Arugula Pasta
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This arugula pasta makes a super easy weeknight meal that’s luscious, fresh, full of savory flavors and absolutely delicious.
It’s also ready in no time, less than 15 minutes from start to finish, perfect to cheer you up after a long day!
May I introduce you to what is one of my favorite ways to eat arugula? Because this is one of the pasta recipes that I make regularly for family, let’s say… at least once per week?
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If you’re like me, you always have a few bags of arugula salad in the fridge. It’s convenient, it keeps well for days and it’s not just for delicious salads, but it’s so versatile and great for pasta and pizza recipes!
Arugula is one of the magic cruciferous vegetables, and like its cousins cabbage, broccoli and kale, this real powerhouse provides plenty of amazing health benefits.
And not only is this arugula pasta recipe quick and easy to whip up, but it’s crazy delicious too!
First of all, apart from your favourite pasta shapes, all you need is a food processor, a bag of arugula, parmesan, cashews, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Easy peasy.
Blend all the ingredients with a quick whizz and add olive oil and some pasta cooking water. Thanks to the starch content of this water, this little trick will make the final result moist and juicy without loading the pasta with a ton of olive oil.
Believe me, it’s so yummy and smooth that you’ll come back for seconds!
List of the ingredients
- Baby arugula (aka rocket here in the UK)
- Pasta (spaghetti, penne, rigatoni…)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- Cashews
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Garlic
- Salt & Pepper
How to make arugula pasta
(Note: this is a quick description, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Cook you pasta until al dente.
- Place arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan, garlic, cashews, salt and pepper in a food processor.
- Whizz for a few seconds, just until you get a coarse pesto-like texture.
- Add the extra virgin olive oil, the pasta cooking water, and give a final quick whizz.
- This is how the arugula pesto looks like (picture below). Taste and make sure you’re happy with the seasoning.
- Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Return the pasta to the pot, stir in the arugula pesto, a touch of the starchy pasta water, toss until combined and serve!
Note: during the cooking time, the pasta releases some of its starches into the cooking water. Using some of this starchy pasta water when you make your sauce or toss your pasta, makes the final texture richer and moist while the salt content lends extra flavor.
Recipe notes
Arugula pasta ingredients & substitutions
Arugula: for convenience I use washed baby arugula (aka rocket) out of the bag. The more peppery wild arugula works too.
Pasta: any long pasta shapes such as spaghetti or linguine, or any short pastas like rigatoni, penne or this amazing cavatelli pasta are perfect. My favorite brands are Garofalo and Rummo.
Extra virgin olive oil: use good-quality extra virgin olive oil, it’s less processed than regular olive oil and it’s full of antioxidants. It’s definitely the best for flavor and nutrition, especially when you eat it raw.
Pasta water: it’s starchy content makes the sauce thick and glossy, and at the same time it reduces the amount of olive oil used. Some of my recipes, like this walnut sauce pasta or sun dried tomato pesto use this clever trick!
Parmesan cheese: it adds it’s rich, savory flavor that makes everything better. However, you can use 1/2 avocado instead of parmesan cheese, this lovely substitution works great if you want to make a diary-free/vegan version!
Cashews: they add texture and make the arugula pesto creamier. Lastly, they come cheaper than pine nuts, and I like them even more!
Sun-dried tomatoes: they add a touch of umami flavor and make the peppery arugula flavor rounded and smoother.
Garlic: although it’s a must in every pesto recipe, go easy on garlic, you don’t want to overpower the other flavors.
Salt & pepper: since the recipe calls for some salty pasta water, I don’t use more than 1/4 tps of fine salt, but taste and make sure the seasoning works for you as well.
More quick pasta recipes?
If you love pasta, I’m sure you’ll love this collection of 13 quick and easy pasta recipes as much as we do. The economical pasta allows us to whip up a filling, delicious meal in no time, these are some of our staples you might like too:
- Pasta with spinach
- Pasta with tomato soup
- Carbonara with mushrooms
- Quick pasta with olives
- Pasta with artichokes
If you make this scrumptious arugula pasta, or if you have any questions, let me know! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it. I would love to hear from you!
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Arugula Pasta
Ingredients
Pasta
- ½ lb (8oz/220 grams) pasta
Arugula pesto
- 4 cups (80 grams) baby arugula, washed
- ⅓ cup (40 grams) sun dried tomatoes, drained
- ¼ cup (30 grams) cashews
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- ⅓ cup (30-40 grams) grated parmesan cheese (or use a few whole pieces, same weight)
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup (60 ml) pasta cooking water
Instructions
Pasta
- Cook pasta in plenty of boiling salty water until al dente.
- When the pasta is nearly done, scoop out 1 cup of pasta water and set aside.
- Finally, drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
Arugula pesto sauce
- While the pasta is cooking, place arugula, parmesan, garlic, cashews, tomatoes, salt and pepper in the food processor. Give a quick blitz just for a few seconds, until the mixture resembles a coarse pesto-like consistency.
- Scrape down size as needed, add extra virgin olive oil and pasta cooking water (use ¼ cup of the water you reserved) to the mixture and give another quick whizz. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Add the arugula pesto sauce to the drained pasta and toss well to combine. Stir in some pasta water as much as needed until you get a moist and juicy consistency.
- Divide into 4 bowl and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if you wish. Enjoy.
Hi,
Would pecans work okay? I don’t have cashews but this looks so yummy!
Pecans would be great, Giz! Hope you’ll enjoy it. x
Is this only to be served warm or can you eat it chilled
Hi Dawn. I love serving this warm, but the arugula pesto itself is versatile, it can be used in pasta salads (like a basil pesto) and it can be served cold.
In this case, I recommend using a short cut pasta such as penne, rigatoni, fusilli. Also, be sure the arugula pesto is thinner and a bit runny as the pasta dries out as it sits; you want to loose it up with olive oil or pasta water. : )
Hi could I make the sauce and freeze it ?
HI Anna, Yes, arugula pesto sauce is freezable. x
Had this at my sister’s house and it was a huge hit with everyone of us!!! I will be making this again soon when I get home from my visit.
I’m so pleased it was a huge hit! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. : ))
Trying to eat better. Dr. said more veggies and fruit. I actually liked this. Thanks for sharing.
You’re very welcome, Dana! x
Can you do make this without cashews?
Hi Alice, you can use almonds or walnuts instead, or just skip the nuts if you wish. x
I made it with almonds and it’s delicious!
Lovely feedback! Thanks for sharing, Joanne, x
what can I substitute the sun-dried tomatoes for?
Hi Donna! Skip the sun-dried tomatoes if you wish. x
Really good! I got a deal on arugula and was trying to figure out how to use it. Earlier in the week I had made oven dried tomatoes so it was easy and quick to make! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Anne! I’m very pleased to hear that, thanks so much for sharing and rating the recipe. x
I want to make this tonight but wondering if it would be good with some chicken breasts?
That should be a delicious combination – it’s worth giving a try.. 😉
Hello! I don’t have sundried tomatoes. Would it be okay to use a fresh tomato?
Hi Shreya! You can skip the sundried tomatoes. If you wish to use fresh tomatoes instead, I recommend adding them diced at the end. Don’t blend them along with agurula. x
Sooooo delicious!! I’m eating it now! Thank you for a great recipe.
That’s great! I’m very pleases it turned out delicious, thanks for sharing. x
I cook with arugula a LOT and make pesto often too. This is an unusual and delicious recipe. I think it’s the sundried tomatoes that create a unique flavor. I did add some basil I wanted to use up.
A little bit of lemon or sumac at serving time is good too.
Will definitely make again.
That’s wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing, Melissa. : )
Nothing in this recipe is able to temper the bitterness of the arugula. Cashews, tomato, Parmesan, all are overtaken with that bitterness. Suggest using half the arugula and substituting spinach or basil for the rest. It DID make a pretty pesto though!
Hi Greg, I think the combination of ingredients work pretty well here. I also think the many positive reviews agree with this. Adding basil or spinach leaves help to mitigate any bitterness, that’s right. But I like it the way it is. x
How do you keep arugula fresh? After 1 day it becomes wet!
Sometimes it turns mushy and wet even if it’s bagged, unfortunately. I prefer to wash and keep it in my spin dry in the fridge, to keep it cool and dry as much as possible.