This Ultimate Pistachio Pesto with Basil & Spinach recipe is truly THE ultimate pesto sauce. Insanely delicious, bright, flavorful and loaded with pistachio goodness! It takes exactly 5 mins to make, keeps in your fridge for at least a month and you can use it on anything—literally anything and EVERYTHING tastes much better with this pesto!! Don’t miss out on a 5 mins, no cook sauce that will take your food to another level!
Today’s post is sponsored by the ever so flavorful Hellas Farms Greek Pistachios. If you’ve wondered what’s the fuss about Mediterranean pistachios—you have to taste to believe the fuss! I’ve lived on the Mediterranean and I can tell you that pistachios there have a deep rich distinct pistachio taste, one that you can’t taste from any other type of pistachio. And when I got my hands on those fabulous Hellas Farms Greek Pistachios—that amazing taste just came straight back to me!
Not only are they so flavorful, the pistachios are very delicately brined with Mediterranean sea salt—so not too salty at all. They are so easy to peel, and they come in a perfectly sized 1.75 ounce snack bags—perfect to serve at home or when you’re on the go! Seriously, pistachio lovers out there—get your hands on some of those rich tasting REAL pistachios!!
Now let’s talk about using those outstanding pistachios in a pesto. It’s like the best of both worlds. I mean there’s something undeniably delicious about the humble Italian pesto sauce —it’s got plenty of fresh bright basil flavor, with a touch of garlic, a touch of lemon, a touch of Parmesan cheese and a load of olive oil. Now imagine adding plenty of rich pistachios to that—it’s like a dream come true!!
And if you’re wondering about the spinach, I’ve found that adding just a little bit of spinach to my pesto helps mellow and blend in all the flavors. It also makes the texture of the pesto smoother, so even though it’s optional, I strongly recommend it! This pesto sauce is gluten free and can be totally vegan when you leave out the Parmesan cheese ( I love replacing it with a teaspoon of mustard).
Today I’ve used this wonderful pesto sauce tossed over fettuccine for a scrumptious dinner in 15 mins!! And if you’re in the mood for some serious creamy dreamy pasta sauce love, just add 1/4 cup of cream to your pasta when cooked along with the pesto..then close your eyes and YES it’s real!! Seriously luscious! Oh and hint*hint last minute Mother’s Day menu? This makes a perfectly light and elegant dinner in mins. It’s also a perfect potluck dish, picnic dish and bbq side dish! This is the kind of pasta that you can serve nice and hot for dinner or cold as a pasta salad, and so is the pesto sauce. So you can use it in endless ways—hot or cold.
Here are some of my favorite ways to use this fabulous pistachio pesto sauce— love using it when I have no time to marinate chicken, beef or fish—I’ll cook or grill them and then smear a thin layer of pesto (you can thin it out with a little more oil or mayo or lemon juice) on top for a fabulous boost of flavor! Or even on veggies! I love to slather pestos on my pizza, sandwiches and burgers. I also love to flavor or make my salad dressings with pestos—by simply taking a teaspoon of pesto and diluting it with a type of vinegar, a little more olive oil and some times mustard and, or, mayo. For a quick snack, you can make a dip out of pesto by adding a 1:2 ratio of pesto to cream cheese (or sour cream or a combo of both).
So have you ever made pesto sauce before? It’s definitely worth the 5 mins, and you can make pesto out of ANYTHING—like this kale artichoke walnut pesto, or this sun dried tomato pesto, and if you’re a pistachio person like me, try boosting up the flavors by using pistachios instead of any nuts. Then hello while you’re thinking of pesto, you’ll have to try those pesto stuffed shrimps and those kale pesto stuffed mushrooms…and if you’re crazy for pistachios, you’ll need to try this pesto pistachio fish fillet and my signature goat cheese pistachio coated strawberries.……you’re welcome! Now enjoy 🙂
Fettuccine With Pistachio Pesto Sauce
This Ultimate Pistachio Pesto with Basil & Spinach recipe is truly THE ultimate pesto sauce. Insanely delicious, bright, flavorful and loaded with pistachio goodness! It takes exactly 5 mins to make, keeps in your fridge for at least a month and you can use it on anything—literally anything and EVERYTHING tastes much better with this pesto!! Don’t miss out on a 5 mins, no cook sauce that will take your food to another level!
Ingredients
- Pistacho Pesto Sauce:
- 1 cup of packed basil leaves
- 1/2 cup of packed spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup of shelled Hellas Farms Greek pistachios
- 1 large garlic clove ( or 2 smaller ones)
- juice of 1 lemon ( about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese ( use 1 teaspoon of mustard if vegan)
- 1/4 cup -1/3 cup of olive oil
- 1 lb bag of fresh fettuccine pasta ( use gluten free pasta if needed)
- Extra fresh grated Parmesan for sprinkling (optional)
- Lemon zest and crushed pistachios for sprinkling (optional)
- **optional: 1/4 cup of heavy cream
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- In the meantime, make the pesto. In a food processor, place all the pesto ingredients except for the olive oil.
- Process until the mixture is fine, then add in the olive oil and process until the mixture is a smooth sauce (it will not be creamy smooth, but smooth).
- When the pasta is done, drain it well. Then toss about 1/2 of the pesto (more or less to your taste) with the pasta and plate them. **if you're turning this into a cream sauce, add the cream with pesto sauce t the cooked pasta right away.
- Drizzle a teaspoon more of the pesto on top of each pasta plate, and sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and crushed pistachios if desired. Serve and enjoy!
I used spaghetti squash for fettucine because if being type-2 diabetic.
Great idea Mark !! Hope you enjoyed it 🙂