Italian Pasta with Walnut Sauce

Unlike any pasta sauce I’ve had before…

Every once in a while, a dish comes along that feels truly unusual and memorable. Pasta with walnut sauce is one of them, and I’m guessing you’ve never had pasta quite like it. Toasted walnuts take center stage in a creamy ricotta sauce with a little garlic, plenty of Parmesan, and a fresh herb garnish.

➡ Italian walnut sauce is no-cook, and you can make it ahead so dinner is done in the time it takes the pasta to boil.

➡ You’re getting a taste of Ligurian pasta, known for fresh herbs, nuts, olive oil, and sauces that are lighter than the heavy tomato or meat sauces many of us associate with Italy.

➡ I’m always looking for interesting meatless meals that don’t feel like a compromise.

The simple walnut sauce

Traditional Italian walnut sauce, or salsa di noci, comes from Liguria. Walnut sauce belongs to the same family of pounded sauces as pesto Genovese, but swaps basil and pine nuts for toasted walnuts and bread soaked in milk. My version swaps in fresh ricotta, which makes the sauce especially creamy and adds a little richness ~ an update I consider a definite win. I also toast the walnuts to deepen their flavor and use fresh sage or parsley in place of the traditional marjoram.

This is one of those recipes with just a handful of ingredients, so quality really matters.

• THE WALNUTS: skip the crumpled bag of chopped walnuts left over from your last brownie binge and start with fresh nuts. Halves will be the freshest and highest quality. If you don’t love walnuts some versions of this nutty sauce use pine nuts.
• THE PARM: use a wedge of real Parmigiano Reggiano—it makes a noticeable difference.
• THE RICOTTA: and check the ricotta label: whole-milk ricotta will give you the richest, creamiest sauce. Don’t forget you can make your own homemade ricotta so easily!

Be sure to toast those walnuts!

This is key to great flavor in this walnut sauce. Toasting makes the walnuts richer, nuttier, and more aromatic, with less of that raw, slightly bitter edge. I toast my nuts right in the microwave, it’s so quick and easy:

1. Spread out your walnut halves on a microwave safe plate.
2. Microwave on high for 2 minutes to toast.
3. Let them cool, and then proceed with your recipe.

Choosing the pasta

For pasta with walnut sauce, I chose a large pasta shape called trottole, meaning “spinning tops” in Italian. It’s a wonderfully voluptuous shape.

Shaped pastas work better than strand pasta for this thick sauce ~ they’re easier to toss and more pleasant to eat. Curly shapes really grab the sauce.

• trottole
• fusilli
• cavatappi

I’ve been leaning toward imported Italian pastas lately because I love the different shape choices, and their firm chewy texture. Many Italian pastas are made with high-quality durum wheat, extruded more slowly through bronze dies, and dried at lower temperatures. That gives it a rougher surface, firmer texture, and better ability to hold sauce.

Tossing technique for thick sauces

Just boil up your pasta to the al dente stage and toss with the thick creamy sauce. It sounds easy but there are a few tricks to it.

• Drain the pasta and add it back into the pan, dripping wet.
• Add the sauce in dollops over the pasta and toss gently.
• Add a splash more pasta water to loosen everything up just a bit as you toss.

Making it ahead

The sauce can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated, but bring it back to room temperature before tossing with your hot pasta.

How to serve pasta with walnut sauce

Serve in shallow bowls topped with more toasted walnuts, grated Parm, and a few sage leaves. In Liguria, pasta is traditionally served simply as a first course.

For an American-style dinner, it’s rich enough to stand on its own with a crisp green salad or roasted broccoli on the side. It’s a completely satisfying meatless meal.

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Pasta with Walnut Sauce

3.63 from 24 votes

Italian pasta with walnut sauce is a creamy Ligurian-inspired dish with a rich, nutty sauce that clings beautifully to every twist of pasta.

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Prep Time:20 minutes minutes

Cook Time:10 minutes minutes

Total Time:30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Equipment

• food processor optional

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 1/2 cups walnut halves
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 12 ounces whole milk ricotta
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish.
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 lb shaped pasta, like fusilli, cavatapi, etc.

garnish

• Parmesan cheese
• reserved walnuts
• sage leaves, use small leaves whole, or roll and slice larger leaves into thin ribbons.

Instructions

• Spread the nuts on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 2 minutes. Let cool briefly then Put into a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse about 20 times, or until finely chopped. Set aside a small amount for garnishing the pasta. Note: you can do this by hand with a knife, but try to get the nuts finely chopped.
• Put the nuts in a mixing bowl with the garlic, ricotta, Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Fold everything together until completely combined. Add salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon of each.) The sauce will be thick.
• Boil the pasta in plenty of well salted water just to the al dente stage. Drain, reserving a little of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pan.
• Toss the hot pasta with enough sauce to thickly coat. Add a little pasta water to thin it down if necessary. Depending on your pasta and your preference, you may not need all of the sauce.
• Serve hot, garnished with Parmesan cheese, the reserved walnuts and sage leaves.

Notes

This recipe was first published in 2012, and has been re-tested, revised, and rephotographed in 2026.

NOTES ~ Click here to add your own private notes.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: 30 minute meal, dinner, fall, Italian, pasta, walnuts

Nutrition

Calories: 665 kcal · Carbohydrates: 62 g · Protein: 24 g · Fat: 37 g · Saturated Fat: 9 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 15 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 11 g · Cholesterol: 35 mg · Sodium: 186 mg · Potassium: 365 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 3 g · Vitamin A: 323 IU · Vitamin C: 0.4 mg · Calcium: 261 mg · Iron: 2 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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