Olive Pesto Pasta
Last year I had two holidays, one to Greece and one to Morocco. Before these holidays I wasn’t very keen on olives but as you’ll know if you’ve been to either countries- all restaurants serve olives before every meal and this made me realize that I didn’t dislike olives I just hadn’t tried excellent quality olives. Thus was born my olive obsession.
This pasta is a super simple dish that really lets the flavour of the olive shine through supported by a strong vegan parmesan cheese. It has all of the elements of a traditional pesto but with much less basil making it a paler in colour pesto that doesn’t have an overpowering basil flavour to it.
This pasta comes together in just 15 minutes making it a super quick and easy weeknight you’ll be having on repeat.
Serve this up with your favourite protein or just enjoy on its own. Add as many olives as your heart desires- the olive quantity is just a guide!
Olive pesto pasta ingredients and substitutes-
- Green olives- To make the base of the olive pesto you’ll need good quality green olives.
- Kalamata olives- These Greek olives are great tasting, quality olives that bring another element to this pasta.
- Vegan parmesan – Vegan parmesan is great for that rich, cheesy flavor in a pesto. You could also use nutritional yeast for that cheesy element.
- Cashew nuts – I use cashew nuts in place for pine nuts for this recipe as they are cheaper than pine nuts and I usually have a bag in the cupboard.
- Olive oil- Use extra virgin olive oil for this pesto this will give a rich flavour for the perfect pesto.
- Spaghetti - I used spaghetti but feel free to use any pasta you like.
- Basil - Fresh basil only!
Some popular plant based pasta recipes from the blog
Other uses for pesto
Whilst this olive pesto goes best with pasta its also great mixed in with mayo as a dipping sauce for fries, spread on bread in a sandwich for a delicious condiment, added to a pasta salad as a cold dressing or even as a topping on a cooked pizza for a flavor boost. The possibilities are endless so whip up a big batch- it will store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days!
Nut free pesto
Did you know that you can make pesto nut free and still taste amazing by using sunflower seeds! If you only have sunflower seeds on hand or have a but free guest give this recipe a try by replacing the cashew nuts with sunflower seeds!
Vegan olive pesto pasta
Ingredients
- 300 g Bucatini pasta
- 100 g Green olives
- 50 g Kalamata olives
- 50 g Cashew nuts raw, unsalted
- 50 g Vegan parmesan
- 25 g Fresh basil
- 25 g Fresh parsley
- 45 ml Olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Add the cashew nuts ang 50g green olives to a mini food processor or pestle & mortar and pulse until combined and the pieces are all even sizes.
- Next add the basil, parsley, parmesan and extra virgin olive oil. Blend this into a paste.
- Add the paste to a large bowl and set aside.
- Boil the pasta and save a ladle of pasta water.
- Add the pasta water to the olive pesto paste and mix into a sauce.
- Drain the pasta well and add to the pesto sauce, mix well.
- Serve the pasta in bowls topped with extra olives and parmesan.
Notes
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