This Healthy Pesto Pasta recipe is simple, ready in just over 30 minutes and is bursting with flavor from pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli and Parmesan cheese.
We also love ground turkey and broccoli pasta and penne with broccoli!
This healthy pesto pasta is one of the most popular recipes on iFoodReal! And there is a good reason for that – it’s fresh, light, flavorful, loaded with veggies and then topped with fresh Parmesan cheese for balance!
It comes together in less than 30 minutes from prep to clean up, just like our Tuscan chicken pasta and healthy chicken alfredo.
Part of what makes this pasta recipe so quick and easy is using your favorite store-bought pesto sauce. If you have a jar of homemade or you don’t mind taking the time to make your own, go for it!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Creamy sauce: Using some of the pasta water combined with pesto makes a creamy flavorful sauce that isn’t loaded with calories.
- Fresh ingredients: This healthy pasta dish swaps heavy meat and dairy for light and fresh vegetables.
- Enjoy year round: Summer inspired but ingredients are easily found year-round.
- Versatile: Swap vegetables and pasta shape for what you have on hand.
- Gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten free pasta with crevices.
- Simple and quick: With store bought pesto, you save time in the kitchen and it’s a 30 minute meal!
Ingredients for Healthy Pesto Pasta Recipe
- Pasta: I recommend to use medium size pasta with crevices like penne, fusilli or bow ties. It can be gluten free, whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa or kamut pasta.
- Veggies: Broccoli florets, coarsely chopped. Sun-dried tomatoes (dry or packed in oil), thinly sliced. Grape tomatoes halved.
- Pesto sauce: Store-bought or homemade pesto or even spinach pesto. Any pesto that you like!
- Seasoning: Garlic cloves, minced. Salt. Red pepper flakes. Ground black pepper, to taste.
- Oil: Extra virgin olive oil.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated is the way to go for the most flavor. Cheese in a shaker comes with additives like cellulose and pre-grated cheese is not mature and flavorful enough.
Recipe Tip
Fresh and high quality ingredients. It’s worth mentioning again that the freshest ingredients will add the most flavor including freshly grated Parmesan, garlic and a high quality pasta.
How to Make Healthy Pesto Pasta
Because this pasta recipe cooks fast, you want to gather your ingredients and have them ready to go, especially if you are using gluten-free pasta as it cooks faster.
- Salt your pasta water: When you salt your water and then cook your pasta in it, it will absorb the salt and add that extra touch of flavor to your dish.
- Cook the pasta: Cook your pasta as per package directions undercooking by a few minutes. Timing is everything for al dente texture pasta. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water, and set both aside.
- Cook garlic: While pasta is cooking, saute garlic in olive oil for a few seconds. Stir frequently.
- Saute tomatoes: Add tomatoes and a bit of pesto, give it a stir. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes and stir again. Move ingredients to one side of the skillet, making sure the empty spot is right above the heat.
- Add broccoli: Add a bit of broccoli and pesto to the empty spot in the skillet and cook stirring once.
- Combine: Remove skillet from the heat and add remaining pesto. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, pasta, and pasta water. Stir gently to combine and let the flavors meld together, and watch how creamy and delicious this becomes.
- Add cheese: At this point, you can add in half of the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and save the other half for sprinkling right before serving.
Tips for Best Results
- Stir the pasta: Gently mix it with a slotted spoon usually within the first 2 minutes of cooking. This will prevent it from clumping.
- Cook, then test: The best timer is your mouth! A minute or two before your pasta timer goes off, start testing your pasta. Remove from pot, place on plate, let it cool then taste it. If it retains a slight firm bite, your pasta is al dente and ready.
- Don’t drain all the pasta water: Using some of the pasta water in the sauce adds flavor and helps glue the pasta and sauce together. It’s a great way to thicken your sauce without the use of flour or cornstarch.
- Skip rinsing your pasta after it cooks: The starch on the surface of the pasta helps the sauce adhere and gives the pasta dinner dish additional flavor. If you rinse the pasta, all that starch goes down the drain.
- Do not cover your skillet: Unless you like mushy broccoli, but this dish really tastes better with broccoli that is tender yet has a slight bite.
Variations
- Fresh basil: A delicious basil pesto sauce is an awesome start, but why not throw in a few fresh basil leaves for an added burst of fresh herbs.
- Protein: For added protein, throw in some grilled shrimp, turkey meatballs, fried tofu or add sliced baked chicken breast.
- Veggies: Instead of, or in addition to, the broccoli, you can add in some kale, bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms.
- Frozen broccoli: If you are using frozen broccoli, you don’t need to thaw first. Just toss it in and cook until thawed right in the skillet. Because it was frozen, keep an extra eye out so that it doesn’t get overcooked and mushy.
- A burst of citrus: Squeeze a little lemon juice in with your pesto sauce and enjoy a little extra bright flavor to this dish. A lovely balance to the earthy herbed pesto!
- Dairy-free or vegetarian: Skip the Parmesan cheese or use a good quality vegetarian Parmesan that is able to be grated, such as Violife.
Serving Recommendations
As much as my family loves this as a main pasta dinner recipe, there are many other ways you can enjoy it!
- As a side dish: A smaller portion is great when served with turkey burgers or lemon baked cod.
- Along with a side salad: Veggies lovers rejoice! Serve this veggie loaded pesto pasta with lemon kale salad, lettuce salad or even grilled romaine lettuce.
- With a simple soup: Such as healthy tomato soup.
- Serve a crowd: Easily double this recipe to serve a larger crowd. Summer BBQs have a new star of the show!
- With appetizer: Make olive oil bread dip or burrata dip for a starter.
How to Store
Store: This pasta dish will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Freeze: I don’t recommend to freeze leftovers because pasta with vegetables. Everything will be very mushy upon thawing.
Reheat: Reheat on the stovetop on low-medium heat, add a bit more pesto if needed. Or enjoy it cold straight out of the fridge on a hot summer day!
FAQs
I’m sure if you ask millions of Italians if pasta is healthy they may have a thought or two! I know it’s white pasta and it might seem like an oxymoron to show up in “a healthy pasta recipe,” but here’s the scoop. First, you’re loading it up with veggies. And secondly, you can use any pasta you want packing this dish with extra fiber and protein.
Obviously the taste will be a bit different than pasta but zucchini or spaghetti squash noodles could work. Because of the delicate nature of vegetable noodles, I would make the pasta sauce with veggies, then top your “pasta” with it.
Pesto is very flavorful and this recipe requires quite a bit of it, so I do not recommend to omit it. If you are allergic to certain ingredients in pesto, I recommend making your own with substitutes by finding alternative recipes.
More Healthy Pasta Recipes
- Creamy chicken spinach pasta
- Simple spaghetti recipe
- Cottage cheese pasta
- Ground turkey pasta bake
- Mushroom stroganoff
- Tiktok baked feta pasta
- One pot spaghetti
- Pasta with zucchini and tomatoes
Also browse this list of 45 healthy pasta recipes for more inspiration!
Healthy Pesto Pasta Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups any shape pasta uncooked
- 1 cup pasta water reserved
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 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 more to taste
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta as per package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, get all ingredients ready – chop veggies and grate cheese.
- Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, draining the rest. Set aside.
- Preheat large deep skillet or a dutch oven on medium heat, add olive oil and garlic. Sautรฉ for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add 1 tbsp pesto, tomatoes and stir. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes, stir and 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, half Parmesan cheese, 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.
- Sprinkle with remaining half Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 – 5 days. Reheat on stovetop on low-medium heat. Add a bit more pesto if needed.
- Freeze: Up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating.
- Pasta: Gluten free, whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, kamut pasta. You name it! Pictured is my kids’ favourite (organic if I can find) Garofalo brand from Costco. It’s one of the best quality pasta I ever tried.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated is the way to go.
- Frozen broccoli: If you are using frozen broccoli, you don’t need to thaw first. Keep an extra eye out so that it doesn’t get overcooked and mushy.
How much is in one serving?
Approximately 1 1/2 cups.
I clicked on a link about what instapot to buy, and got a pasta recipe. Recipe looks good, but I would like to know your thoughts about instapots. Please resend the link.
Yes sorry, I fixed it in my email now. Here is the link https://ifoodreal.com/which-instant-pot-to-buy/. And for easy future, you can always search my website.:)
It was soooo good, even my sons loved it.??
Iโm so happy to read this! Thanks for your positive feedback, Deborah!
Delicious dish! My hubby who isn’t crazy about tomatoes liked it a lot. Our 14 year old daughter loves it as well. She practically licks up the “juice” when she’s done!
Sounds like this recipe is a keeper in your household Bonnie!
My whole family loved this and I could make while chasing after twins. I added chicken to the recipe and itโs fantastic
Awesome to hear Alicia!
Really enjoyed this. Will make it again
Really good thank you sharing this recipe! YUM.
Delicious
Awesome. My budding teenager is into healthy eating and it was getting a bit much funding things to suite his palate thanks to this fabulous dish Got the thumbs up from my son . I did not have cherry tomatoes so just used normal tomatoes quartered . Great start simple, healthy and good . Thankyou
You are so welcome Beula!
I fudged up the timing on this recipe but it was still delicious! I greatly enjoyed the easiness and the quickness of this recipe, especially as a student who is beginning to meal prep. Excellent combination of spices too! I’ve never cooked with pesto before and was pleasantly surprised. I definitely plan on making this again and trying out variations.
Thanks so much! ๐
You are so welcome Cassandra. Happy cooking!