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This toasted walnut pasta is an easy, 15-minute dinner that’s flavorful and filling! It has crunchy walnuts sautéed with seasoned breadcrumbs, chili flakes, and garlic, tossed with any pasta you’d like.
For another quick and easy pasta recipe, try my sun-dried tomato pasta or pesto cavatappi.
I love recipes like this toasted walnut pasta and my pasta with garlic breadcrumbs that rely on just a few scoops of pasta water and some tasty seasonings to make a rich, emulsified pasta sauce. This recipe also has breadcrumbs and garlic, plus zesty red pepper flakes and crispy, toasted walnuts. Everything gets sautéed with olive oil and tossed with cavatappi pasta for a fast and delicious meal.
Reasons to Love This Toasted Walnut Pasta Sauce
- 15 minutes. There aren’t many meals quicker than this toasted walnut pasta. Prepare the sauce while you cook the pasta, and toss everything together for a quick, delicious dinner that’s ready in minutes.
- One skillet. Apart from boiling the pasta in a separate pot, you need just one skillet to sauté the sauce ingredients.
- Any meal. I make this walnut pasta for lunch on busy weekdays or as a fast family dinner on weeknights. The recipe as-is includes red pepper flakes, but it’s easy to leave these out for a kid-friendly option.
- Adaptable. The walnut pasta sauce is vegetarian-friendly, and there’s always the option to bulk up the dish with more vegetables, leftover chicken, and more easy add-ins.
Recipe Ingredients
Along with your favorite pasta, these are some notes on the ingredients you’ll need for the easy walnut pasta sauce. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable list with full amounts.
- Pasta – I use cavatappi, but you can use macaroni, penne, rigatoni, shells, orecchiette, or any dried pasta you’d like. Even long pasta like linguine, spaghetti, or tagliatelle will work.
- Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil, or your choice of cooking oil.
- Walnuts – I recommend raw, unsalted walnuts. Chop or break them up before you start.
- Breadcrumbs – These can be seasoned or unseasoned, regular or Panko breadcrumbs. If you’re using plain breadcrumbs, consider mixing in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, or at least salt and pepper.
- Red Pepper Flakes – Feel free to skip these if you’re sensitive to spice.
- Garlic – Freshly minced, or you can substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic powder instead.
- Parsley and Parmesan – Fresh chopped parsley, and (optional) grated parmesan cheese for serving.
How to Make Toasted Walnut Pasta
Follow these steps to make crunchy, savory pasta with walnut sauce in 15 minutes or less. Refer to the recipe card for the printable recipe instructions!
- Cook the pasta. Get your choice of pasta boiling in a large pot of water and cook according to the directions on the package.
- Toast the walnuts. Meanwhile, add the walnuts, breadcrumbs, and chili flakes to a hot skillet with olive oil. Sauté the ingredients over medium heat until the nuts are lightly toasted and fragrant. Then, add the garlic.
- Add pasta water. Before you drain the pasta, scoop out about ¼ cup of pasta water and add it to the pan with the walnuts. Stir well so that the starch in the water emulsifies.
- Add the pasta. Next, add the cooked pasta. The more you stir, the more emulsified the ingredients in the sauce will get. Make sure everything in the pan is well coated.
- Serve! Season to taste and then dish up this walnut pasta with a sprinkle of parsley and parmesan.
What Else Can I Add to This Pasta?
The walnut pasta sauce in this recipe keeps it simple and delicious, and it’s the perfect base to build on. These are just a few easy ideas to jazz up your toasted walnut pasta even more:
- Vegetables. Add in leftover grilled zucchini, broccoli, carrots, or sautéed asparagus. Cherry tomatoes would also taste delicious.
- Greens. Wilt in baby spinach, kale, or a garnish of fresh arugula right at the end.
- More add-ins. Capers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or lemon zest.
- Protein. Cooked diced bacon, cubed chicken breast, homemade meatballs, shrimp, browned and drained Italian sausage, or ground beef, chicken, or turkey are all good options. Sliced sausage also goes great here, similar to my sausage penne pasta.
Tips and Variations
- Salt the pasta water. For more flavor, add 1-2 heaping spoonfuls of salt to the water you’ll use to boil the pasta.
- Reserve some of the water before draining. The starchy pasta water is key to the creamy sauce in this recipe. Don’t forget to reserve ¼ cup before you drain the cooked pasta.
- Don’t overcook. To avoid mushy pasta, stop cooking once it becomes al dente. That is, still firm when bitten. This is especially important since the pasta continues to cook once it’s combined with the walnuts and sauce.
- Make it creamy. Stir in a little homemade Alfredo sauce in place of or in addition to the pasta water for an extra-rich dish.
- Use fresh pasta. You can make this recipe with fresh store-bought or homemade pasta. However, note that the cooking time will be MUCH shorter. Most fresh pasta takes only 2-3 minutes to cook.
Serving Suggestions
I’ll serve this toasted walnut pasta with a chicken Caesar salad, fresh tomato mozzarella salad, or a veggie side, like roasted green beans or asparagus. Of course, no pasta dinner is complete in our house without fluffy homemade breadsticks or garlic bread on the side! I also love this homemade bruschetta or meatball skewers as an easy appetizer. For dessert, try these chewy Biscoff chocolate chip cookies.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. This toasted walnut pasta lasts 3-4 days in the fridge. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
- Reheat. Warm the pasta in the microwave or a saucepan until it’s hot again. I recommend sprinkling in a little water to help loosen up the noodles, and fresh breadcrumbs to revive the crunch.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Toasted Walnut Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried pasta
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Fresh Parsley
- Parmesan Cheese, optional topping
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- In a skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the walnuts, breadcrumbs, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 5-6 minutes, lightly toasting the walnuts.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until you can start to smell it.
- Right before the pasta has finished cooking, remove 1/4 cup of water and add to your walnuts. Stir well.
- Pour in your drained pasta and mix well with the walnuts. The more you stir it together, the more it will form almost a sauce and stick to the pasta.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste, and serve with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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