Healthy Pasta Recipe
This healthy pasta is one of the most popular recipes on iFOODreal. And there is a good reason for that – it’s flavorful, veggie packed, cheese-sprinkled for balance and comes together in less than 30 minutes including the prep and clean up.
It is an older recipe with brand new video (hence, different pots), so you can see how easy it is to put together. This vegetarian pesto pasta was delicious!
Is Pasta Healthy?
Before anyone says anything, yes I know it’s white pasta and it might seem like an oxymoron to show up in “a healthy pasta recipe”. I get you, my friends. Good news is that you can use any pasta you want, ANY. Whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, kamut, white etc.
Pictured is my kids’ favorite organic Garofalo brand from Costco. It’s one of the best quality pasta I ever tried. So be it, once in a while. Healthy living is about balance and moderation, rather than stress. That’s in my books.:)
How to Make Healthy Pasta
1. Prepare your ingredients. Tomato pesto pasta dish cooks fast, like a stir fry, so timing is everything for the most flavour and an al dente pasta.
Is Pesto Healthy?
Try to find pesto with as less additives as possible. All there is to pesto – olive oil, basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and salt. Sun dried tomatoes can be dry or packed in oil.
2. While pasta is cooking, give your veggies a quick blast on medium-high heat with pesto.
3. Then combine everything. Just watch the video. Easy-peasy.
Parmesan Cheese Hunk Vs. Shaker
And a word on Parmesan cheese. Forego the shaker-faker, it’s full of additives like cellulose (ground wood chips, by the way) and other crap. Buy a hunk of fresh Parmigiano Reggiano at Costco (best price ever => my healthy Costco shopping list) and grate a good amount at a time. Then refrigerate in an airtight container for a few weeks. Freeze the rest of the hunk.
Be healthy!
More Healthy Pasta Dishes to Try:
- Penne with broccoli – it’s cheesy, creamy, quick and healthy!
- Vegetable florentine pasta – loaded with vegetables to the brim one pot pasta!
- Pasta with cauliflower and pumpkin seeds – so differently mind blowing vegan!
- Spaghetti with tomato sauce – 10 minute pasta with a can of tomato sauce.
And may I suggest you look through these 45 dinner ideas?! Wink-wink.
Watch Olena Make Vegetarian Pesto Pasta
And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel for weekly cooking videos!
PrintHealthy Pasta
Follow simple video instructions and make tasty vegetarian pasta dish. Even if you “are not a cook”.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 cups any shape pasta, uncooked
- 1 cup pasta water, reserved
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp pesto, divided
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in halves
- 4 cups broccoli florets, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (2 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta as per package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, draining the rest. Set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, get all ingredients ready. Preheat large deep skillet or a dutch oven on medium heat, add olive oil and garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add 1 tbsp pesto, tomatoes and stir. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes and stir again. Cook another 1 – 2 minutes. Move to one side of the skillet and make sure the empty side of is positioned directly over heat. Add 1 tbsp pesto and broccoli, stir and cook for 4 minutes, stirring once.
- Remove skillet from heat and add remaining 1/4 cup pesto, sun dried tomatoes, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, pasta and pasta water. Stir gently and let flavours marinate for a few minutes. Do not cover because broccoli will become a mushy mess. I also like to add half Parmesan cheese in this step and the other half right before serving. Serve hot.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 – 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
According to my husband this was one of the best pastas he ever had. I used what I had on hand in the fridge. Instead of broccoli I used bell peppers and mushrooms. I’ll definitely make this recipe again. Thanks again for another great recipe.
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Hi, Olena, sounds like a great recipe!… If I use frozen broccoli, do I reduce the cooking time, and do I defrost it first? Thanks!
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Just add frozen broccoli in there and cook 1-2 mins until thawed.
Thanks!!!!
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Why don’t you include fiber in nutritional info?
Because at the time we added this nutritional info, the app we use didn’t show Fiber by default. Once we turned it on, it shows for newer recipes but for older ones I have to go turn it on manually for each which is not happenning for 500 recipes.
Absolutely the BEST!!! We added cubed cooked chicken. Cooked in skillet with butter and seasoned salt and garlic powder.
★★★★★
Sounds amazing! Happy you enjoyed the healthy pasta.:)
I’m ADDICTED – to your website, that is!!! (smiling emoji) Seriously, I made this today after making your Chickpea Avocado Salad yesterday (and not to mention I was at a function & bragged about the salad/refreshing, etc.! I even showed them the photo from your site… more viewers for you & recipes to be made. My husband & I are “pasta” lovers & could eat it almost every day… healthy ways to cook it is what it’s all about!! Healthy eating!
Olena. I love your site & recipes! Oh, and by the way, love your new studio, too! All the best to you.
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Lol that’s a good addiction. Haha, thanks for bragging. I so appreciate it. Thank you so much for all your kind words!!! If you love pasta that much, try my new recipe – meat sauce. Making video for it this week.:)
Made it today with Whole wheat noodles and it was great. The burst of flavors when you’re eating it is amazing. My 3 year old gave it two thumbs up.
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Yay for a kid eating veggies. Simple flavours are the best!!!
Been searching around for new recipes to try out to start eating healthier, this was the first that caught my eye. Finally got around to making it tonight with a whole grain Rotini and it was amazing!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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You are very welcome, Bryce!
Very good! Not heavy, fresh and filling. Quick and easy was a bonus. Looks just like the picture. My kids (1 and 2) even liked it! I would chop sun dried tomatoes to give a more even mixture. I just wrote the recipe down and am adding to my box.
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Happy to hear, Jamie!:) Keep on feeding those little munchkins healthy food and they will grow up into good eaters.
This was AMAZING! I wanted to make it even healthier by getting veggie pasta. Also added caprese flavored chicken sausage for some extra protein. Was the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth and I cannot believe I made it myself! Thanks to this recipe ofcourse! So thankful for the extra detail in the recipe steps because I need it!
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You are welcome, Lexi. Please know you can become a great cook in a matter of months.:)
5 star. Soo good.
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Delicious! Made it into a salad, there was nothing left.
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I’ve just decided what we’re having for dinner! Thanks for sharing this beautiful dish.
I made this tonight and not does it only taste good, it looks good too!
Hi, I’m looking at your recipe for my parenting and child development class this week. We’re doing healthy foods for pregnant women, I was wondering is this a good meal and can you add chicken breast, if so how much?
Hi Alicia. It is a good meal. Use whole wheat or brown rice pasta, add about 1 lb of cooked chicken breast.
Looking forward to making this!! Are the 4 cups broccoli frozen or fresh? Does not specify in the recipe.
Doesn’t matter, 4-5 cups of any.:)
It was very easy to make and tasted very good, I used all organic vegetables and brown rice pasta. I added in some chopped walnuts in for some crunch which tasted amazing.
Glad to hear!:)