Change up your usual pasta with this light and vibrant pesto primavera recipe featuring zucchini noodles, a homemade pesto and spring vegetables.
What comes to mind when you think of pasta primavera? Chances are you think of a rather bland pasta dish with a light cream sauce and a scattering of vegetables thrown in.
Pasta primavera, invented famously by Le Cirque restaurant back in the heyday of nouvelle cuisine has since largely fallen out of favor. Although “primavera” means spring too many versions of the dish contained very few ingredients that had anything to do with spring with any vegetables most often overcooked into soggy submission.
My version of the spring pasta is a pesto primavera lightened up by using zucchini noodles instead of traditional noodles and packed with loads of springtime favorites like asparagus, snap peas and broccolini. The whole dish is a veritable cornucopia of green and the kind of food that makes you feel good after you’ve polished off your plate, not heavy and weighed down. Not to mention that it’s an easy and delicious way to get in your daily servings of vegetables.
Cream sauce has been swapped out for a fresh pesto made with pistachios with a hint of lemon zest. The bright tasting sauce is a natural complement to the lightly blanched vegetables and the perfect dish to make this time of year.
In a matter of moments you can whizz together the sauce and quickly cook the vegetables. If you have a spiralizer or even a y-peeler you can also easily make your own zucchini noodles or just buy them pre-made at your grocery store. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredient Notes:
(Here are a few notes about the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe. As always find the full list of ingredients and directions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
For the Pesto: (Or substitute a store-bought pesto)
- Pistachios – Use raw pistachios.
- Fresh Herbs – I like a mix of dill and parsley but you can of course use basil or your favorite herbs.
- Lemon – You’ll need the zest from ½ a lemon.
- Garlic – You’ll need a clove of garlic.
- Olive Oil – Use your favorite extra-virgin olive oil.
For the Pasta:
- Broccolini – I like tender broccolini but you can also use regular broccoli.
- Asparagus – You’ll need about ½ a bunch of asparagus.
- Sugar Snap Peas – Use either snap peas or snow peas.
- Zucchini – You’ll need about 3-4 zucchini, made into noodles with a spiralizer or julienne peeler or use store bought zoodles.
How to Make Pesto Primavera:
- If you are making the pistachio pesto you’ll start by pulsing the pistachios in a small food along with the dill, parsley, lemon zest, garlic and olive oil until smooth. The pesto can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until needed.
- Next bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccolini, asparagus and snap peas to boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes or until tender but firm. Transfer to an ice bath to cool, drain and gently pat dry.
- Finally toss the zucchini noodles with the pesto, add in the vegetables and you are ready to serve!
It’s a quick and simple “pasta” that captures the essence of springtime cooking: fresh and filled with green.
Variations:
- Use a store-bought pesto (regular or dairy-free).
- Substitute snow peas for the snap peas.
- Use your favorite mix of spring vegetables. (Choose vegetables with similar cooking times.)
- Top with toasted nuts if desired.
- Use pasta of choice instead of zucchini noodles.
More Zoodle Recipes:
- Zucchini Noodles with Pesto
- Zucchini Noodles with Fresh Tomato Sauce
- Watermelon and Zucchini Noodle Salad
Pesto Primavera Zoodles
Change up your usual pasta with this light and vibrant pesto primavera recipe featuring zucchini noodles, a homemade pesto and spring vegetables.
Ingredients
For the pistachio pesto:
- 2 Tablespoons/ 18g raw pistachios
- ¼ cup dill, stems removed
- ¼ cup flat leaf parsley, stems removed
- Lemon zest from ½ a lemon
- 1 small clove of garlic
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the pasta:
- 1 small bunch broccolini, cut into 2-inch pieces
- ½ a bunch of asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup snap peas, string removed and cut in half if large
- 3-4 zucchini, made into noodles with a spiralizer or julienne peeler (or use store-bought)
Instructions
- In a small food processor, pulse pistachios until finely chopped, add dill, parsley, lemon zest, garlic and salt; pulse again until finely chopped. With motor running, add in olive oil until smooth.
- Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add broccolini, asparagus and snap peas to boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes or until tender but firm. Transfer to an ice bath to cool, drain and gently pat dry.
- Toss zucchini noodles with pistachio dill pesto, gently stir in vegetables.
- Serve at room temperature.
Notes
Variations:
- Use a store-bought pesto (regular or dairy-free).
- Substitute snow peas for the snap peas.
- Use your favorite mix of spring vegetables. (Choose vegetables with similar cooking times.)
- Top with toasted nuts if desired.
- Use pasta of choice instead of zucchini noodles.
Dietary Info:
Gluten-Free. Grain-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Paleo
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 323mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 8g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Meg Hobbes says
Hello Sylvie,
I enjoy your recipes very much! Thank you so much for sharing them with all of us.
I recently made the Zucchini Noodle Pistachio Pesto Primavera. I had to ad lib on the amount of pistachios though, because they were not mentioned in the ingredient list. We enjoyed it the way I made it, but I would still like to know the amount you suggest. Hoping to hear from you,
Meg Hobbes
Sylvie says
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipes and I apologize for the oversight, the correct amount is 2 Tablespoons and the recipe has been updated to reflect that!
Meg says
hank you, Sylvie! That is the amount I guessed. We have had the meal twice now. Both times I have had to add more olive oil. I also cut my vegetables into 1" pieces instead of 2" for easier eating. We are trying to eat a more plant based diet and appreciate wonderful recipes like this!
Beverly Ebersole says
How many pistachios
Sylvie says
2 Tablespoons of pistachios!
Audra says
Hi!
You didn't include the quantity of pistachios necessary to make the pesto. How much do I need?
Looks amazing!!!
Thank you 🙂
Sylvie says
I apologize for the oversight, the correct amount is 2 Tablespoons!
Sarah says
I absolutely love zoodles. What a great idea to add the other veggies in! This is a perfect spring dish, especially for lent as we are meatless on Fridays!
Gail says
This recipe looks great, and I can't wait to try it! However, I'm looking everywhere for the amount of pistachios I am supposed to use> I even asked my husband to find it for me, since I can't. I think I'm going nuts! Help!
Sylvie says
No you are right, it was not listed! I accidentally omitted the amount of pistachios from the original recipe but have updated it with the correct amount of 2 Tablespoons.
Abby Normalé says
This looks and sounds amazing! For the pesto, how much pistachios? I didn't see a measurement for that ingredient.
Sylvie says
2 Tablespoons is the correct amount, I've updated the recipe to reflect that.
Bash says
Don’t see the amount of pistachios listed in the recipe.
Sylvie says
My apologies, the recipe has been updated to reflect the correct amount of 2 Tablespoons!