Pasta is the perfect vehicle for the blend of pesto, zesty arugula and sweet, crunchy hazelnuts.
Let’s talk about pasta shall we? Pasta so often gets a bad rap when it comes to eating healthy. In fact, carbs in general are pretty demonized in the pursuit of “clean eating” (whatever that means).
As a kid I was obsessed with pasta. I was a pretty picky eater and my favorite food was just straight up buttered noodles. My parents once bet me $5 to give up pasta for a week, at the end of which I had pasta for breakfast to celebrate.
However, when I was struggling with an eating disorder and well into my recovery, I restricted a lot of foods. Pasta was by far the hardest to reincorporate without guilt. For me it was a big trigger food. Because I had a propensity to crave it, once I had it, having it in the house just caused too much stress.
Luckily, and only pretty recently, I’ve found some new types of pasta that I’m really enjoying and can eat without the emotional pasta baggage, (as I typed that I thought of luggage made of pasta… ok I’m five-years-old, back to the pasta). Trader Joe’s sells a quinoa brown rice pasta. I also recently discovered a brand called Banza who makes pasta from chickpeas, which means it also has a good amount of plant based protein in each serving. Win-Win. Now, for the die hard pasta lover, these noodles aren’t going to taste exactly the same but for someone looking for an alternative or is gluten-free these pastas are fantastic. I actually really enjoy the heartier texture of these alternative pastas because they leave me feeling more satisfied after a meal.
While as a kid I loved pasta for the full carb-y goodness, as an adult(ish) person I love pasta for it’s sauce carrying abilities. And what better sauce for a noodle to carry than pesto? I know, right?
I love this Pesto Pasta dish because it’s so easy to throw together and even make extras for leftovers (you know what I’m saying’?). To jazz things up even more I love adding arugula which brings a fresh bitter green flavor and sweet crunch hazelnuts.
[Tweet “I think we can all agree pasta is just an excellent pesto vehicle”]
- 1 Cup of Fusilli Noodles (2 Cups Cooked)*
- 1 Cup of Arugula
- 1/3 Cup of Hazelnuts
- For Vegan Pesto:
- 1 1/3 Cup of fresh Basil
- 1/3 Cup of Cilantro
- 1/3 Cup of Sunflower Seeds
- 1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
- *I used Trader Joe’s Rice Quinoa Blend
- To Make Pesto:
- In a food processor or Nutribullet combine Basil, Cilantro, Sunflower Seeds and Olive Oil and process until smooth, pausing to scrape the edges as necessary
- To Make Pasta:
- Fill a medium sauce pan half way with water and boil
- Add 1 cup of dry noodles and cook for approximately 8 minutes (less or more depending on how al dente you like your pasta)
- Drain noodles in colander and pour pack into sauce pan
- Add 2 tablespoons of pesto and mix well until noodles are covered then add 1/3 cup of hazelnuts and 1 cup of arugula and stir together until all ingredients are well combined
- Serve in 2 bowls and enjoy!
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Your Turn:
- Pasta – save it for a special treat or is it a regular part of your food arsenal?
- If you had to choose, red sauce or pesto?
- Is anyone else super obsessed with arugula or am I crazy? (well I know I’m crazy but, specifically about the arugula thing)
I love the addition of hazelnuts in this pretty pasta dish!! Plus I the that the pesto is vegan because Im not a fan of cheese!
Another bonus is it’s suuuper easy to make. I always have a batch on hand because homemade pesto can’t be beat
Pesto over everythang. Love the rustic look of this dish!
Thanks girl! I would literally pour pesto over errythang
First of all, I respect you so much for talking so openly about your eating disorder and even more so for focusing on staying healthy both physically and emotionally!
I love pesto (have never used sunflower seeds and I need to try that!), but nothing beats red sauce for this Italian. I’m with you with arugula. It’s so different and that’s why I love it!
Thanks Margaret -I’m so grateful to have a community I feel comfortable sharing in. <3
Sunflower seeds are some of my favorite and add a great texture to the pesto
This looks so tasty! I’m a little hesitant to eat pasta frequently, personally. It just feels so heavy to me that I save it for rare occasions. Pesto is my favorite though. I’ve found so many ways to eat it over the years; grilled cheese, pizza, spaghetti squash. It’s way more fun than the traditional red sauce. And I’m with you on arugula. I don’t know why it isn’t served on every slice of pizza or in every salad and sandwich I eat.
I think you’d love this Banza pasta – it’s got all the satisfaction of normal pasta but way less heavy. However, I do like to save pasta as a special treat most of the time.
Pesto + pasta = is there anything better. No, there is not.
#Truth.
Yes! I love arugula!!!! That bitterness is just really good! hahahaha! This is such an awesome pesto and love the hazelnuts!
Woohoo so glad I have a fellow arugulover <3 It's hands down my fav
Totally would not have thought of the hazelnut + arugula combo, but now that I’m thinking about it I could see where it would be SUPER delish. Can’t wait to try this one!
They’re two of my favs separately so together they’re unstoppable!
I’ve been arugula crrrazy lately! That, plus the fact that I’m totally team pesto – means I’ll definitely be trying this one of these days. I love how simple your recipes are. Normally I would be intimidated by making my own pesto but this is great!!
Simple is my middle name 😉 mostly because I’m too lazy for anything too complex but you’ll totally love this pesto. So easy to make and tastes amazing on pretty much anything!
I definitely have pasta as a treat…I will order it when I am out for a nice dinner and I will NEVER turn it down when I am home and Mom makes her infamous meatballs and spaghetti. I always go with red sauce. Pesto screams summer to me, but I would eat this dish anytime of year. Looks DELISH!
Thanks Katie! Nothing can beat homemade pasta at a great Italian restaurant (or a great home cooked meal from Momma) <3
Those noodles from trader joe’s are so good. They are our favorite! If I had to choose, I would go with pesto all day long. YUM! Can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂
You’ll love it! It’s almost too simple 😉 Those noodles are a new find and I’m obsessed.
This is just everything. I love all things arugula, pesto and hazelnut so clearly I need to face plant in this ASAP. Also, I’m a big pasta lover! I do tend to have it less often because portion control is not my forte, but I don’t think it deserves the bad reputation. Pasta lover for life!
This looks amazeballs. I love pasta, but I don’t make it that often mostly because there’s only so much tomato sauce I can handle before I get fed up haha. Need to give this a try though!