Sometimes, the best dinner is the one you can tweak if needed, and it doesn't get more flexible — or, in our opinion, more delicious — than the noodles of your choice with pesto sauce. This simple pesto pasta recipe features fettuccine tossed in a vibrant homemade sauce that's made with the fresh herbs you’ve got in the fridge, your favorite nuts, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Cooked in one pot, the pasta develops a silky, creamy sauce that clings to every strand.
It comes from Nora Singley, Head of Culinary at Molly Baz's quirky cooking empire. And her new book, One-Pot Pasta, is full of handy, weeknight-ready recipes. "The one-pot method does wonders with a pesto sauce," Singley writes. "Made in the traditional way, plain boiled noodles and pesto combine to coat the pasta loosely, while the one-pot method yields a sauce fully emulsified and clinging, creating a creamy, unified bite. In unofficial yet highly scientific side-by-side tastings, the one-pot pesto wins every time."
"Use this recipe with whatever nuts or herbs you have on hand," Singley insists. "Keep it simple with one kind of nut and one kind of herb, or mix and match multiple varieties. (One of my favorite combinations: walnuts and almonds with basil and cilantro.) Toasted nuts add roasty depth, while raw nuts yield a milder, herb-forward pesto. Your choice." Ready to experiment? Let your available ingredients be your guide.
Any-Herb, Any-Nut Pesto Pasta
Author: Nora Singley
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Calories: 1,020 calories per serving
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups lightly packed (60 g) mixed herbs (such as basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, and/or tarragon)
- Heaping ½ cup (2½ ounces/70 g) unsalted nuts (such as pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or pistachios)
- 11 cloves garlic, peeled: 1 grated, 10 thinly sliced
- ¾ cup plus 3 tablespoons (225 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- ½ cup lightly packed (1 ounce/ 30 g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano (or a combination of both), plus more for serving
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- 4¼ cups (1,020 ml) water, plus more as needed
- 1 pound (454 g) fettuccine
Directions
- Make the pesto: Place 2 cups (60 g) mixed herbs in the bowl of a food processor, along with a heaping ½ cup (2½ ounces/70 g) nuts and 1 grated garlic clove. Pulse until the herbs and nuts are finely chopped. With the motor running, add ¾ cup (180 ml) of the olive oil until incorporated, processing longer if you want a smoother consistency and less if you like your pesto with some texture. Add ½ cup (1 ounce/30 g) finely grated cheese and pulse until combined. Generously season with salt and black pepper. Taste and season again as you like, noting that the flavor of the garlic will bloom as the pesto sits, as will the herbs. Use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container, press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent discoloration, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Make the pasta: Warm a large, high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add 10 sliced garlic cloves and ¾ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on your taste). Season with salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is softened but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add 4¼ cups (1,020 ml) water and 2½ teaspoons salt. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add 1 pound (454 g) fettuccine, shimmying the noodles into the water with tongs as best you can to separate the strands. Don’t worry—any noodles that aren’t fully submerged will eventually become flexible enough to nestle into the pot.
- Adjust the heat to maintain a steady boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is uncomfortably al dente, 9 to 10 minutes. Immediately turn off the heat and add 1 cup (225 g) of the pesto and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Begin to add water, a big splash or two at a time, until a loose, creamy, noodle-coating sauce is formed and the noodles are al dente. (Expect to add ¼ to ½ cup/60 to 120 ml water; the noodles should be able to move about freely in the sauce when stirred.) Season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, and serve topped with more grated cheese and a generous drizzle of your best olive oil.
Excerpted from One-Pot Pasta by Nora Singley (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 2026. Photographs by Penny De Los Santos.
