.
- Blend until smooth. Add more oil if it is too thick.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil.
- Add the pasta to the water and cook according to instructions on the pack until al dente.
- Drain, return to the pan, pour in the pesto and toss until well combined.
- Place a handful of spinach leaves into 4 pasta bowls, top with spaghetti and sprinkle with sun dried tomatoes and spring onions.
- Grind some black pepper over the top and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
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What a gorgeous recipe Chris, i’ll have to give this a whirl as my kids love peas and pasta, and all those lovely Spring flavours together just sound lush!
It’s really fresh Katie, just right to welcome the sun 🙂
I love pesto but my boyfriend doesn’t (he says it tastes like perfume) – do the peas make it less ‘pesto-y’ if you know what I mean?
Yes, I actually think that they do! Let me know what he thinks – is he talking all pesto or the shop bought ones which are a bit oTT?
So simple but I imagine incredibly delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
Fab! Thank you!
Yum yum bubblegum!
Gonna definitely try this as we are trying to have lots on meat free meals.
Hee hee to yum yum bubblegum, haven’t heard that for years! I love that you still pop by for a read, thank you 🙂 xxxx
I love the flavour of peas but am not a fan of the texture, so pea pesto sounds perfect for me. Can’t beat a quick pasta dish!
One of my children is just the same – weirdos – but he can gobble this down quite happily!
Ooh fab idea! I love how simple and easy this looks
Ooh, this pesto looks so smooth and GREEN. I’ve made plenty of pea dips, but never thought to use it like this. Love it.