This delicious Mediterranean Veggie Pasta with pesto makes for a healthy, plant-based dinner.
Make extra for lunch the next day- you’re going to thank yourself!
Traditional pasta tastes great (duh), but they often lack protein and fiber!
Upgrade your traditional vegetarian or vegan pasta recipes by using a high protein pasta made from chickpeas, lentils, or black beans. For this Mediterranean Veggie Pasta, I used Trader Joe’s Yellow Lentil & Brown Rice Spaghetti- they have 14 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving.
Banza is the OG high protein, legume pasta. It’s made from chickpeas and it’s probably my favorite taste & nutrition-wise.
But what kind of registered dietitian would I be if I did not encourage you to load up on veggies? Non-starchy goodies like bell pepper, onion, tomato, zucchini, & eggplant add texture, fiber, and Mediterranean vibes to this recipe.
Since I LOVE a big plate of food, adding lots of vegetables allows me to eat a large volume of food without going over my calorie needs. I’m less likely to snack on sugar or snacks when I walk away from a big plate of veg.
I pulled this meal together with Trader Joe’s Vegan Kale & Cashew Pesto Sauce… and immediately un-veganed it with goat cheese. Oops! Take it or leave it.
P.S.- one of my clients taught me this method of cooking tomatoes, so I roasted them separate! SO yummy! But throwing them in with the other vegetables would work, too.
Mediterranean Veggie Pasta
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 small eggplant, sliced and quartered
- 1 zucchini, quartered
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced in 1 inch pieces
- 1 orange bell pepper, sliced in 1 inch pieces
- 1 red onion, sliced in 1 inch pieces
- Garlic salt
- 1 pint baby tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Garlic head
- Thyme
- High protein pasta (I used Yellow Lentil & Brown Rice, but chickpea or black bean pasta works)
- Pesto (I used store bought but we have a recipe here)
- Optional: goat cheese or feta cheese, nutritional yeast
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400’F. Line a large baking sheet (or 2) with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine vegetables except for baby tomatoes. Add olive oil* and coat evenly. Spread on baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic salt. Roast in oven for 40 minutes.
- In a separate baking dish, add tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Add in thyme and head of garlic. Roast for 25 minutes, remove & drizzle with balsamic, and roast for an additional 20 minutes. When done, crush garlic and remove thyme leaves from stem.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta per instructions.
- Once vegetables and pasta are complete, combine with pesto.
- Optional: sprinkle with goat or feta cheese & enjoy!
*Knowing this meal was higher in fat with pesto and goat cheese, I chose not use oil when roasting these vegetables. I used a nonstick spray on the aluminum foil. I tossed the veggies in vegetable stock for moisture and seasoned per usual.
Whip up this meal for yourself or your family? We want to see! Share your masterpiece and tag us on Instagram @nutrition.awareness.
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Kait Richardson is a registered dietitian nutritionist in Orlando, FL. She is a partner at a private practice, Nutrition Awareness, where she helps frustrated yo-yo dieters reach their health goals using 1:1 nutrition coaching. She is the co-host of the Nutrition Awareness Podcast.
Disclaimer: Some blog posts may contain one or more affiliate links. All opinions are my own.