Description
This Zucchini Pesto recipe is a creamy, vibrant green sauce made from roasted zucchinis, garlic, pine nuts, and fresh basil. It’s perfect for using up an abundance of zucchini and is blended to a smooth yet slightly grainy texture, making a flavorful and healthy pasta sauce with a hint of lemon and nutritional yeast for a cheesy, vegan twist.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 450 gram pasta (penne recommended, but any shape works)
Roasted Vegetables and Nuts
- 3 zucchini, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ cup pine nuts or walnuts
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 drizzle olive oil
Pesto and Seasonings
- 1½ cup fresh basil
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ tsp salt
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook Pasta: Cook your pasta according to package directions until al dente, reserving at least one cup of pasta water for later use.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) to prepare for roasting the vegetables.
- Roast Vegetables: In a casserole dish, combine sliced zucchini, garlic cloves, pine nuts, and chopped yellow onion. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until the zucchini begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
- Blend Pesto: Transfer the roasted mixture to a high-speed blender. Add fresh basil, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until the sauce is smooth but retains a slightly grainy texture.
- Toss Pasta: In a pan, combine the cooked pasta with the zucchini pesto, adding reserved pasta water as needed to achieve desired sauce consistency. Toss well to coat evenly.
- Serve: Finish the dish with optional vegan parmesan cheese for extra flavor. Serve warm and enjoy your creamy zucchini pesto pasta.
Notes
- You can substitute pine nuts with walnuts for a different flavor profile.
- Use nutritional yeast as a vegan alternative to parmesan cheese to keep the dish dairy-free.
- Reserve pasta water to adjust the pesto sauce consistency as needed.
- Leftover pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for longer storage.
- Roasting the vegetables enhances the natural sweetness and depth of flavor in the pesto.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Roasting and Blending
- Cuisine: Italian