Easy Pesto Pasta with Veggies

There's nothing better than sitting down to dinner and seeing colorful fresh veggies and pasta on your plate. You get to enjoy the guilty pleasure of pasta, while getting your veggies in a delicious way. 

I have always loved making this recipe, combining a light pesto sauce with whatever vegetables are fresh at the time, and different types of pasta depending on my mood. Feel like extra protein? Try Banza brand chickpea pasta which contains 14 grams per serving! Or, cutting carbs and want to go for a really light meal? Switch out the pasta for "zoodles" (zuchinni noodles). You can make those at home with a spiralizer, or even buy pre-made zoodles at Whole Foods. 

Or, feeling like a quick healthy meal for your family without a lot of prep time? Follow the recipe below and enjoy! 

Delicious and healthy!

Easy Pesto Pasta with Vegetables

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of fresh cherry tomatoes halved

2 cups of fresh snap peas 

1 bunch of asparagus

1 head of broccoli

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

1 - 1.5 cups of penne pasta (mix it up, add in some Banza chickpea pasta for extra protein or zoodles for extra veggies)

PESTO INGREDIENTS:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed and dried

2 cloves of garlic depending on your taste

1/3 cup pine nuts

¼ cup virgin olive oil to start

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. You may need to stop to scrape the sides of the processor to further combine. Add extra olive oil as necessary for desired thickness and salt to taste. Set aside.

Boil water on stovetop for pasta. 

Aren't these veggies pretty? 

Next, prep the veggies. Halve the tomatoes and lay on a cookie sheet. Rinse the snap peas, chop the ends off them, and place on cookie sheet with tomatoes.  Chop the asparagus into about an inch and a half sections and place on another cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top of all the veggies and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. 

While veggies in oven are roasting, chop the broccoli and place in steamer on stovetop. You can add your favorite herb flavoring while steaming (I like to use a garlic/lemon mix from Mrs. Dash). Steam broccoli until al dente.

While broccoli is steaming, cook pasta on stovetop until al dente. Drain, and mix with pesto sauce in serving bowl. Combine with roasted veggies and broccoli. Serve with your favorite sourdough bread and bottle of wine and enjoy!