Pasta with Light Basil Pesto

What makes this pesto “light” is a smart swap: reduced chicken broth replaces much of the olive oil you’d normally use. Boiling a cup of broth down to half concentrates the flavor and creates body, so the sauce still clings to the pasta without that heavy, oily slick.

The base is classic. Three cups of packed fresh basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, toasted pine nuts, and garlic all go into the food processor. Pulse first to get a coarse chop, then run continuously until smooth. This two-step blending prevents the basil from bruising unevenly.

Toss the pesto with the pasta the moment it’s drained. The residual heat from the noodles loosens the sauce and helps it coat every strand. If it’s still too thick, a splash of the hot pasta water thins it perfectly.

Pro Tips

• Toast the pine nuts in the oven and watch them constantly. They go from golden to scorched in under a minute, and burnt pine nuts turn bitter fast.
• Reduce the broth before you start anything else. It needs time to cool slightly before going into the food processor with the basil.
• Use the best Parmesan you can find. In a sauce this simple, every ingredient has nowhere to hide.
• This pesto works beautifully on angel hair, spaghetti, or linguine. Thinner noodles let the light sauce coat more surface area.

Variations

• Vegetarian version: Swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth to keep the same body without the meat.
• Arugula pesto: Replace half the basil with fresh arugula for a peppery, sharper pesto.