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Lets cut to the chase. This creamy Thai pesto linguine is delicious comfort food at it’s best. (Oh, and of course it’s healthy, gluten-free, and vegan too!)
This dish is made with chewy soft rice noodles, creamy thick coconut milk, and fragrant Thai basil pesto. It draws lots of inspiration from Thai cuisine but tastes like a perfect fusion of Thai and Italian.
One of my all-time favourite herbs is Thai basil. If you’ve ever smelt it or cooked with it, you know what I’m talking about! It’s so vibrant and refreshing and really makes the pesto in this dish special.
To make the pesto I used my Cuisinart elite 12-cup food processor, which was a big step up from my previous 30-year old food processor my parents had given me! This baby is able to really blend up all the ingredients, and I love that there is a smaller bowl you can put on top if you’re making a smaller quantity (like in this case of the pesto!)
Creamy Thai pesto linguine
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 2 servings
- Category: Main
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Creamy Thai pesto linguine is the perfect Asian Italian fusion!
Ingredients
Thai pesto
- 2 packed cups Thai basil
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 2 garlic cloves
- juice of 1 lime
- salt & pepper to taste
Pasta
- 8oz rice noodles
- 3/4 cup light coconut milk (canned coconut)
- 2-3 tbsp Thai basil pesto
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- juice of 1/2 a lime
- 1/4-1/2 cup water
- sliced green onion & sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend your Thai basil, avocado oil, raw cashews, garlic, lime, salt, and pepper until it forms a paste. Taste and adjust if it needs more salt, lime…etc.
- Place rice noodles in a large bowl. Boil water and pour on top the noodles, until covered. Let soak for 3-5 minutes.
- Add coconut oil to a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Once it begins to bubble, lower heat to medium-low and add the pesto, mixing it together with the coconut milk.
- Drain your rice noodles and add to the pan, mixing with the sauce until combined.
- Add water, 2 tbsp at a time if the noodles begin begin to stick to the pan.
- Taste the noodles and if they are not soft enough to your liking, simply add a bit more water and continue to cook until desired texture.
- Next add the soy sauce and lime.
- Garnish with sliced green onion and sesame seeds.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
- Calories: 622
- Sugar: 5g
- Fat: 61g
- Saturated Fat: 26g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 10g
This was a fun change from my usual pasta dishes. It came together pretty quickly, which was great for a weeknight, and it felt like something a little different without being complicated. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but I ended up really liking it and will definitely be making it again.
We made this today for lunch and it was so delicious! We chose to substitute the rice noodles for zucchini noodles which made it even healthier and still just as delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Alanna!! I’m so happy you guys made this! One of my favourites. You should check out my coconut curry linguini recipe too if you like this one 🙂