Veggie Pesto Pasta

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Creamy pesto pasta loaded with veggies. In our house, we do some variation of pasta with pesto quite often. Two pantry staples and one satisfying meal. Easy, quick, and filling.

You really can’t go wrong with pasta. I love it, my husband loves it, and the baby loves it. We usually do something very simple like butter, a little salt, maybe a little cheese. But if I have a jar of pesto or some frozen cubes in the freezer, I love to add that as well. And to really kick it up a notch I’ll toss in a bunch of veggies as I did for this one.

This is a little lighter and I use raw veggies which gives it more of a summer feel, but you can always use sautéed veggies and add more to make it heartier. I add olives, which are my favorite, mozzarella pieces, diced red onion, and freshly picked and chopped tomatoes. Add all this to pasta and stir in some pesto.

So I say lots of pesto, and I mean lots.  In the past when I’ve made pasta with pesto, there never seems to be enough pesto so I end up adding more salt or more cheese and I don’t necessarily love that. So for this dish, I add at least half a cup of pesto and it really gives it the flavor I’m going for. It might seem overpowering at first but if it sits for a little the veggies and pasta really absorb the pesto. So more pesto gets the flavor just right.  Plus the longer it sits the more it absorbs.

I use a lot of fresh summer veggies, but it would be a great winter dish too. You can use stuff like broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. If you eat meat you can also add some cut up chicken which would be great and I sometimes do for my husband and baby.

For this recipe you will need:

• One package of pasta – I love the GFnbrown rice pasta from nTJ’s
• Pesto – you can make fresh but for ease I just use a jarred one
• Fresh chopped veggies
• Mozzarella – I use the balls or you can just pieces from a bigger block

This pasta stores very well. Simply heat it back up or enjoying it cold. I actually love to eat this one cold. Add a little olive oil and even a dab more pesto if it needs it. Delicious too tossed over some greens. Great for meal prepping.

Looking for a more satisfying pasta dishes? Check out these below:

Here’s a cheesy baked pasta loaded with veggies. Pasta, tomato sauce, cheese, and veggies; what more do you need?

Here’s another pesto pasta loaded up with some green veggies.

A fun recipe for leftovers from a cheese board. Focused on how to waste less food and make a cheesy, delicious pasta.

And since we’re making all these yummy kinds of pastas, how about some Meatless Meatballs. Made mostly with beans, but you won’t miss the meat, swear. And they are delicious over a simple pasta with salt and butter.