Delicious, creamy dairy-free pesto pasta with tender flavorful chicken. This quick and easy basil pesto pasta is ready in 30 minutes! A great main or meal for the family made with simple ingredients!
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This dairy-free basil pesto pasta features a fragrant basil pesto sauce with tender juicy chicken and zucchini. The pesto sauce is made with fresh basil, garlic, raw cashews, nutritional yeast (the substitute for cheese), olive oil and salt.
Pesto pasta is a classic in Italian cuisine and I love this dish with a passion because it's so simple and extremely tasty!
It's also a great noodle dish that is convenient for a busy weeknight meal when there's little time to cook because there are minimal ingredients involved!
Since I'm lactose intolerant, I found a way to enjoy pesto again without cheese. After lots of recipe testing, I discovered that raw cashew nuts and nutritional yeast make for a great substitute for parmesan cheese.
I am thrilled to share this delicious dairy-free version of basil pesto pasta and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Rotini pasta: I recommend rotini but you can use any pasta you enjoy like Fusilli, penne, or rigatoni and cook according to package directions.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: or substitute with chicken breast or jumbo shrimp.
- Zucchini: or substitute with yellow squash.
- Garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: or substitute with avocado oil or another cooking oil of your choice.
Pesto Sauce
- Fresh basil leaves: do not substitute with dried basil leaves.
- Extra virgin olive oil: or substitute with avocado oil or another cooking oil of your choice.
- Raw cashews: ideally raw so they can easily break down in the pesto sauce. But if you can't find these, substitute with roasted cashews and finely blend the cashews well.
- Garlic
- Salt
- Nutritional Yeast
Expert Tips
- Use fresh basil leaves and avoid using ones that looked bruised or brown.
- Make sure to use fresh chicken thighs! I always perform a smell test at the grocery store to check for any strong odors and if I smell anything off, I try to find a fresher pack of chicken.
- Use a high power blender to make the pesto sauce so the cashews are finely crushed.
- Save some of the pasta water at the end so the water is starchy enough to create a creamy sauce.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make dairy-free basil pesto pasta:
- Season sliced chicken thighs with salt and black pepper and set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, blend pesto sauce ingredients until smooth and set aside.
- Boil pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Near the end of the cooking process, reserve ⅓ cup hot pasta water and set aside. Strain pasta in a colander.
- In large skillet set on medium high heat, sauté minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Stir fry chicken for 5 minutes. Then add in zucchini and cook until zucchini has softened.
- Mix in the pesto sauce and pasta water with the chicken and zucchini to create the pasta sauce.
- Toss in pasta into the sauce to combine. Serve hot and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing dairy-free basil pesto pasta as the zucchini will become mushy.
Pairing Suggestions
Dairy-Free Basil Pesto Pasta serves well with:
- Starters like fresh salad with Italian dressing, Caesar salad, or antipasto salad, calamari, garlic bread, bruschetta, or Italian wedding soup
- Pizza or risotto
- Italian meatballs or chicken parmesan
- Sautéed or grilled vegetables
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Baked Italian eggplant
FAQ
Basil pesto pasta can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
To make this pasta dish gluten free, substitute the pasta with any gluten-free pasta that you enjoy!
Other recipes you may enjoy
📖 Recipe
Easy Dairy-Free Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs thinly sliced
- 2 small zucchinis thinly sliced into ¼-inch pieces
- ½ lb pasta like rotini, fusilli or rigatoni
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pesto Sauce
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves packed
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Season sliced chicken thighs with salt and black pepper and set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, blend pesto sauce ingredients until smooth and set aside.
- Boil pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Near the end of the cooking process, reserve ⅓ cup hot pasta water and set aside. Strain pasta in a colander.
- In large skillet set on medium high heat, sauté minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Stir fry chicken for 5 minutes. Then add in zucchini and cook until zucchini has softened.
- Mix in the pesto sauce and pasta water with the chicken and zucchini to create the pasta sauce.
- Toss in pasta into the sauce to combine. Serve hot and enjoy!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This is such a great way to use up some of that fresh basil I have growing in my backyard right now... and using cashews instead of pine nuts in your homemade pesto was genius. It makes your homemade pesto so much less expensive to make!
Helene
I had to substitute cashews with pistachios because I didn't have that on hand. But it turned out great! Love that it uses nutritional yeast making it diary free ! Will have to try it again with cashews next time 🙂
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe Helene! Glad it worked well for you!
Freja
This looks delish! Can I use just a regular jar of pesto from the shops? If so, how much do you recommend I use? Thanks heaps
christieathome
Thanks so much! I would suggest finding a jar that is at least 125 -250 ml of Pesto to ensure you cover every noodle! Hope that helps.
Vie
This is absolutely delicious. I made it for my family including a toddler who normally won’t eat pasta and he loved it. A definite keeper and a bonus that it is healthy too. Thanks Christie!
Jamie
This looks delicious, Christie! Thanks for sharing another healthy meal 🙂
Christie
Thanks so much for checking it out Jamie!!