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vegetarian pesto pasta with spinach and herbs, served on a white plate
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5 from 5 votes

Vegetarian Pesto with Linguine

This Vegetarian Pesto Pasta made with spinach, herbs and whole wheat linguine is a quick and easy dinner recipe that comes together in 30 minutes. Every bite is bursting with flavor!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 309kcal
Author: Anjali Shah

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place spinach in a microwave-safe bowl; cover bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Remove plastic wrap; cool slightly.
  • Place spinach, almonds, and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor. Process until chopped.
  • Add broth, juice, and salt; pulse 5 times. With processor on, slowly pour oil through food chute; process until well blended. Scrape into a bowl; stir in half of cheese. Cover with plastic wrap.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions.
  • As soon as the pasta is done, toss pasta with 1/2 cup pesto. Arrange about 1 1/2 cups pasta mixture on each of ; top each serving with 2 tablespoons remaining pesto, diced tomatoes, and 1 1/2 teaspoons remaining cheese.

Notes

Top tips For Making Vegetarian Pesto Pasta
  • Cook the pasta al dente and don't rinse it after you drain it.
  • If you have any left over pesto, keep in in a sealable glass jar and top it up with olive oil to keep it fresh.
  • Pesto freezes really well! Just portion it in ice cubes!
  • If you don't have almonds, you can use walnuts or pine nuts instead
  • Make sure to choose a vegetable-rennet based cheese to keep this vegetarian friendly
  • Feel free to toss this pasta with any extra veggies you have on hand - zucchini, carrots, squashes, bell peppers and broccoli would all work well.
  • Swap the linguine for a gluten-free chickpea based pasta (to make this recipe gluten-free), or any other whole wheat pasta of your choice. To add in even more veggies and reduce the carbs, you can use zucchini noodles instead of pasta itself!
  • For some extra protein, feel free to throw in some cannelini beans or chickpeas as you toss the pasta! Be sure to adjust the seasoning/amount of sauce if you do!
Adapted from CookingLight 

Nutrition

Calories: 309kcal | Carbohydrates: 44.7g | Protein: 11.6g | Fat: 9.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Cholesterol: 3.6mg | Sodium: 282.6mg | Potassium: 256.8mg | Fiber: 7.2g | Sugar: 3.1g