🍝 Spaghetti al pesto
Spaghetti al pesto is pasta tossed with Genoese pesto, a raw sauce of fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, grated parmesan and olive oil. The sauce is bright green, fragrant and herby, with a nutty, cheesy richness. It is never cooked — just loosened with a little pasta water and stirred through the hot spaghetti.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 320 g spaghetti
- 50 g fresh basil leaves
- 30 g pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 50 g parmesan, grated
- 80 ml olive oil
- Salt
Method
- Pound or blend the garlic and pine nuts with a pinch of salt, then add the basil and work into a paste.
- Stir in the parmesan, then the olive oil, until creamy.
- Cook the spaghetti until al dente; keep a cup of the cooking water.
- Off the heat, toss the pasta with the pesto and a little cooking water. Serve at once.
How to make it lighter
- Pesto is energy-dense: 1 heaped tablespoon per serving is enough to coat the pasta.
- Cut the oil to 50 ml and loosen the pesto with pasta water instead.
- Add green beans or zucchini to the pasta, as Ligurians often add vegetables, for a bigger, lighter plate.
History
Pesto alla genovese comes from Genoa and the Ligurian coast, where basil grows abundantly; its name comes from pestare, "to pound", after the mortar and pestle used to make it. In Liguria it is traditionally served with trofie or trenette, while spaghetti is common elsewhere.
Count it in one photo
Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Spaghetti al pesto and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.
Download on the App StoreSimilar dishes
Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →