This healthy pasta is one of the most popular recipes on iFOODreal. And there is a good reason for that – it’s flavourful, 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 was delicious and healthy pasta!

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’ favourite 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.:)

MY LATEST RECIPES

If you are looking for more veggie loaded pasta dishes, you might like my penne with broccoli, vegetable florentine pasta and pasta with cauliflower. Enjoy!

How to Make Healthy Pasta

Prepare your ingredients. This pasta dish cooks fast, like a stir fry, so timing is everything for the most flavour and an al dente pasta. 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.

While pasta is cooking, give your veggies a quick blast on medium-high heat with pesto.

Then combine everything. Just watch the video. Easy-peasy.

And a word on Parmesan cheese. Forego the shaker-faker, it’s full of additives like cellulose (ground up wood chips btw) 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!

Healthy Pasta

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

Healthy Pasta is an easy 30 minute vegetable pasta skillet recipe with pesto, tomato, broccoli and Parmesan cheese. Follow simple video instructions and make tasty dinner even if you don’t know how to cook.

Author: ifoodreal.com
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

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.

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