Pasta with Peas is a quick 20-minute recipe for a bright, flavor-packed dish! This dish is fantastic as a warm entrée, or enjoy it cold, for the perfect rotini and pea pasta salad!
Using seasonal veggies is a simple way to elevate the flavors of any dish. You can use ripe summer tomatoes to make a rich pan fried meatballs, or pick fresh peaches to bring loads of flavor to a Bisquick cobbler peach.
This rotini recipe takes advantage of spring peas and fresh basil, making a 20-minute meal that will make your taste buds dance!
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Adaptable and versatile.
The pesto sauce is creamy and packed with flavor, with uses that go way beyond a sauce! You can make a fantastic salad pesto dressing with it or brush it onto pesto bread twist.
- Easy meal prep recipe.
Because it can be made in 20 minutes, it’s easy enough to make after a busy day. But it can also be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week, so it’s super easy to have ready for lunches during the week.
- Delicious, hot or cold!
This is a wonderful light meal on its own, or add how to bake chicken strips or easy fettuccine alfredo with shrimp for a protein-packed warm dinner.
Or, if you’re looking for a simple pasta salad zesty Italian, this is perfect for that, too! Vegetarian pea pasta salad is a favorite at summer potlucks and backyard cookouts.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
For the Pesto
- Toasted pine nuts
This is the base of our pesto, and we also use it as a garnish to add some crunch to the dish. If you can’t find toasted pine nuts in the grocery store, you can toast raw nuts yourself. *See our tips section, below for instructions. - Garlic
Don’t skip this, because it adds a boost of flavor to the pesto pasta with veggies. If you need a substitute for fresh garlic, garlic paste is super convenient. - Lemon juice
Citrus adds a bright freshness to the pasta with peas. Using fresh lemon juice is really important. Bottled juice is concentrated, but the flavor is dull. If you need a substitute, white wine vinegar and freshly squeezed lime juice are both good choices. - Fresh basil
Be sure the basil is fresh, with bright green leaves, not wilted or brown. - Parmesan – adds a salty nuttiness. Grated pecorino is a great substitute. If you want a vegan option, use a non-dairy cheese or nutritional yeast. Or, make this vegan pesto recipe.
- Olive oil
We recommend using high-quality, extra virgin olive oil. Its richness will enhance the flavors of the basil and parmesan.
For the Pasta
- Rotini
We use a twisty rotini to give the sauce something to cling to, but you can use any small shape you like. - Frozen Peas
If you can’t make your pasta with veggies straight from the garden or farmer’s market, that’s fine. Frozen vegetables are a great way to get the flavor of fresh. - Toasted pine nuts
These add crunch and nuttiness to the top of the dish. They can be expensive, so feel free to use chopped walnuts, almonds, or just some sunflower seeds instead.
Tips for Making Pesto Sauce
Making pesto sauce for the pasta with peas is simple. But, there are some important tips to create the right consistency:
- Wash, but do NOT soak the basil leaves.
It’s important to remove any dirt or debris, but do not immerse the leaves in water. Just give them a quick rinse, then immediately pat them dry with paper towels.
- Avoid over processing.
Add the basil and parmesan to the bowl of a food processor and pulse just until the basil is chopped into small pieces. You want the pesto sauce to have some texture. If you process it too much, you’ll end up with baby food.
- Add the oil very slowly.
Have you ever heard the saying, “oil and water don’t mix”? Well, creating the pesto for this pasta salad requires a special technique, called an emulsion. This is because there is water in the fresh basil that we need to combine with the olive oil.
Creamy sauces like homemade mayo, hollandaise, and pesto all require creating an emulsion so the water and fat molecules “stick” to one another.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
The key to creating an emulsion is to add the oil VERY slowly. Keep the food processor running while you drizzle in the olive oil.
Tips For The Best Pesto Pasta With Veggies
- Cook the rotini to al dente.
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What cooking to “al dente” means is, you want the noodles to have a little bite to them. This gives the dish some structure. Just cook the noodles for 1 minute less than the time recommended on the box.
🎯 TFN Pro Time Saving Tip!
It doesn’t matter if you’re using frozen or fresh peas, just add them right into the pot of boiling water with the rotini during the final 2 or 3 minutes of cooking time.
This will save you from having to dirty another dish, and save you time, too!
- Reserve some pasta water.
Before you drain it in a colander, fill a heatproof measuring glass or bowl with the pasta water. We’ll use it to thin the pesto.
Add the basil pesto and ¼ cup of pasta water to a large bowl. Whisk to combine, then add the pasta and peas to the bowl, and toss to combine.
If the it is too dry, add an additional ¼ cup of starchy water.
- Toast the pine nuts for extra flavor.
Enjoy your salad with a garnish of toasted pine nuts on top. You may be able to find them already toasted. If not, just place the nuts into a dry skillet over medium heat.
Cook them for a few minutes, tossing occasionally. When you notice a nutty aroma, pull them off of the heat.
Serving Suggestions
Warm
For a simple, 20-minute meal, serve this warm. It’s fantastic with a side of soft garlic sourdough bread or homemade potato rolls.
Cold
Serve it chilled for a refreshing, perfect summer salad. You can add some cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese for even more flavor.
It’s a great potluck dish, or pack it up and serve it for a picnic or cookout at the park or beach!
You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Need some other easy pasta ideas?
Other delicious summertime favorites of ours are tortellini caprese salad and zesty Italian pasta salad.
Another warm dinner that we love is pasta with meat sauce, or check out our huge collection of Rigatoni recipes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Some people shy away from this, thinking the dish is high in carbs. The truth is, peas are packed with fiber, vitamins, and nutrients, and have antioxidant properties, too.
Rotini and other white pastas are rich in iron and fiber. For an even healthier dinner, use a whole grain variety instead!
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Quick Pasta with Peas
Equipment
- food processor - (for pesto sauce)
- large saucepan - (for pasta)
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts *See notes
- 2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp garlic paste
- ½ large lemon juiced
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves tightly packed
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese or Pecorino
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Pasta
- 16 ounces rotini pasta (or rigatoni, bowtie, or other small pasta)
- 2 cups frozen peas
Garnish
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts optional
Instructions
For the Pesto
- Combine the pine nuts, garlic, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the garlic and nuts are broken up into small pieces.
- Add the basil and parmesan and pulse until the basil is broken up into small pieces as well.
- With the food processor on low, slowly add the olive oil. Continue to pulse until the pesto is smooth and lump-free. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Set aside until ready to use.
For the Pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than al dente (check the time on the box as different brands will have different cook times).
- Add the peas and cook for an additional minute, or just until al dente.
- Remove 1 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and peas.
- Add the pesto and ¼ cup of pasta water to a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the pasta and peas to the bowl and toss to combine. If the pasta is too dry, add an additional ¼ cup of starchy pasta water. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
- Garnish with toasted pine nuts and enjoy. This pasta can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Notes
- If you can’t find toasted pine nuts in the grocery store, you can toast raw nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or just until fragrant.
- Garlic adds a delicious flavor to the pesto. Don’t skip it!
- We are using rotini pasta, but you could use any shape, like bowtie or cellentani – we recommend dried pasta, not fresh pasta.
- Frozen peas are a great shortcut for when fresh peas aren’t in season– if you have access to fresh peas, use those instead!
Nutrition
This post, originally published July 2022, was updated with new content March 2023.
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Katherine says
My kids absolutely loved this pasta! It’s now added to our regular meal planner. Thanks!
Harriet Young says
Delicious! I had it cold as part of a picnic and it was delightful. Thank you!
Jeff says
I love basil pesto. The peas are a nice add to this side dish favourite.
veenaazmanov says
I love the Pesto recipe any day. Pasta is one of my family favorite meal option too. Combination of Pasta and peas is yum. I also like that this can be enjoyed cold as a salad too.
Anjali says
This was such a simple and easy recipe to make for dinner tonight! The pesto was creamy and had great flavor. We loved it!