A creamy, flavorful, gluten and dairy free Vegan Pea Pesto Pasta! This 20 minute recipe is quick, versatile, and can be NO-COOK other than the noodles if you wish. The secret ingredient for a higher protein dish is peas, though we promise you can't taste them in the final recipe (I'm not usually a big fan of peas...)
Food is love in my big Italian family, and this Pea Pesto Pasta Recipe is my way of sharing my love for hosting with you! This gluten free, dairy free, and vegan recipe is my absolute favorite for home and travel, and it requires just a few healthy ingredients!
Quick, versatile, and perfect for sharing with friends & family, there is so much food love in this pea pesto pasta dish <3
I bring this delicious plate to dinner parties and often make a batch before traveling so I can eat well on-the-go and when I arrive at my destination.
I'd LOVE to know if you enjoy this one as much as I do, so be sure to send me a note by commenting on this post or snap a photo and share on Instagram or Facebook (tag #vibrantlygfree and/or @vibrantlygfree so I see it)!
Pea Pesto Pasta Recipe
PrintSneaky Pea Pesto Pasta
A creamy, flavorful, gluten and dairy free Vegan Pea Pesto Pasta! This recipe is quick, versatile, and can be NO-COOK other than the noodles if you wish. The secret ingredient for a higher protein dish is peas, though we promise you can't taste them in the final recipe (I'm not usually a big fan of peas...)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner, Meal, Pasta
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tsp + ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 4 cloves garlic, minced if sautéing, otherwise whole is fine
- 1 cup green peas, cooked or thawed if frozen
- 1 heaping cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 servings of Gluten-Free pasta of your choice - we prefer fusilli & you can find our favorite brand in the VgF Shop
- 3 cups fresh arugula
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
Instructions
-
Optional: Heat a medium skillet to medium heat. Add 1 tsp olive oil. Toss in pine nuts, roast for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes, or until garlic is fragrant and golden brown, while stirring constantly. Add splashes of water as needed to deglaze the pan.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
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Prepare pasta according to instructions on packaging.
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Meanwhile, make the pesto by add the remaining olive oil, roasted pine nuts and garlic, peas, basil, lemon juice, and salt to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
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Allow the pasta to cool for 5 minutes before adding in the pesto, arugula, and sun-dried tomatoes. Toss and serve. We enjoy this dish warm or cool.
Notes
If you enjoy a strong garlic flavor and need a particularly easy and fast version, you can skip the first step entirely. Simply add all ingredients (other than pasta) to the blender and voila!
I recommend using thawed frozen peas because there is no cooking involved -- it's just so much easier!
Make it your own: This delicious recipe can handle more garlic, more arugula, and more sun-dried tomatoes if you like! Load up on your favorite flavors to diversify.
Substitutions: Kalamata olives are a delicious alternative to sun-dried tomatoes if you can't find them (though we do prefer the tomatoes).
Helpful hint: We get our GF sun-dried tomatoes from Costco. The rest of the ingredients we generally purchase from Trader Joe's 😉
Keywords: Vegan pesto, dairy free pesto, one pot pasta recipe
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Photos of the cooking process
Prepare pasta according to the packaging. I used Tinkyada gluten free pasta this time around.
Add all remaining ingredients to a blender. If sautéing the garlic, you'll want to do that prior to this step. I enjoy the recipe both ways 🙂
Blenders I love:
I use the 600 watt NutriBullet in my Camper Van, the lightweight 250 watt Magic Bullet for travel, and the Vitamix 5200 at home. All work well for this recipe, though you’re sure to get a longer life out of the Nutribullet and Vitamix.
Blend until smooth.
Allow the pasta to cool for 5 minutes before adding the pesto, arugula, and sun-dried tomatoes. Then toss and serve!
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With love and gratitude,
❤︎ Jamie
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Mona
Wow this is an amazing recipe! And I usually hate peas so thank you for making them something I enjoy here. It's my boyfriend's and my favorite for an Italian dinner night when we're looking to eat healthy-ish. We've made this a couple times and it's going in the recipe tin!
★★★★★