This is gluten-free pesto pasta with tomatoes: a combination of two recipes on the blog for an amazing and easy weeknight pasta dish!
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If you have an abundance of spinach or basil, pesto is a great option. Pesto is a sauce that comes from the Liguria region of Italy.
Pasta with pesto is one of our go-to meatless dinners. But after having it multiple times, I kept feeling like it was missing something.
Then, one night after making penne with parmesan and cherry tomatoes, I knew what it was!
My spinach pesto on its own with gluten-free pasta is good, but with the sweetness of roasted cherry tomatoes and the creaminess of extra freshly grated parmesan cheese, it was next level.
Thus, a new dish was born!
This gluten-free pasta with pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes is very easy to make, and you can really use whatever shape of pasta you like. We've made it with penne, fusilli, Trader Joe's fettuccine, and even spaghetti.
Here's how to make this dish:
Prepare the pesto first. A food processor makes this process a lot easier. This is the food processor I've used for five years now.
Roast your cherry tomatoes while the water boils. The tomatoes will cook quickly, and you don't want the garlic to burn.
Cook your pasta, but make sure to reserve some of the starchy gluten-free pasta water to thin out the pesto.
Add your pesto to hot cooked pasta, along with the tomatoes and parmesan. Yum!
If you like pesto, try these other dishes with pesto: homemade gluten-free gnocchi, or gluten-free pesto grilled cheese with fresh mozzarella.
Here's the full recipe for gluten-free pesto and tomatoes!
If you love this recipe, please leave a review! Thank you so much!
Gluten-Free Pasta With Pesto and Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
Gluten-Free Pesto Pasta With Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
A tasty pasta dish combining pesto, roasted cherry tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- 2 ounces parmesan cheese, cut into cubes
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup nuts (my favorites are pine nuts or cashews)
- ½ tsp. Kosher salt
- 3 cups tightly packed spinach leaves
- ⅔ cup olive oil (or more, depending on how runny you like your pesto)
For the Pasta
- 12 ounces gluten-free pasta
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
For the Tomatoes
- 1 lb cherry tomatoes, rinsed and dried
- 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Using a food processor and the chopping blade, add the cheese, garlic, and nuts to the bowl and pulse to roughly chop - about 10-12 pulses. Add the spinach leaves, and salt, and pulse 10-15 times. Using a spatula, scrape the bowl on all sides.
With the machine running on low, add olive oil slowly through the feed tube. Continue processing until combined about 1 minute.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more to make sure all spinach leaves have been incorporated. Pulse again one more time, then remove to a bowl.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt.
Place the cherry tomatoes on a jelly roll pan (a baking sheet with sides) and pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top. Using clean hands, mix and distribute so the olive oil coats all of the tomatoes. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic and using a spoon now, mix. Season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring halfway, until the tomatoes burst and wrinkle.
While the tomatoes are in the oven, cook your gluten-free pasta to package directions. Grate your parmesan cheese.
Before draining your pasta, reserve ½ cup of it and set aside. Drain pasta when cooked, then return to the pot.. Add the other 1 tablespoon olive oil (or butter, for richness). Into a glass bowl, add a few tablespoons of pesto, using the pasta water to thin out the sauce as you like. Scoop in the pasta, tomatoes and grated parmesan and stir. Add more parmesan when serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 680Total Fat 54gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 42gCholesterol 18mgSodium 796mgCarbohydrates 39gFiber 9gSugar 4gProtein 15g
The nutrition information on each recipe card is provided as a courtesy and for your convenience. The data is calculated by Nutritionix. You are encouraged to make your own calculations based on your ingredients and preferred nutritional facts calculator. While I try to make sure they are accurate, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of these calculations.
Do you like pesto?
What about roasted cherry tomatoes?
Tell me in the comments below!
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