White Pesto Pasta

This simple, creamy White Pesto Pasta recipe only requires a handful of ingredients to make a delicious, speedy supper that's ready and on the table in just 15 minutes! An Italian-inspired white walnut pesto made with cream cheese, parmesan and plenty of fresh lemon is the perfect way to change up your weeknight pasta.

Pasta is always the answer when you're looking for a quick and speedy supper. Often that pasta is pesto pasta, but have you heard of White Pesto Pasta before?

Made with walnuts, cheese and plenty of fresh lemon (but with no cream - we're using cream cheese or ricotta for an extra creamy layer of cheesiness here) it's super luxurious and so much more than what you'd expect from something made with just 7 (!) ingredients.

What is White Pesto?

White Pesto, Pesto Bianco, or Tuccu de Nuxe is a creamy, walnut-based sauce from Liguria made using the same traditional pestle and mortar method as other pestos such as Pesto alla Genovese (basil pesto) and Pesto alla Trapanese (Sicilian tomato pesto), hence the 'pesto' part. Sometimes it's made with a base of just nuts and cheese, but sometimes cream or ricotta is added. We've added cream cheese here for added richness and to help the sauce coat the pasta strands better - it's a foolproof method for busy home cooks!

Ingredients

• spaghetti (or literally any other pasta shape, pesto is a very forgiving sauce, white pesto included!)
• walnuts
• dried oregano
• cream cheese (or ricotta if that's what you have on hand)
• garlic
• parmesan (can be substituted with grana padano or pecorino - use a vegetarian option if this matters to you!)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon (choose a good unwaxed one!)
• good extra virgin olive oil (optional, to serve)
• black pepper (optional, to serve)

Frequently Asked Questions

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White Pesto Pasta

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This quick and easy White Pesto Pasta recipe is creamy, luxurious and only needs a handful of basic ingredients - perfect for getting dinner on the table in just 15 minutes!

• Author: Margie
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: Serves 2
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Italian
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 200g spaghetti
• 50g walnuts
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 75g cream cheese (or ricotta)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 25g parmesan
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil, to serve
• black pepper, to serve

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Instructions

1. Start by boiling the spaghetti.
2. Chop the walnuts, mince the garlic and finely grate the parmesan.
3. In a bowl stir together the walnuts, garlic, oregano, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest and a pinch of salt. Alternatively pound them in a mortar and pestle, or blitz in a food processor.
4. Drain the pasta reserving some pasta water.
5. Add the pasta back to the pan and stir through the pesto along with a splash of pasta water.
6. Plate up with lots more grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and some cracked black pepper.

Notes

You can make this pesto in the food processor, using a mortar and pestle or just using a sharp knife - each method will produce a different texture so it depends on what you find easiest and what you're aiming for in the final dish. The food processor will make a smooth, uniform sauce, the mortar and pestle will make a smooth sauce with a bit more texture, or if you simply chop / grate all the ingredients up very small and mix them into the cream cheese, you'll end up with a roughly textured sauce.