
I never knew this pasta existed up until a year ago. It is a Northern Italian tradition and very interesting ingredient pairing. My family is Southern Italian so this was very new to our dinner table. When I explained what we were eating, my parents were a bit shocked but eager to dive into the dish. I am happy to report that they loved it!
A mixture of milk, bread and walnuts give this creamy sauce something to talk about. Very simple ingredients created such a luscious and beautiful meal. It was so good we had twice in one month!

I hope you love Salsa di Noci as much as we do and add it to your holiday meal list. Christmas is only a few weeks away so I am always sure to make my meal list a few weeks before to prepare ahead of time. What’s your favourite holiday pasta to serve? I love a classic Italian dish but would love to hear more of your ideas. Be sure to use the comment section to let me know!

Christmas Pasta: Salsa di Noci
Ingredients
- 1 piece bread, crusts removed
- ¾ cup milk of choice
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1½ cups walnuts
- 1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1.5-2 packs rigatoni or short pasta of choice
Instructions
- Break up the bread into the milk and soak for 1 min. Strain and keep the milk.
- To a blender, add the garlic, shelled walnuts, parmigiano, bread mixture, olive oil. Blend until smooth, if it’s too thick add a bit of milk and more olive oil.
- Cook your pasta according to instructions.
- Strain the pasta and reserve the water. Mix the pasta with the sauce and thin it out with the reserves water to make it creamy. Serve with chopped parsley or walnuts.
If you try it let me know in the comments section!