I’ve never been someone to buy souvenirs while on vacation, rather I just stock pile ideas for recipes from my meals while traveling and bring them home so I can reminisce about where I’ve been. And that’s exactly where this Arugula Pesto Pasta comes from!
Perhaps my most favorite meal in all of Italy, a few years back, was at this little beach club off the coast in Positano called Da Adolfo! It’s literally just a tiny beach with a handful of lounge chairs and a small restaurant area right smack on the beach with a couple dozen tables and a LOT of food. I had to call weeks ahead of time to make sure we got a reservation and then the countdown was on! We went for my birthday lunch and ordered almost everything on the entire menu. (pictures here) Peaches with wine, grilled mozzarella on lemon leaves, grilled Branzino, mussels with tomato sauce and this Arugula Pesto Pasta! It’s beyond simple but incredibly memorable and I’ve been making it ever since. While the Arugula Pesto Pasta tastes just as good as our beachside meal in Positano, eating this on my kitchen table doesn’t have quite the same vibe as sitting under an awning on the beach in Italy. Sigh… I’ll just count down the hours until we can go back!
Check out some of my favorite Shrimp Recipes here:
- Shrimp Scampi with Couscous
- Shrimp and Crab Seafood Rolls
- Spanish Paella
- Avocado Shrimp Quinoa Bowl
- Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Pesto
- The Ultimate Garlic Shrimp Scampi
Arugula Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 cups firmly packed arugula plus extra for garnish
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese plus more for garnish
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 pound linguini
For the Shrimp
- ½ - ¾ lb medium sized shrimp peeled and de-veined
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the pine nuts and garlic and process until finely chopped. Add the 3 cups arugula and process until coarsely chopped. With the processor running, gradually add the olive oil in a steady stream and process until smooth. Turn off the machine and add the lemon juice and cheese, then pulse until incorporated. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Toss the shrimp with the oil, garlic powder as well as salt and pepper. Saute for about 3 minutes on each side until pink and fully cooked.
- In a large bowl, toss the pesto with the pasta until well coated. Scatter arugula leaves on top and sprinkle with extra cheese. Serve immediately.
I will just close my eyes and imagine that I am on the beach in Italy. This looks delicious!
I can always eat another bowl of pesto pasta!
What a nice way to enjoy summer with shrimp!
I bet this tastes amazing straight from Italy!!
This looks fantastic Gaby!!!
I know just the place Gaby- the most romantic perfect beach ever. This pasta looks truly epic- I have to make this as soon as possible!
Gaby, I believe I would ask for seconds and thirds of this gorgeous dish!
Can I refrigerate leftovers of pasta? My husband doesn’t eat pasta, I know gasp, so there will be leftovers. And as much as I want to eat it all in one sitting I really shouldnt.
Can’t get to Positano, so this will be the next best thing!!!
Made it! Love it! Tagged you on insta.
WAAAANT!!!! I have been dying to try this since I saw it on Insta.
This dish looks really good! Just wondering if I can use an immersion blender, as I don’t have a food processor?
Thanks!
you sure could!! Or a food processor
Thanks! And how long would I toast the pine nuts?
Just made this! Turned out so great! I could have reduced the amount of pasta I made by a little bit, but otherwise its delicious!
The recipe heading says serves 6-8, but the end of the recipe says serves 4-6, Which is correct? Thank you.
4-6ish!
Super easy and so good!
my fave thing ever to eat in the summer. so fresh and delish – I prefer it to basil pesto! added broccoli because #broccoliholic
i forgot to rate – 5 stars! no, 6!
This is so good, so fast, and so easyyyy.
I didn’t need to feed that many people so I only made enough pasta for myself and saved the rest of the Pesto in my fridge. I’m excited to try it with other things!
Can’t wait to try!
I can’t find arugula in store right now – could I sub with a spring mix or something else?! Can’t wait to make!!
spinach!
We have a nut allergy. Can I just omit the pine nuts? Or is there an alternative I could use?
absolutely! just leave them out 🙂
Trying this tonight! No need for basil in the pesto sauce?!?
nope! it’s an arugula pesto so no need
Super yummy Gaby! Arugula is my favorite greens but I’ve never used it in pesto. I enjoyed some pasta with pesto, mushrooms, roasted cherry tomatoes and shrimp then enjoyed the leftover pesto all week. My only small thing is that I enjoyed it all week on everything because the recipe gave me a ton of pesto. Normally no complaints but I cut it down specifically to give me less and it still seemed to give me way more than I would reasonably use for the amount of servings you recommend. Next time I’ll scale down more or plan to freeze some!
Hi Gaby! I have a nut allergy, is there something you could substitute in this recipe for the pine nuts?
you could omit!
Made this tonight for dinner because I just happened to have everything on hand. I also tossed the pasta with some roasted cauliflower I had from meal prep earlier this week. All I can say is WOW! The flavors were spot on— love the peppery kick in the pesto from using arugula. Am planning on making some more pesto to keep in the freezer so that making this meal in the future will be a snap to throw together!
Super easy dinner in under 30 minutes. I added basil to the pesto and it was delicious! I also cooked the shrimp in butter with a squeeze of the extra lemon. I will make this again!
Last night I was in a pinch. I needed a recipe I could make quickly and something the entire family would enjoy. This recipe was PERFECT! Fast, simple, delicious!!! We’re hooked on Gaby! She’s simply the best!!!!
Another excellent recipe from Gaby! The arugula in the pesto is really something special. I made this with grilled chicken instead of shrimp & loved it!
Easy and delicious! I subbed kale for the arugula which I enjoyed, but my husband thought was too raw (not a recipe critique just FYI). Guess the leftovers are all mine!
Loved this! Arugula made it a bit tart, which is ok. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and went really well with the pesto. Nice dish!