Creamy Pesto Pasta without Cream is a luscious, elevated dish made with a ricotta pesto sauce and topped with toasted pine nuts and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. This no-cream family-favorite recipe comes together in just 15 minutes with a handful of simple ingredients.
Cook pasta - In a large pot, bring salted water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add pasta to the water and cook until al dente per the packaging instructions. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.
1 lb pasta, kosher salt or sea salt
Toast pine nuts - To toast pine nuts, heat a small pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts to the pan and stir the pine nuts until they turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove the nuts from the pan and set aside.
2 tablespoon pine nuts
Combine ingredients - In a large mixing bowl or serving bowl, add ricotta, pesto, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. Mix the ingredients together until combined. Add the pasta and the pasta water about a quarter cup at a time, and toss until the pasta sauce reaches a silky consistency. Note: You don’t have to use all of the pasta water and the amount necessary will depend on the thickness of the pesto.
1 cup ricotta, 8 tablespoon homemade pesto or store-bought pesto, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, kosher salt or sea salt
Serve - Serve immediately and top bowls with parmigiano-reggiano, basil, and pine nuts if desired.
parmigiano-reggiano, basil for garnish
Notes
Storage
Refrigerate leftover pesto pasta pesto for up to 5 days in an air-tight container. In order to reheat the pasta, place the desired amount of leftover pasta in a braiser or dutch oven. Then reheat the pasta over low heat, stirring occasionally until hot.
Top Tips
Salt the pasta water - Make sure to salt the pasta water so the pasta noodles will be extra tasty.
Mix the sauce well - Before serving the pasta, make sure the sauce is well mixed with the pasta noodles so the sauce covers each piece of pasta.
Remix the pesto - If you store and refrigerate leftover pesto separately, be sure to remix it before using it. Otherwise the ingredients can separate overnight in the refrigerator.
Serve pasta with bread - Enjoy this pasta recipe with a delicious baguette or roll to dip in the pesto sauce. In Italian, this is called "fare la scarpetta," or "make the little shoe."