Vegetarian Pesto Pea Pasta Salad is a protein-packed, delicious meal prep recipe that is great served both warm or cold.
Ingredients to make Vegetarian Pesto Pea Pasta Salad:
- 5 cups Water
- 8 oz Chickpea Pasta Shells
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ½ tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 bunch Asparagus (165 grams)
- 2 cups Frozen Green Peas (240 grams)
- ¼ Red Onion thinly sliced (40 grams)
- 1 cup Baby Spinach (80 grams)
- ¼ tbsp Pesto (60 grams)
- ¼ cup Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
- 1 Lemon Juiced
- ¼ cup Dubliner Cheese Freshly Shredded (30 grams)
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- 2 stalks Scallions diced (20 grams)
Instructions
- While the pasta is cooking heat a large pan to medium-low heat. Once the pan is hot add your asparagus, peas, and red onion to the pan. Cook for about 5-7 minutes stirring often to prevent burning.
- After 5-7 minutes your peas should be warm, your asparagus should be cooked but still have a slight crunch. Now add your spinach and scallions to the pan and mix everything until the spinach begins to wilt.
- At this point, your pasta should be done cooking. Strain your pasta reserving ¼ cup pasta water. Then add the pasta and the ¼ pasta water to the asparagus and peas mixture.
- Now add the pesto, yogurt, lemon juice, and cheese to the pan. Season with black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and lemon pepper. Turn the heat to low and stir everything together until the yogurt is well incorporated and spinach has wilted completely.
- Serve and enjoy! This recipe can be served both warm or cold.
Vegetarian Pesto Pea Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 5 cups Water
- 8 oz Chickpea Pasta Shells
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ½ tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 bunch Asparagus (165 grams)
- 2 cups Frozen Green Peas (240 grams)
- ¼ Red Onion thinly sliced (40 grams)
- 1 cup Baby Spinach (80 grams)
- ¼ tbsp Pesto (60 grams)
- ¼ cup Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
- 1 Lemon Juiced
- ¼ cup Dubliner Cheese Freshly Shredded (30 grams)
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- 2 stalks Scallions diced (20 grams)
Instructions
- Start by bringing a medium pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add your pasta to the pot and season with ? tsp salt. Reduce heat slightly to allow the water to continue to boil without boiling over. Cooking the pasta for 8-10 minutes until cooked to your liking.
- While the pasta is cooking heat a large pan to medium-low heat. Once the pan is hot add your asparagus, peas, and red onion to the pan. Cook for about 5-7 minutes stirring often to prevent burning.
- After 5-7 minutes your peas should be warm, your asparagus should be cooked but still have a slight crunch. Now add your spinach and scallions to the pan and mix everything until the spinach begins to wilt.
- At this point, your pasta should be done cooking. Strain your pasta reserving ¼ cup pasta water. Then add the pasta and the ¼ pasta water to the asparagus and peas mixture.
- Now add the pesto, yogurt, lemon juice, and cheese to the pan. Season with black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and lemon pepper. Turn the heat to low and stir everything together until the yogurt is well incorporated and spinach has wilted completely.
- Serve and enjoy! This recipe can be served both warm or cold.
Nutrition
Macro Adjustments:
Below outlines the items in each macro group that are easily adjustable to meet your specific macros.
Fat:
The fat in this recipe comes mainly from the pesto sauce. If you wanted to reduce the fat in this recipe you could reduce the amount of pesto sauce used however, that will reduce the pesto flavor of the recipe.
Carbohydrates:
The majority of the carbs in this recipe comes from the pasta, however, if you make adjustments to the amount of pasta used you will also be adjusting the amount of protein, carbs, and fat.
Protein:
The protein in this recipe comes from pasta, peas, and yogurt. The easiest to adjust without adjusting the other macros would be the yogurt.
Meal Prep:
Yes, this recipe can be meal-prepped. This salad will last up to 6 days. You can choose to serve this recipe both warm or cold.
Freezer Friendly:
This recipe is freezer-friendly and will last up to 6 months in the freezer. I do highly recommend allowing this recipe to defrost completely before warming it up, or serving it cold.
If you love meal prep recipes like this Vegetarian Pesto Pea Pasta, meals that don’t have to be re-heated then you are going to want to check out these other favorites!
