Pesto Pasta with Asparagus, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Arugula
This easy, meatless pasta dish is perfect for spring and summer meals!
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
8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com Pasta adapted from Gimme Some Oven