For an easy weeknight meal, this recipe takes a spin on the Italian classic by using peas as a pesto. It only takes 20 minutes, is vegetarian, and is super, super tasty.

Recently, I’ve been looking for ways to make this blog a bit more vegetarian. Many of my friends no longer eat meat and I want this blog to be for everyone. I, too, want to cut down on my meat consumption, for the sake of the planet among many other reasons.

While I was thinking, I remembered one of my favourite pasta recipes that I have been cooking for a couple of years: pea pesto spaghetti. This came to my head one night at university. I had nothing in the fridge except frozen peas and pasta, so I decided to put them together and make a smooth pea pesto which I put with onions and fresh peas, and this recipe was born.

It was a very happy accident. Even now, this is still one of my favourite pasta sauces that I’ve made. I’ve changed the recipe a bit and added sun-dried tomatoes to the dish for some more flavour.

The most difficult part about this dish is that you need to use a blender or a stick blender to make the pea pesto, you can’t make this without it. However, that’s it. The rest is so, so simple.

This recipe can easily be made vegan, too. The cheese can be swapped out for a vegan alternative and you can omit the cream.

If you are looking for a cheap and tasty pasta meal that is a bit different, this is the dish for you.

How to make pea pesto

Servings: 1

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients for pea pesto pastsa

• 100g of frozen peas, plus some extra that won’t go in the pesto
• 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 clove garlic or 1/2tsp of garlic granules
• 1tbsp lemon juice
• 20g more or less to taste) of parmesan, vegetarian parmesan or vegan hard cheese
• 1-2tbsp of cream (can be substituted for veg stock or water at a push. This is just to make the pesto a little thinner and isn’t always needed)
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 80g of spaghetti or your favourite pasta shape
• Sun-dried tomatoes (as many as you want!)

Optional additions: bacon, chorizo, cheddar, fried egg (on top).

How to make pea pesto spaghetti

1. Boil a pan of water and add 1tsp of salt. Add most of the frozen peas and cook until the pan reboils and the peas have defrosted. Drain and put these peas in a blender.
2. Reboil a pan of water and add another tsp of salt. Pour in the spaghetti/pasta and cook according to the instructions. Before you drain the pasta, reserve one mug of water!
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat a pan with a little oil and add the diced onion. Cook till the onions are starting to brown and set aside.
4. While everything else is cooking, add the peas, garlic, oil, parmesan (or alternative), lemon juice and seasoning. Blend together. If the mix is too thick, add the cream (or stock or water) to thin it a little.
5. When the pasta is just about done, add a few peas to the pot and let them cook with the pasta.
6. Drain the pasta and and add it back into the pot. Add the onions and as many sun-dried tomatoes as you like. Stir everything up and then add the pea pesto. Keep stirring till all of the pasta is coated with a thick layer of the pesto. If it goes a bit thick and claggy, slowly add some of your reserved pasta water to the mix until you have a glossy sauce. Taste and season.
7. Serve with chopped parsley and your favourite cheese.

Tips: if you make too much pesto, it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

If you want more pasta inspiration, try my sardine pasta with chilli oil. Or, if you’re looking for more Italian recipes, why not try my caremalised onion focaccia?