Pesto & Tomato Gluten-Free Pasta

Grab a fork and dig-in to a sweet and earthy pesto pasta made with gluten-free spirals! Tomatoes and bell peppers cook in pesto for a flavorful punch in every bite.

It's quite impressive to see all of the different kinds of gluten-free products in stores now. You can pretty much find any pasta shape and gluten-free flour. One of my favorites are these brown rice spirals, fusilli, by Tinkyaya.

Fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, basil and lemon gives tons of flavorful notes, from sweet to savory and tangy. The pasta is mixed with pesto and topped with sautéed vegetables, perfect for a light lunch or dinner. Just wait and see how easy it is!

Half the fun of this recipe is choosing your shape of pasta—I couldn't help but pick these fun, spirals that scream, "Let's party!" Though, I have yet to find another of my gluten-free favorites, mostaccioli . This pasta shape reminds me of when my mom got each of my sisters and I a tiny, "feeder" goldfish from Walmart. She named my bright orange fish Mostaccioli, meaning "little mustache" in Italian. It was just the right name for the little guy since he had a black stripe above his lip! Now when I stand in front of the pasta aisle picking out my gluten-free bag, I can't help but smile and think of my little orange Mostaccioli.

Besides rice noodles, this recipe works great with Paleo, vegetable noodles, such as zoodles, sweet potato or butternut squash. Once you decide on your pasta, it's time to cook! For this recipe we're cooking homemade pesto. You can make a Paleo, Vegan Pesto with Garlic Oil recipe on the blogthat takes less than 10 minutes to make! After you blend the pesto up, it's just a matter of time sautéing the vegetables and cooking the pasta. The secret is to cook the veggies in the pesto in addition to tossing it with the pasta. While the pasta and veggies cook, you can bake a protein such as honey mustard chicken or lemon thyme salmon too, for a complete meal.

You can easily switch up your pasta nights! Swap out the tomatoes and bell peppers with other vegetables, like squash, root vegetables, mushrooms, and then season with herbs and lemon. Whether you eat Paleo, vegan, pescatarian or vegetarian, add your choice of meat, fish, tofu or beans for a complete, clean meal. Enjoy again and again!

Print here: Pesto & Tomato Gluten-free Pasta

Prep time: 00:10 Cook time: 00:20 Servings: 2

Ingredients

2 c brown rice pasta (or your choice of gluten-free pasta) 1 bell pepper 2 handful of cherry tomatoes 3 - 4 tbs pesto (make our basic vegan pesto recipe) fresh basil for garnish olive oil to cook with salt

Recipe Steps

1. Chop bell pepper and slice tomatoes. Make our Basic Vegan Pesto recipe.

2. Cook veggies: Heat 1/2 Tbs of olive oil in a medium pan. Add bell pepper, tomatoes and 1 Tbs of pesto. Sauté for 15 minutes until tender.

3. Make pasta: Boil a pot of water. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. When done cooking, drain pasta and add 2-3 Tbs of pesto and toss.

4. Top the pasta with veggies and garnish with fresh basil. If desired, add chicken or fish.