Dairy-Free Creamy Arugula Pesto Pasta
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This pasta is also amazing the next day, served cold as a pasta salad. It's also great with whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Author: Tina Coopman
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 4 cups arugula, lightly packed, plus extra leaves for garnish
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ pound rotini or other short pasta
- 1 cup asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small yellow pepper, cut into1-inch pieces
- 2 cups unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage, warmed (Tina uses coconut milk beverage)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional to taste
- ¼ cup dairy-free buttery spread
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast until finely chopped. Add the arugula and pulse until chopped. Add the lemon juice and garlic, and pulse until combined. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the machine running until incorporated. Stop to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta has one minute remaining, add the asparagus and yellow pepper to blanch them.
- While pasta is cooking, melt the buttery spread in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, while whisking, for 1 minute. While whisking, pour in about ⅓ of the milk beverage, and continue whisking until incorporated. Repeat twice, with the remaining ⅔ of the milk beverage. Stir in the salt and pesto.
- Toss the sauce with the hot pasta, vegetables, and cherry tomatoes. Season to taste, if needed.
- Garnish with a few arugula leaves.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ¼ recipe Calories: 590 Fat: 26.1g Saturated fat: 4.6g Carbohydrates: 76.8g Sugar: 6.4g Sodium: 772mg Fiber: 7g Protein: 16.9g
Recipe by Go Dairy Free at https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/creamy-arugula-pesto-pasta