Pesto Pasta with Asparagus, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Arugula

I’ve always been of the opinion that almost any dish could be made better with pesto, so needless to say I was very excited to make this. It didn’t disappoint! I decided to try my hand at making my own pesto and now that I see how quick and simple it is I can’t believe I’ve never made it before! This pasta was delicious and the basil, asparagus and arugula made it taste really fresh. Perfect for Spring! I decided to make it vegetarian, but you could certainly add chicken if you like. The leftover pesto (the pasta only uses half of the pesto) can be used as a dip, a sandwich condiment, a topping for chicken or steak – get creative! It also freezes well, so you could always save it for the next time you make this dish. If you love pesto like I do, trust me, you’ll want to! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

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Pesto Pasta with Asparagus, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Arugula

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Calories: 303kcal

This easy, meatless pasta dish is perfect for spring and summer meals!

Yield: 8 (1-1/2 cup) servings

Ingredients

Pasta:

• 14.5 oz box of whole wheat pasta
• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 oz sundried tomatoes, julienne cut and packaged dry (I used Bella Sun Luci)
• 2 cups asparagus, snapped into 2” pieces
• ½ cup pesto sauce, see recipe below – recipe makes 1 cup, use half
• 3 cups arugula
• 1 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Pesto Sauce (makes about 1 cup, use half for recipe – save half for later!):

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• ¼ cup pine nuts, pine nuts are delicious and traditional, but you can use other nuts such as walnuts or almonds if you like
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Pesto Directions:
• Place pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat and cook a few minutes until slightly browned, stirring occasionally. Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until a paste is formed. Yields about 1 cup.

Pasta Directions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions and then drain.
• While pasta is cooking, bring the olive oil to a medium heat and add asparagus. Cook for 2 minutes and then add sun-dried tomatoes. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until asparagus is cooked. Remove from heat.
• In a large serving bowl, combine pasta with asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto and arugula and stir until sauce evenly coats the other ingredients. Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Notes

To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

303 calories, 39 g carbs, 5 g sugar, 11 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 13 g protein, 5 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

MyWW SmartPoints per (1 1/2 cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 8 SmartPoints/ Purple: 4 SmartPoints

Weight Watchers Points Plus:

8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com

Pasta adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Author: Emily Bites

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Meatless, WW Pasta, WW Vegetarian