Why you’ll love this cilantro peanut pesto
I don’t think I could possibly describe in words how much I love cilantro or how much I love peanut sauces or how much I love making pesto. Not to mention how much I love eating pasta. This might just be heaven for me.
Plus, it’s a quick and budget-friendly meal. You can’t get much better than that – unless you could make it calorie free. In which case, I would eat the entire pound of pasta all by myself.
More peanut recipes: grilled beef satay / quick peanut noodles / peanut butter and jelly chicken wings / peanut butter cornflake cookies
Ingredients:
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
- Cilantro – You only want to use fresh cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro, I’d recommend you skip this recipe.
- Peanuts – Yes, you can use a different nut butter for this recipe. I would recommend almond or cashew for the closest flavor.
- To make this recipe gluten free: swap your pasta for a gluten free pasta and use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce.
- Olive oil – Don’t use a super flavorful olive oil for this recipe. You will want a light olive oil or a neutral oil like canola or avocado.
More pesto recipes: sun dried tomato pesto / dairy free pesto / pistachio pesto / roasted red pepper pesto
Frequently asked questions
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine - or other pasta
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled
- Chopped peanuts
- Cilantro leaves
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook your pasta according to the package directions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Make the pesto. Combine the pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Then, transfer to a bowl or mason jar until ready to use. Store in an airtight container for up to one week in the fridge.
- Toss everything together. Return the pasta to the pot, and add the pesto sauce, adding pasta water as needed to reached desired consistency and help the sauce bind to the pasta.
- Garnish and serve. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper to taste and garnish with extra cilantro, peanuts and lime wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites.
