Pesto pasta free#

I like to use a glass measuring cup with a good handle and reserve about ½ cup of the liquid. veggie noodles to be low carb/Whole30) you will want to reserve some of the starchy cooking liquid from the pasta before draining. Reserve some of the cooking liquid: If you are making this with pasta (vs.Add ½ cup of the cooking liquid and stir well to emulsify the sauce so that it sticks to the pasta. Step 8: Add the sun dried tomatoes (no oil) and pesto to the pasta and stir well. Step 7: Flake the tuna out of the can and add the tuna to the pasta (I don’t add the olive oil the tuna was packed in but you can if you would like to). Step 5: Right before the pasta is done cooking take about ½ cup of the cooking liquid from the pot and reserve for later. Step 4: Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook according to the package directions. Add the baby spinach to the food processor and process on high another 1-2 minutes until the pesto is fully blended. Step 3: Add the basil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, garlic powder and cashews to a food processor. Step 2: While the water is coming to a boil, make the spinach cashew pesto. Step 1: Add water to a large pot to bring to a boil. You could use fresh tomatoes or omit them completely. I use sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil (you don’t need to add the oil to the dish though). Sun Dried Tomatoes – sun dried tomatoes provide another level of umami to this dish, I highly recommend adding them unless you don’t love them.Tuna (in oil) – I prefer tuna in oil for this recipe, but you could also use tuna in water, canned salmon, canned chicken or even replace the tuna with chickpeas or cannellini beans in place of the tuna to make this a vegan meal.You can also store pesto in the freezer so that you always have some fresh and on hand. Pesto – make your own using the ingredients above or buy pesto pre-made from the store.Pasta – use whatever pasta you love! I love using lentil pasta for this dish (as it’s much more filling) but you can use whatever your favorite is, even replace the pasta with spaghetti squash, zoodles, or butternut squash noodles to make it lower in carbs or Whole30 friendly.Spinach – baby spinach helps add volume and also increases the veggies in the dish! You could also use arugula or kale!.If you cannot have garlic, use roasted garlic olive oil in place of the olive oil in this recipe. If you love fresh garlic, use 1-2 cloves, very finely chopped. Garlic Powder – I prefer garlic powder to fresh garlic in pesto (since we won’t be cooking it).Salt – salt is a key ingredient to making the recipe pop and it salts the entire dish, so don’t skip it!.

Pesto pasta free#

You could use blanched sliced almonds or walnuts in place of the cashews or hemp hearts for a nut free version. They are less expensive and still add a great silky texture. Cashews – cashews are used in place of pine nuts.If you don’t have lemon juice, you could also use 1-2 tbsp. Lemon Juice – Basil can have a very strong flavor, and lemon juice can help cut through that with acidity, helping to brighten things up.Olive Oil – oil helps to emulsify the sauce, making it thick and creamy! You could also use avocado oil.You could use flat leaf parsley and mint for a more Mediterranean twist if you cannot find basil. The flavor will not be the same without the basil. Basil – basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto.Ingredients and substitutions Spinach Cashew Pesto Click here to read my policy and more about affiliate links. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.