Lately, I have been craving foods that have lots of greens in them. So far, it’s been mostly salads, green smoothies, and even this delicious green veggie pasta I’m about to spill the beans about.
Since coming off keto for a week, it feels as though my body has fallen in love with low-carb meals. And if I’m being honest, I’m not too salty about it.
To slowly make my transition back into eating carbs, I decided to make myself some nutritious pasta.
The idea for this recipe came from a place of complete laziness and burnout. As I said, I was just coming off keto, therefore I needed to eat something less time-consuming to prepare that would give me a lot of energy (as I technically had none).
I literally just threw in a bunch of veggies I had sitting in my pantry into a blender, and the rest is history. This green veggie pasta came out soo good that I had to make it again. It is not your average regular shregular pesto pasta. In fact, this one has a really nice kick and creaminess to it that I’m sure you will enjoy.
So if you’re like me and are just coming off the keto diet, or you’re simply just trying to eat more veggies, then this recipe is for you.
HOW TO MAKE GREEN VEGGIE PASTA
Honestly, I made this green veggie pasta recipe in literally under 30 minutes. If not less. That’s why I strongly believe this recipe is for anyone who is just borderline lazy and doesn’t want to spend any time sitting in the kitchen. That being said, here are the ingredients you would need for this recipe:
- Cashews: Cashews are pretty mild in flavor and thus give this recipe a nice hidden nutty (but not too nutty) flavor. For those who don’t like nuts, don’t worry too much about it. I honestly doubt you would even notice it anyway.
- Spinach: I mean, it’s good for you… Right? Spinach is a great source of iron and many other vitamins, which gives this dish a nice nutritional content.
- Basil: For some additional flavor.
- Avocado: I know what you’re probably thinking. Who the hell puts avocado in pasta? Well, I do. And it was damn good. Sorry Italians.
- Garlic: Because garlic makes every dish taste good.
- Lime juice: This gives this recipe a really nice kick that activates other ingredients in the dish.
- Chickpea Pasta: My mother-in-law told me about chickpea pasta being a great vegan alternative to regular pasta, and so I decided to give it a shot. But feel free to use any pasta of your choice.
- Heavy cream: This gives an extra creaminess to the pasta dish. Thus I recommend it. However, feel free to use pasta water as a replacement if creaminess is not your fancy.
- Spices: Mostly salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. If you’ve been following my blog, then you probably know that I never just use salt and pepper as my seasoning. I’m too African for that. However, for this recipe, less is more.
PREPARATION
The preparation for this green veggie pasta recipe is pretty straightforward. Simply prep the pasta until al dente and set it aside. Then throw the rest of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Next, add the blended mixture to the pasta with some salt and pepper and combine. I suggest combining over low heat to ensure the mixture loosens up in the pasta and is not too thick. Once you’re done, just serve and enjoy!
Honestly, it’s that simple. You can even tell your little kids to make it if you’re beyond lazy.
Let me know in the comments if you give this recipe a try.
Nutritious Green Veggie Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz chickpea Pasta
- ½ cup spinach - fresh
- ½ cup basil - fresh
- ½ avocado
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsps lime juice - lemon juice works as well
- ¼ cup cashews
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp salt - divided
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
Cooking the pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add penne pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions, about 8-10 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of the hot pasta water in a bowl (if using instead of heavy cream). Drain the pasta and set aside.
Prepping the veggie mixture
- Add cashew, spinach, basil, avocado, garlic, lime juice and heavy cream (or pasta water) to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add blended mixture into cooked pasta as well as salt and pepper to taste. Combine thoroughly on low heat until veggie mixture is fully incorporated into pasta.
- Top with red pepper flakes and fresh basil.
- Serve and Enjoy!
