White Pesto
Servings
6
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
-
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-
½ cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
-
1 pound Manfredi Lunghi pasta or spaghetti
- ½ cup fresh basil, torn
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the walnuts on a small baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 12 minutes.
- Transfer the walnuts to a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Add the ricotta, Parmesan, olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, and salt and process until well combined. Transfer to a large bowl.
Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta and pasta water to the bowl and toss to coat the pasta and loosen the sauce. Top with fresh basil and serve.

4 comments
Can you use an alternative to the walnuts if someone is allergic?
Can’t wait to make this, my friend just ordered two boxes of the pasta for me!
@summer sunflower seeds or pepitas would work too!
I am allergic to walnuts – can you recommend an alternative?
Hi! As an alternative you can use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds! Anther option is to omit the nuts from the recipe :)