This creamy chestnut pasta is a delicious and Italian-inspired dinner idea, perfect for fall and winter.
It’s a vegetarian dinner idea with whole-food ingredients such as chestnuts, spaghetti, and sautèed mushrooms.
Why you will love this chestnut pasta
This creamy chestnut pasta combines nutty chestnuts with sautéed mushrooms in a silky sauce that’ll make you forget you’re eating meat-free.
We draw inspiration from Northern Italian cuisine, where chestnuts have been a staple for centuries and can elevate humble spaghetti into an elegant weeknight dinner.
By blending the chestnuts with nuts and breadcrumbs, we create a texture similar to hummus or pesto that adds velvety creaminess.
Like mushroom alfredo and vegan mushroom pasta, this recipe leans into the natural meatiness of mushrooms.
If you’re a fan of easy pasta recipes, you’ll appreciate how this dish achieves similar richness while introducing new flavors.
It’s an excellent Italian recipe for those seeking a protein-rich vegetarian meal that doesn’t compromise comfort or flavor.
Want more chestnut recipes? Try our chestnut cake and chestnut flour pralines.
Ingredients for chestnut pasta
For the chestnut pesto
- Chestnuts: You can get raw chestnuts, boil them, and peel them yourself. Or go for whole-cooked and shelled chestnuts available in many supermarkets.
- Hazelnuts are the perfect flavor match for chestnuts. For the best result, get unsalted roasted and peeled hazelnuts. Substitute with macadamia, almonds, or pine nuts.
- Bread crumbs: Store-bought or 1 to 2-day-old bread would also work here. If you don’t have it, use and blend the crumbs to make bread crumbs. Substitute with panko bread crumbs.
- Nutritional Yeast adds umami and saltiness to the pesto. It goes incredibly well with the chestnuts. Substitute grated parmesan cheese or vegan parmesan cheese.
- Milk: it’s essential to get unsweetened and unflavoured soy milk. Substitute with almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, skim milk, or full-fat milk.
- Salt.
For the pasta
- Spaghetti: best if bronze cut. You can find them next to the regular spaghetti at your supermarket.
They look dusty and rugged compared to the regular type. We prefer them as they hold the sauce better. They’ll make the best pasta with chestnuts. - Mushrooms: button mushrooms or brown mushrooms elevate the flavor of the chestnuts, so we recommend them.
- Parsley: a lovely freshness and color to garnish on the pasta.
- Salt: we use coarse sea salt to season the pasta water and sea salt to season the mushrooms and the pesto.
- Garlic: to flavor the mushrooms.
How to make chestnut pasta
Chestnut pesto
You can boil the chestnuts yourself or use store-bought pre-boiled, cooked, and shelled chestnuts.
To boil the chestnuts, wash 1 cup and put it in a large pot with plenty of water to boil.
Boil for 50 minutes, then drain and peel them with a paring knife. Remove the outer shell and the thin brown skin under the outer shell.
Blend all the ingredients until you have a thick cream, almost like hummus.
You can make the cream smoother or less smooth, depending on your preference. We like it soft but with a grainy texture. Set aside.
Note: depending on the chestnuts, you might need to add one or two tablespoons of extra soy milk to get the blender going.
For the pasta dish
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, then salt it with coarse sea salt and add the spaghetti.
Stir it. Cook as instructed on the package, minus 1 minute. Save two cups of pasta cooking water before draining the pasta.
While the pasta boils, add the oil to a non-stick pan. When the oil is warm, add the clove of garlic and chopped mushrooms.
Cook the mushrooms on medium heat for 8 minutes, season with salt, then add 4 to 5 spoonfuls of chestnut pesto and 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
Stir to dissolve the pesto and turn it into a sauce. Add more pasta water if necessary.
Now add the spaghetti to the pan and stir well.
Add chopped parsley and finish cooking the pasta until creamy and al dente. If the sauce is too thick, add more pasta water.
Portion into serving plates, sprinkle with parsley, serve, and eat immediately.
Tips
- Make sure your chestnuts are cooked thoroughly for the best results.
The best way to be sure they are cooked is to set a timer to 45 minutes, then take a chestnut out, cool it down under running water, peel it, and taste it.
The chestnut should be very soft and not have a bite. If it is not ready, boil for ten more minutes. - Salt the pasta water: Season the pasta water generously with coarse sea salt. The pasta will taste so much better.
- Cook the pasta al dente: To ensure your pasta stays al dente, drain it 1 or 2 minutes before the actual cooking time recommended on the package.
Then, finish cooking the pasta in a pan with the sauce, in this case, the chestnut pesto, and add some pasta cooking water. - Save the pasta cooking water: When draining the pasta, save at least 1 cup of water. Pasta cooking water is rich in starch, and adding it to the sauce will make the dish creamier.
Questions
Chestnuts have a sweet flavor with earthy notes of nuts. They are very creamy and will satisfy your sweet and savory cravings. They are fall and winter nuts and make great cozy pestos, creams, and snacks.
Chestnuts are super healthy! They are rich in good carbs and low in fat, filling you with sustained energy and warmth during cold winter days. They are also rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, which helps prevent runny noses and winter colds.
While chestnuts are produced in several European countries, Italy is the largest producer and is very popular throughout the country during the colder months of the year.
If you wander the streets of Italy around Christmas, you’ll smell the inebriating fragrance of freshly roasted chestnuts, which are being cooked on an open fire and sold on many street corners.
Variations
No mushrooms
For a simpler version of this pasta with chestnuts, you can remove the mushrooms, boil some pasta, and coat it with the chestnut pesto.
Chestnut spread
The chestnut pesto almost tastes like a chocolate-free version of hazelnut spread.
Add a couple of teaspoons of dark cacao powder to the blender when you prepare the pesto.
The result is a guilt-free hazelnut-chestnut chocolate spread that will be out of this world on some bread. Eat it for breakfast or as a mid-afternoon snack.
Storage
Fridge: Chestnut pesto (without spaghetti) can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three days.
Reheat the chestnut pesto in a pot on the stovetop with some water.
Similar recipes
CREAMY PASTA RECIPES: hummus pasta, red pepper pasta, broccoli pasta, lemon ricotta pasta, creamy tomato pasta, mushroom Alfredo, creamy pasta salad.
ITALIAN PASTA RECIPES: pasta e fagioli, vegan mushroom pasta, pasta e ceci, aglio e olio, penne arrabbiata, spaghetti pomodoro, easy pasta salad, mushroom bolognese, lentil bolognese.
Chestnut Pasta
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
For the chestnuts & hazelnuts pesto
- 1 cup chestnuts boiled or steamed, or 2 cups raw chestnuts
- 1 cup milk or unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
For the pasta dish
- 12 ounces spaghetti + 1 gallon of water to cook the pasta and 1 tablespoon of salt to season the water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 9 ounces brown mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 1 handful flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
FOR THE PESTO
- You can either boil the chestnuts yourself or use store-bought pre-boiled or steamed chestnuts to speed things up. To boil the chestnuts: wash 2 cups of raw chestnuts, then boil them for 50 minutes.Drain and peel them with a paring knife. Remove the outer shell and the thin brown skin under the outer shell. Don't worry if they break; we'll blend them in a second.
- Blend 1 cup chestnuts (boiled or steamed + peeled) with 1 cup milk, ¼ cup hazelnuts, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, ½ teaspoon salt, and 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese until you have a thick cream, almost like a hummus.Note: depending on the chestnuts, you might need to add one or two tablespoons of extra milk to get the blender going.
FOR THE PASTA DISH
- Cook 12 ounces spaghetti in plenty of salted boiling water as as instructed on the package, minus 1 minute. Reserve two cups of pasta cooking water before draining the pasta.
- While the pasta boils, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add 1 clove garlic (grated) and 9 ounces brown mushrooms (thinly sliced).Cook the mushrooms on medium heat for 8 minutes, season with ⅓ teaspoon saltAdd the chestnut pesto and 1 cup of reserved pasta water.Stir to dissolve the pesto. Add more pasta water if necessary.
- Add the spaghetti to the pan and stir well. Add 1 handful flat-leaf parsley (chopped) and finish cooking the pasta until creamy and al dente. If the sauce is too thick, add more pasta water.
- Portion into serving plates, sprinkle with more parsley, and serve hot.
Notes
- Use pre-boiled or pre-steamed chestnuts to save time as peeling chestnuts can be time consuming.
- Add more milk or water if the sauce is too thick when blending it.
I really love the idea of this recipe, but your site makes it impossible to follow! Please consider creating one consolidated area without all of the pictures that includes simply the ingredients and the written directions? I don’t appreciate hunting through the cruft to find your excellent directions.
Thank you!
Hi Carol,
thanks for your message 🙂
You can click “jump to recipe” on top of the page to go to the recipe box.
Once you are there, you can toggle the pictures off in the recipe box if you prefer having the written instructions without pictures.
There is a photo camera icon next to the “Instructions” that allows you to do that.
For even less cruft, you can click “Print” in the recipe box to get a streamlined version of the recipe 🙂
I hope this helps 🙂
Nico
This was awesome. A definite keeper. I added some roasted garlic and sumac to the pesto and deglazed the mushrooms with some white wine. The only thing I question is the “spoonful” measurement. What spoon are you using to make a spoonful? I wish it were a little more specific.
Hi Nancy,
I’m very happy you liked the chestnut pasta, the wonderful idea with white wine to deglaze the mushrooms!
You are absolutely right about the measurements, we need to redo and re-write this recipe as soon as we can find chestnuts again 🙂
Thanks again for your feedback and review. Kindest,
Louise
Excellent. Only change was that I used Farfalle pasta instead of spaghetti.
Does anyone use the finished sauce over other things?
Can the pesto be frozen after the blender but before making the sauce with the mushrooms and garlic?
Made this last night and it was delicious – rich and gourmet
Amazing, Katie!! I am delighted that you share my love for chestnuts 🙂
Looks delicious
Thanks Linda! We are loving our new styling props 🙂