Pesto works in far more than pasta: it belongs on pizza, blended into hummus, tossed through salads, rolled inside pastry and stirred into gnocchi. This list gathers 22 recipes with pesto from the Gourmandelle kitchen, spanning quick weeknight bowls, party snacks and make-ahead bakes. Some are built around pesto from the start, and others simply welcome a spoonful of it. Start with whichever one matches what is already in your fridge.
How to Choose the Right Pesto Recipe
Choose a pesto recipe by matching the pesto’s intensity to the other flavours on the plate. Classic basil pesto suits delicate bases like farfalle, gnocchi and fresh salads, where nothing competes with it. Peppery arugula or walnut pesto stands up to stronger partners such as mushrooms, capers and aged cheese. Red pesto, built on roasted peppers or sun-dried tomatoes, works best with bread, olives and baked dishes. Then consider heat: pesto stirred into hot food off the heat keeps its colour and aroma, while pesto baked under a topping mellows and deepens instead.
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Pesto Pasta and Gnocchi
Pasta and gnocchi are pesto’s natural home, and these are the bowls worth making first.
Lemony Pesto Farfalle Pasta
Lemon zest cuts straight through rich basil pesto here, and farfalle pleats catch the sauce in every fold. It tastes like a summer lunch even when the weather disagrees, and it comes together in the time the water takes to boil. Tip: zest the lemon before juicing it, because a whole firm lemon grates far more easily than a squeezed one.
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Pasta with Arugula Pesto and Capers
Arugula brings a peppery bite that basil never quite delivers, and briny capers sharpen the whole bowl. The pesto blends in minutes and clings to hot pasta without a drop of cream. Tip: rinse salted capers and pat them dry before adding, so they season the dish rather than overwhelm it.
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Creamy Asparagus Pasta with Green Pesto
Tender asparagus and green pesto make a spring bowl that feels creamy without any cream at all. The stalks soften just enough to melt into the sauce while the tips stay snappy. Tip: snap one spear where it naturally breaks and cut the rest of the bunch to match, so no woody ends sneak onto the plate.
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Broken Lasagna with Walnut and Gruyere Cheese Pesto
Snapped lasagna sheets give you crisp ruffled edges and soft centres in the same forkful, all coated in a walnut and Gruyere pesto that is nuttier and rounder than the classic. Tip: toast the walnuts in a dry pan until fragrant before blending, as raw walnuts can leave a faint bitterness behind.
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Sweet Potato Grilled Gnocchi
Sweet potato gnocchi picks up smoky char marks on the grill, then meets pesto and spinach for a plate that is sweet, savoury and green all at once. That crisp exterior is the whole point. Tip: give the gnocchi space on the pan and resist turning them early, since a proper crust needs undisturbed contact.
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Green Vegan Gnocchi
Wild garlic turns these gnocchi a vivid green and lends a gentle allium punch that pairs beautifully with a silky tofu sauce. It is a gluten-free plate that never feels like a compromise. Tip: work the dough as little as possible, because overworking gnocchi dough is what turns pillowy dumplings into rubbery ones.
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Pesto Pizza, Bread and Pastries
Pesto behaves beautifully in the oven, perfuming pizza bases, breads and flaky pastry as they bake.
Vegan Pesto Pinwheels
Flaky pastry spiralled around a layer of pesto, sliced and baked into golden coins. They vanish off the plate at parties and take barely any effort to assemble. Tip: chill the rolled log until firm before slicing, so each pinwheel keeps its spiral instead of squashing under the knife.
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Mushroom Pizza with Homemade Pesto
Earthy mushrooms, green olives and homemade pesto make a pizza that skips tomato sauce entirely and does not miss it. The pesto goes on generously and perfumes the whole base as it bakes. Tip: cook the mushrooms first to drive off their water, otherwise they will steam on the pizza and leave the crust soggy.
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Gluten-Free Vegan Pizzas | “Red” Tomato Eggplant Pizza and “Green” Zucchini Pesto Pizza
Two pizzas from one session: a red one with tomato and eggplant, and a green one built on zucchini and pesto. Making both means everyone at the table gets the slice they actually wanted. Tip: preheat your tray or stone while the oven comes up to temperature, since gluten-free bases need immediate bottom heat to firm up.
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Gluten-Free Bread with Olives and Red Pesto
Red pesto swirls through a savoury gluten-free loaf studded with olives, so every slice arrives already seasoned. Toast it, tear it, serve it alongside soup. Tip: let it cool completely before slicing, as gluten-free crumb sets as it cools and cutting it warm will drag it into a gummy mess.
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Pesto Salads, Burgers and Veggie Plates
A spoonful of pesto turns vegetables and patties into a plate with real personality.
Green Pea and Olives Salad with Pesto
Sweet green peas, salty olives and a pesto dressing that pulls it all together with almost no work. It is the kind of salad you assemble while something else is cooking. Tip: loosen the pesto with a splash of olive oil or lemon juice before dressing, so it coats the peas instead of clumping around them.
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Grilled Zucchini and Beetroot Salad
Charred zucchini and roasted beetroot make a warm salad with real depth, finished with a dollop of fresh pesto and served with soft tortilla. Sweet, smoky and herbal in the same bite. Tip: roast the beetroot ahead and keep it in the fridge, then the salad becomes a grill-and-assemble job on the day.
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Broccoli-Quinoa Burger
A broccoli and quinoa patty that holds together beautifully and tastes green in the best way, with pesto spread on the bun doing the heavy lifting on flavour. Substantial without being heavy. Tip: chill the shaped patties before they hit the pan, which helps them hold together rather than crumbling apart.
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Pesto Dips and Green Spreads
Blend pesto into a dip, or borrow its logic entirely, and you get spreads that carry a whole appetiser plate.
Basil Pesto Hummus
Classic hummus goes vivid green once basil pesto is blended in, and the chickpeas mellow the garlic into something deeply moreish. It is a small upgrade on a dip you already know by heart. Tip: blend the pesto in at the end rather than the start, so the basil keeps its colour instead of turning khaki.
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Arugula Hummus
Peppery arugula folded into hummus gives you the bite of a green pesto with the body of a chickpea dip. Excellent on toast, better still as a sandwich spread. Tip: add the arugula in handfuls and blend briefly between each one, since a long blitz warms the leaves and dulls their pepper.
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Muhammara | Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread
Muhammara is the Levantine cousin of red pesto: roasted peppers, walnuts and a sweet-sour edge from pomegranate molasses. Smoky, rich and very hard to stop eating. Tip: pulse rather than puree, because muhammara is meant to keep a little texture from the walnuts instead of turning into a smooth paste.
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Simple Pastas Made for a Spoonful of Pesto
These pastas are not built around pesto, but every one of them takes a spoonful of it exceptionally well.
Creamy Avocado Pasta
Avocado, basil and fresh tomatoes blend into a sauce that is pesto in spirit and cream in texture, with no cooking required beyond the pasta itself. Bright, fresh and on the table fast. Tip: dress it right before serving, since avocado sauces oxidise and lose their green if they sit around waiting.
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Oyster Mushroom Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
Meaty oyster mushrooms and a basil-heavy tomato sauce give spaghetti real backbone. The basil goes in generously, which is exactly why a spoonful of pesto on top feels like a natural finish. Tip: tear oyster mushrooms by hand instead of slicing them, as the ragged edges brown far better than clean cuts do.
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One-Pot Italian Pasta
Everything cooks in a single pot, which means the starch stays in and the sauce turns glossy on its own. Weeknight cooking with exactly one thing to wash up afterwards. Tip: stir it more often than you would normally bother to, because one-pot pasta will catch and stick on the base if it is left alone.
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Garlic Pasta | Pasta all’aglio
Garlic, good olive oil and pasta, and that is genuinely the whole idea. Stirring pesto through at the end turns this Italian staple into something herbal without complicating it. Tip: start the garlic in cold oil and bring it up slowly, which coaxes out its sweetness instead of scorching it into bitterness.
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Baked Pasta Tart with Smoked Tofu and Mushrooms
Pasta baked into a sliceable tart with smoked tofu and mushrooms, crisp on top and set through the middle. It cuts into proper wedges, which makes it a genuinely good make-ahead dish. Tip: undercook the pasta slightly before it goes into the tart, as it will keep absorbing liquid and softening in the oven.
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Hummus Pasta
Hummus loosened with pasta water becomes an instant creamy sauce, savoury and thick without any dairy. It is the kind of shortcut you keep reaching for once you learn it. Tip: save a mugful of starchy pasta water before draining, because that starch is what emulsifies the hummus into a sauce rather than a paste.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is pesto made of? Traditional Genovese pesto is made by crushing fresh basil leaves with garlic, pine nuts, grated Parmesan and olive oil, classically in a mortar and pestle. The name comes from the Italian verb pestare, meaning to pound. Every variation since keeps that same structure: greens, nuts, garlic, a salty savoury element and oil.
Can pesto be made vegan? Yes. Swap the Parmesan for vegan Parmesan or nutritional yeast, and the rest of a classic pesto is already plant-based. Blended cashews or a spoonful of white miso can also supply the savoury depth the cheese normally provides.
What can I use instead of basil in pesto? Arugula, spinach, kale, parsley, wild garlic and even carrot tops all make excellent pesto. Arugula gives the most pepper, spinach is the mildest and most kid-friendly, and parsley sits somewhere in between. Pine nuts can be swapped for walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds just as freely.
How do you keep pesto from turning brown? Blanching the basil briefly and shocking it in ice water sets the green before you blend. Once made, press the pesto flat in its jar and pour a thin layer of olive oil over the surface to seal it from air. A squeeze of lemon juice helps too, and pesto should always be stirred into hot food off the heat rather than cooked.
Can you freeze pesto? Yes, and it freezes very well. Portion it into an ice cube tray, freeze until solid, then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag so you can drop one straight into a hot pan. Leave the cheese out before freezing and stir it in after thawing if you want the freshest result.
What goes with pesto besides pasta? Pesto works on pizza in place of tomato sauce, blended into hummus, spread inside sandwiches and burgers, swirled through bread dough, spooned over roasted vegetables, stirred into rice, and used as a salad dressing once loosened with oil or lemon juice.
