My Kids Spring Zucchini
+ Pea Pesto Pasta
Classic pesto loaded with garlic, basil and all the Parmesan cheese you can find. It’s luxurious, simple and everything in between. Add in some fresh Spring peas, zucchini and a touch of extra pine nuts.
It’s a simple meal but elevated with added vegetables and a pop of red pepper flakes and black pepper.
My kids and I, love this meal. I make extra pesto to have on hand – freeze it or keep it ready for those quick pasta nights (adding it on top of pizza is pretty great too!)
Gluten Free Pasta Love.
We have tried a lot of different brands of glute free pasta. I mean, a lot. Our current favorite and what fills almost an entire shelf in our pantry is Jovial. I love their story, mission and the pasta tastes great.
I used their egg noodles in my Spring Pea + Parmesan Egg Pasta with Pistachio Crumb recipe. Their no cook Gluten Free Lasagna Noodles made their debut in Zucchini and Roasted Garlic Lasagna recipe. One of our favorites though is the most recent blog post of Gluten Free Cauliflower Parmesan.
Kids + vegetables.
I know it can be hard getting kids to eat vegetables – I was one of them.
I love how the zucchini and peas in this My Kids Spring Zucchini + Pea Pesto Pasta recipe are covered in pesto and cheese. Bites of pasta with the vegetables – you can’t even taste them. Add in more Parmesan cheese and pine nuts and it’s a meal fit for all ages.
More and more pasta recipes to try.
My Kids Spring Zucchini + Pea Pesto Pasta
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced and quartered
- 1 cup fresh Spring peas
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to season and garish
- 1 lb. gluten free pasta, cooked according to package instructions (1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid reserved)
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon or more red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup or more basil pesto
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
Classic + Basic Basil Pesto
- 2 large handfuls fresh basil leaves
- 1–2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup to olive oil (or more to thin it out)
- 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (leave out if you are going to freeze the pesto)
- optional – 2 pinches fresh lemon zest
Instructions
- Sauté the olive oil or butter with the zucchini in a small saucepan, until toasted brown and warmed throughout – about 3 minutes on medium heat. Add in the peas and turn the heat off and let sit.
- When the pasta is drained, add it back to the pot or a large bowl. Add in the reserved cooking liquid, Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and pesto. Toss to coat the pasta.
- Add in the cooked zucchini and peas. Garnish with pine nuts and black pepper. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Leave out the Parmesan cheese in the pesto recipe, if you plan to freeze it right away. It freezes so much better without it. Since you add the Parmesan to the pasta later – you may not even need it in the pesto recipe.
Pine nuts are pricy – I like to add in walnuts to the pesto and garnish the pasta with the pine nuts. Either way, it’s delicious.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 12
- Category: vegetarian
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: dinner
Did you make this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @whitesparrowfoodco or #whitesparrowfoodco I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe!
You might also like
