This pistachio pesto pasta with burrata is an easy and elevated meal that's fast enough to throw together on a week night! I have been wanting to make a pesto recipe without pine nuts for a while now, and this pistachio pesto is a new favorite! Burrata balls on pasta are so popular at restaurants right now, and it's such an easy thing to replicate at home!
The inspiration for this dish is the Pappardelle Pesto with Burrata from my favorite pasta shop in LA - Pasta Corner. They make fresh pasta and it's so good, I wanted to bring some extra home for later. The batch that is photographed in this post was made with 12 oz of fresh pappardelle (equivalent to about 8 oz of dried pasta) that I picked up from Pasta Corner.
Key Tips - Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Burrata
High quality ingredients make for a high quality sauce.
- Pesto is a simple sauce, so the ingredients really shine through. I try to buy live basil to make this recipe, and I use my highest quality olive oil.
- Pictured below is the basil I buy for this recipe. This is the live basil they carry at my usual grocery store, and it's the perfect quantity for this recipe. Trader Joe's usually also carries live basil plants.
- I typically stock two kinds of olive oil in my kitchen. I buy basic mass-produced olive oil at the grocery store to use for most things like sautéing, and I buy higher quality olive oil to use in certain recipes. I really love the olive oil from Pasolivo, a small producer in central California, and I used this oil for my pesto sauce. It's pricey, but if you can afford it, I think it's worth the splurge.
Warm up the burrata.
- Burrata is better when served warm, rather than cold from the fridge. To warm up the burrata, drain the balls from the fluid they're packed in and soak them in warm water as you prepare the rest of the dish. As the water cools, occasionally replace it with fresh warm water.
Do not use pre-grated Parmesan cheese.
- Pesto is a simple dish, so it relies heavily on the quality of its core ingredients. For best results, grate the cheese yourself. Store bought pre-shredded parmesean is a better choice than powered cheese if you don't want to grate it yourself.
The cornstarch is our “pasta water”.
- Most pesto pasta sauce recipes call for using some of the pasta water in the sauce. Pasta water has starch in it from the pasta, and this helps the sauce thicken and stick to the pasta. A little bit of cornstarch dissolved in water will also do the trick, and actually give us better and more consistent results than using pasta water. Corn starch is activated by heat, so we need to microwave the corn starch and water mixture until it activates and turns into the consistency of jelly.
- Below, you can see a comparison of the pesto before and after the corn starch mixture is added. Without the mixture, the pesto will not form quite as smooth of a sauce and will not coat the pasta as nicely.
Check out my guide on freezing fresh garlic to save some time in the kitchen.
- If you're looking for the convenience of pre-minced garlic, but the flavor of fresh garlic, freezing your own minced garlic is a great option! You'll be surprised to find that the flavor of frozen garlic is nearly as good as fresh, without the sticky prep and clean-up. Read more about it here: How to Freeze Garlic.
Dietary Restrictions - Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Burrata
This dish is naturally Vegetarian.
Make it Gluten-Free:
- Substitute the pasta for gluten-free pasta!
A Note On Serving Sizes
Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. While this is listed as 4 servings, some people would prefer to have more than one serving. I typically serve this dish as 2 large dinner portions, plated in the pictures is two servings per bowl.
Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Burrata
A simple basil and pistachio pesto pasta sauce, tossed with wide pasta and topped with a burrata ball. An easy and elevated pasta dish that comes together in less than 30 minutes!
Equipment
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
For Pasta:
- 8 oz pappardelle pasta or similar
- 8 oz burrata cheese 2 standard balls or 4 mini balls, see notes
- salt
For Pistachio Pesto Pasta Sauce:
- ~2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed I use 1 container of "living basil"
- ¼ cup shelled pistachios
- ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesean cheese
- ½ tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil use high quality oil if possible
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup warm water
- ½ tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- Drain the burrata balls and soak them in a bowl of warm water as you prepare the rest of the dish, to warm them up. If the water cools down as you go, replace it with new warm water.
- Begin bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook your pasta. Boil the pasta per package directions when the pesto is almost ready, drain and cover until needed.
Prepare the Pistachio Pesto Sauce:
- In a food processor or blender, combine the basil, pistachios, parmesean cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until the mixture is very fine, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the lemon juice to the food processor, then drizzle the oil in a little at a time as the processor runs, until the pesto is fully combined.
- Regular pesto doesn't cling well to pasta, so many people add pasta water which has some starch, to help. I prefer to use corn starch for a more consistent result. Combine the warm water (¼ cup per batch) and the corn starch in a microwave safe bowl. Mix until dissolved, then microwave until the corn starch activates, and the mixture looks like jelly. I microwave it for 30 second intervals until this happens. Add the corn starch jelly to the pesto and blend it one last time to finish the pesto sauce.
Finish the Pasta:
- Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the warm pot. Pour the pesto sauce over top and mix until it's fully coated. Plate the pasta into serving dishes and top with burrata (see notes section about burrata sizes). Sprinkle a little bit of salt over each burrata ball, then serve immediately.
Notes
Burrata balls come in two sizes. Regular, which are 4 oz each, and mini which are 2 oz each. This recipe works well with 8 oz of burrata, so 2 regular sized balls or 4 minis. 8 oz is also the typical package size for burrata, so this recipe uses up the whole package.
This recipe is 4 standard servings, but I typically serve it as 2 large portions. For these large bowls, one standard burrata ball per bowl is perfect. If you're plating this as four servings, one mini ball per plate is ideal.
When I shot the photos for this recipe, I could only find mini burrata balls, so the pictures show 2 servings of the pasta with one mini burrata ball.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25 batchCalories: 575kcal
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