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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.
Meggan’s notes
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
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 large tomato cored and diced
- 4 ounces white button mushrooms trimmed and sliced (optional)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup pesto (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
- White wine: Choose a dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. Or, leave the wine out and substitute more chicken broth.
- Pesto: To make it yourself, In a food processor or blender, add 2 c. fresh basil, 1 c. fresh parsley, ¼ c. Parmesan cheese, ¼ c. walnuts or pine nuts, and 3 cloves garlic. Pulse until coarsely chopped, about 10 pulses. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in ½ c. olive oil and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- 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.
Hi, is a box of cavatappi one box? I am trying to cook this dish for 15 people and trying to figure out how many boxes to buy. Thanks!
Hi Lauren, you can adjust the serving size with the slider tool on the numbers and it will give you exact measurements! Hope you enjoy. – Meggan
My boyfriend said he was craving this dish from Noodles & Co and he couldn’t stop raving about how much it was like the original. I used pasta water instead of broth and a couple splashes of rice wine vinegar in place of the wine, which seemed to work out nicely. Also recommend doubling the mushrooms. I used 8 oz and still could have used more in my opinion. Everything came together so quick and easy, and it’s perfect for me, a vegetarian and my boyfriend, an omnivore to be satisfied – he just adds chick to his portion. Will definitely be making this again.
Hi Kylee, thanks for the comment. I’m so glad you and your boyfriend liked it! – Meggan
THANK YOU!! We all loved this recipe. I did add more of mushrooms, cream, wine and broth then the recipe called for. I also added minced garlic with the mushrooms and tomatoes during cooking. And some salt and pepper. Everyone added extra pesto, which they thought was necessary, but I didn’t . We did add chicken to it, which was yummy. . Totally a keeper recipe. This is a recipe that they went back for seconds! Quick to make too! Thank you for sharing! Definitely one of the favorites!!!
Thanks Heather, that all sounds delicious! So glad you all loved it! – Meggan
This is the best copycat recipe ever! I’ve made this dish seven times for friends and family and they love it. 🥰 Of course I added my own twist with prefer spices, but your directions were golden. Thank you so much for sharing! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
This is ALWAYS a hit! I follow the receipe exactly as is. Soooo good!
So fast, easy, and DELICIOUS! My second time making it 😊. This doesn’t need chicken or anything else to detract from the yumminess! I had found cavatappi at Smiths but just found it in the bulk section at Winco! Woot!
Could this be made in the instant pot?
Hi Katie, thanks for the question! You could use the saute function for steps 2 and 3, I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. – Meggan
Unbelievably easy and DELICIOUS!
This dish is perfection! Simple, satisfying flavor. So glad I tried this recipe!
This was a hit with my whole family! Usually my husband doesn’t like anything “fancier” than spaghetti, the silly goose, but he was tickled pink by this meal.