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There’s so much to love about springy pasta, creamy pesto sauce, and bright diced tomatoes, so it’s no wonder Pesto Cavatappi is Noodles and Company’s most popular dish. Here’s the perfected copycat recipe that’s faster, less expensive, and maybe even just a little more delicious.
This is one of my absolute favorite quick dinners to make, whether or not I’m pressed for time. It used to be my standing order at Noodles and Company, but now that I don’t live anywhere near one, I set about figuring out how to crack the cavatappi code and make it myself.
And that’s just what I did! Because when you can’t get to a Noodles, you have to bring the Noodles to you. The basil pesto flavor mixed with heavy cream is just to die for, and if you toss it over cavatappi noodles, nothing is better!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Cavatappi: You can substitute rotini, rigatoni, bow-tie, or any small or medium-sized pasta.
- Mushrooms: Noodles & Company puts them in, but you can leave them out.
- White wine: Choose a dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. Or, leave the wine out and substitute more chicken broth.
- Pesto: Make homemade pesto in your blender with fresh basil, parsley, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and a nut. Pine nut pesto is classic but Walnut pesto is really great too and a little cheaper to make. Store-bought pesto is fine too!
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large saucepan or stock pot, bring 4 quarts of water and salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes and mushrooms (if using) and cook for about 5 minutes, until some of the liquid has been released and the tomatoes are heated through.
- Stir in the broth, wine, and cream and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Add pesto and stir until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add pasta and toss until uniformly coated in the sauce. Transfer to a serving dish or individual plates and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 8 cups of pasta, enough for 8 first-course or side dish servings or 4 extremely generous bowls of pesto pasta.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Vegetarian: Substitute pasta cooking water for the chicken broth. The starches in the pasta water make the recipe even creamier.
- Chicken: Cut up chicken breasts into chunks and add it to the olive oil before you add the tomatoes and mushrooms.
- Shrimp: Add them to the skillet with the mushrooms and tomatoes to cook (they cook quickly).
- Zucchini noodles: Super healthy dinner ahead! Get the sauce made and stir in raw zucchini ribbons. Serve when the zucchini is just warm. Don’t overcook it, because zucchini tastes best as pasta when it still has a little crunch.
- More mix-ins: Black olives, fresh spinach or kale, or chopped sun-dried tomatoes are all tasty options. Throw in whole grape tomatoes to save on prep time, and add pinches of red pepper flakes for spice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wedges of fresh Focaccia bread would be absolutely delicious, but if you’re looking for something lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein, try a side of simple grilled chicken or steak. You can really balance out the meal that way (and maybe even avoid a food coma!).
Cavatappi is a cork-screw-shaped, hollow pasta.
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Pesto Cavatappi (Noodles & Company Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Salt
- 1 pound cavatappi pasta or other small pasta (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 large tomato cored and diced
- 4 ounces mushrooms sliced (optional, see note 2)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (see note 3)
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup homemade pesto or store-bought (see note 4)
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or stock pot, bring 4 quarts of water and salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add tomatoes and mushrooms (if using) and cook for about 5 minutes, until some of the liquid has been released and the tomatoes are heated through.
- Stir in the broth, wine, and cream and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Add pesto and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add pasta and toss until uniformly coated in the sauce. Transfer to a serving dish or individual plates and garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Cavatappi: You can substitute rotini, rigatoni, bow-tie, or any small or medium-sized pasta.
- Mushrooms: Noodles & Company puts them in, but you can leave them out.
- White wine: Choose a dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. Or, leave the wine out and substitute more chicken broth.
- Pesto: Make homemade pesto in your blender with fresh basil, parsley, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and a nut. Pine nut pesto is classic but Walnut pesto is really great too and a little cheaper to make. Store-bought pesto is fine too!
- Yield: This recipe makes about 8 cups of pasta, enough for 8 first-course or side dish servings or 4 extremely generous bowls of pasta.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Thanks for the recipe! Tried it before and its pretty good! Though can you share what brand of pesto you use? I find doesn’t taste too much like Noodles and Co but I’m wondering if that’s because of the pesto I use?
Hi Nikki! Thank you so much for your question! It likely is, I recommend making the pesto from scratch, or use a brand that is stored in the refrigerated section of the store and isn’t heat treated. (I love the pesto from Whole Foods.) I hope you love it! Please write again with any more questions. – Meggan