Name: Easy Arugula Pesto
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 cup fresh arugula; 1/2 cup fresh basil; 4 cloves garlic; 1 fresh lemon (juiced); 1/2 cup roasted, salted cashews; 1/4 cup olive oil

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Arugula pesto with fresh basil has a nice, tangy kick and is perfect for using up those beautiful, fresh herbs! Serve it over zucchini noodles or pasta, or pour it into a bowl for dipping fresh bread.

Spooning arugula pesto over a bowl of zoodles

How to Serve Arugula Pesto

The mild spiciness from the arugula blended really well with the basil in this pesto recipe, and cashews made it extra creamy. Serve your arugula pesto over anything you like! Here are some ideas:

toss with roasted veggies
pour over pasta pasta
spoon onto mashed potatoes
mix into hummus
pass alongside some bread for dipping
stuffing into mushrooms

If you’re planning to serve it over zoodles, like I did, the whole meal comes together in around 20 minutes. If you prefer traditional pasta, you’re looking at about the same total time, since you can make the pesto while the pasta cooks.

image collage of pesto zoodles in a cream-colored bowl from different angles

I’ve got a video recipe for you to check out, or you can get the written recipe below.

In the photos and the video, I’m serving this pesto over zucchini noodles, but if you don’t have a spiralizer or don’t like zoodles, don’t worry! You can toss this pesto with your favorite pasta or use it as a dip.

Bowl of zoodles on a slate table with arugula pesto on top

Making Your Pesto

No matter how you serve this up, you’re in for such a treat! Even better: this pesto only takes a few minutes to make.

There’s no mincing, chopping, or cooking required to make this recipe. Simply toss your ingredients into your blender, and puree until it’s nice and smooth.

Depending on your blender – regular vs. high speed – this can take from around one minute to about five minutes to make. If you do have to blend for more than a minute, make sure you stop every minute to give your blender’s motor a rest.