This Shiso Pesto Pasta delivers its sunny character and bold flavor from the homemade green shiso (perilla) pesto sauce. This vegetarian-friendly recipe is one of those light and easy weeknight dishes you‘ll want to enjoy all summer long.
After making a big batch of homemade shiso pesto, I can’t help but to share the easiest Shiso Pesto Pasta (大葉ジェノベーゼパスタ) recipe with you. This is my family’s current favorite and the kind of dinner you can throw together under 15 minutes.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Shiso Pesto Pasta
The pasta itself is a breeze to make, but we also LOVE it for many reasons:
- It’s earthy, bold, bright, and everything you need in a summer pasta bowl.
- Enjoy chilled like a salad or warm (year-round)!
- A satisfying vegetarian meal – thanks to the richness of the pesto sauce and the carbs.
- Super flexible – you can add grilled chicken, shrimp, or in-season veggies to volumize.
- Perfect for weeknight dinners, summer picnics, potlucks, barbecues, and gatherings!
How to Make Shiso Pesto
To enjoy the pasta, you’ll first need to make my Homemade Shiso Pesto (takes less than 10 minutes). It calls for the aromatic Japanese herb known as green shiso leaves or perilla leaves. If you missed it, you can get the Shiso Pesto recipe here.
All you really need to do is a quick whirl of shiso leaves, Parmesan, pine nuts, and a glug of good olive oil in the food processor.
For those of you who can’t get shiso, I listed several substitutions for the pesto sauce, so do check that out.
How to Make Shiso Pesto Pasta
The Ingredients You’ll Need
- Homemade shiso pesto
- Pasta of your choice ( I used Gemelli in this recipe)
- Salt
- Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese
The Cooking Steps
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Reserve 2-4 Tbsp pasta cooking water.
- Drain and let the pasta cool slightly.
- Coat the pasta with shiso pesto and add a little bit of pasta cooking water.
- Sprinkle cheese and serve!
Quick Tips to Remember Before Cooking
- Cook pasta with well-salted water – Pasta should be seasoned while being cooked.
- Reserve the pasta cooking water (if you don’t have the habit already) – Always reserve at least 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. It’s helpful when you need to loosen the sauce.
- Let the pasta cool slightly – To keep the pesto’s bright green color, don’t mix the hot pasta with pesto.
- Additional cheese is a must!
What to Serve with Shiso Pesto Pasta
In case you or someone in the family wants some substantial addition to the pasta, feel free to toss in:
- Prosciutto or chopped bacon.
- Grilled chicken, shrimp, zucchini, peppers, or meaty mushrooms.
- Avocado slices, sweet juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, or salty olives.
- Besides shavings of Parmesan, pearls of fresh mozzarella would be delicious too.
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Shiso Pesto Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 7 oz pasta (I use gemelli)
- 1½ Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for cooking the pasta)
- 4 Tbsp Homemade Shiso Pesto (or more, to taste; it takes just 10 minutes to make my shiso pesto recipe)
- 2 Tbsp reserved pasta water
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for seasoning; to taste)
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
For Serving
- Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese (shaved/grated)
- shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) (for garnish)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Prepare my recipe for Homemade Shiso Pesto—it takes just 10 minutes to make. Gather all the ingredients.
- Start boiling a large pot of water (I used a 4 QT Dutch oven). Once boiling, add 1½ Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 7 oz pasta. Stir to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick to each other.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Collect 2 Tbsp reserved pasta water and set aside, then drain the pasta.
- Mix it all together. Add the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen up the sauce.
- Season the pasta with ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper and ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Finally, add shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese to taste and toss it all together.
To Serve
- You can enjoy this dish either warm or chilled like a salad. Serve the pasta on individual plates and garnish with shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) and more shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano on top.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on July 7, 2021. It’s been republished with more information on August 9, 2023.
Hi Nami, does this shiso pesto freeze well? I freeze basil pesto so I wondered if it would also be the same. I imagine it would lose a bit of color maybe.
Thanks! I enjoy your recipes.
Suzie
Hello, Suzie. Thank you so much for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipe.
Yes. Shiso pesto can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week and in the freezer for up to 3 months. The color may fade with time, so use it as soon as possible.
We hope this helps!🙂
I did not have good luck with this. Used nutritional yeast instead of the Parmesan, but otherwise everything else was according to the recipe and it turned out quite dry and too salty. Added a bit more olive oil, but it is still too dry, very heavy tasting, and lacking in flavor. I used homegrown shiso leaves and find that they themselves are not so flavorful. When that happens, I’ve found it
is usually due to overwatering that the herb/strawberry etc becomes less flavorful, but we’ve been having such hot temps that my shiso stalk just droops if I don’t water it abundantly.
Hi Diane! Thanks for trying this recipe! Just to be sure… you didn’t use 1 1/2 Tbsp of salt for your pesto, right? That’s for cooking pasta. I am not sure why yours is salty… There is no salty component except for the salt itself. Persmesan gives a nutty flavor but you didn’t use it.
I’ve never tried nutritional yeast so I am not sure what kind of flavors or textures you get from using it. Maybe nutritional yeast absorbs all the moisture and liquid that’s why it’s dry? It looks like a flaky dry texture from the picture online.
I wish I can give you a suggestion or advice. But without testing the recipe with nutritional yeast myself, I am not sure what to say. Sorry… 🙁
Hi, can I use red shiso?
Hi Silvia! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Do you mean to use fresh red shiso to make red shiso pesto/paste? Red shiso contains an astringency (“Aku” in Japanese) bitter flavor, and it would need extra steps to remove the bitterness. It would be best if you salt pickled the red shiso first, then adjust the other ingredients to your liking. https://www.justonecookbook.com/homemade-shiso-pesto/
We hope this helps!
Will be making this soon i never had shiso pesto pasta before i love pesto and pasta soooooooooooooooo much perfect for my after office meals will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Hi Ramya! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
We hope you enjoy the bold flavor from the homemade green shiso (perilla) pesto sauce!