Almond Picada Pesto Spaghetti

Almond Picada Pesto Spaghetti gives the regular vegan pesto pasta a whole new flavor! This healthy spaghetti sauce recipe inspired by Spanish cuisine makes a great vegan pasta sauce! Give your regular spaghetti a delicious twist by making vegan picada pesto made with no cheese.

Course Main Course, pasta

Cuisine Italian, spanish

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Servings people

Calories 330.72kcal

Author Priya Lakshminarayan

Equipment

Ingredients

To make Picada Pesto Sauce

1 teaspoon olive oil
10 cloves garlic
1-2 Jalapeno
15 almonds
⅓ cup parsley
⅓ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoon olive oil

To cook Spaghetti

8 oz spaghetti
8 cups water
salt

To make Almond Picada Pesto Spaghetti

2 tablespoon olive oil
150 gms mushrooms
½ cup green peas
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

To make Picada

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Lightly toast the almonds, jalapeno, and garlic until lightly golden, stirring frequently, for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the flame.
Transfer the cubes or breadcrumbs to the food processor along with parsley. Reserve some parsley for garnish.
Add all the other roasted ingredients along with olive oil.
Pulse until coarsely ground for a crumbly picada, or pulse it longer by drizzling more olive oil for a more creamy paste.

To make Almond Picada Pesto Spaghetti

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt and then add the spaghetti in it. Cook it al dente. Strain and run it under cold water. Keep it aside.
Heat olive oil in the skillet. Add and fry the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes or until they are soft and cooked.
Then add green peas and continue to saute for more 2-3 minutes or until the water in them evaporates.
Now add the ground picada and saute for a minute.
It's time to add the spaghetti. Coat it with the pesto.
Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley. You can also add crushed red pepper flakes.

Notes

When making Picada, you can also mix hazelnuts and pecans with almonds. If you have a nut allergy, use sunflower seeds instead. You can also add a pinch of saffron to this healthy spaghetti pasta sauce.

Instead of breadcrumbs, you can also use 2-3 slices of any leftover bread. Just roast them in ½ teaspoon olive oil and then cut them into cubes and add to the blender jar.

I have added mushrooms and green peas but you can add any veggies you have handy, like bell peppers, edamame, onions, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, or broccoli.

You can use this vegan pesto pasta sauce as a marinade, dip, pizza sauce, or as a spread. It can be baked into bread or mixed into a salad dressing. The options are endless. Make a batch of this and store it in an airtight container.

Nutrition