This vegan, gluten free penne tomato pesto is to die for. It’s chalk full of healthy polyunsaturated fats, nourishing phytochemicals, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals that are sure to make you feel amazing. Not to mention, the roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic add a zing and pop in your mouth that will make it hard to stop eating!
You can prepare the pesto ahead of time if you’d like to make this a dish you whip together in less than 10 minutes!
Have it as a side dish, or enjoy this as it’s own beautiful feature. ENJOY!
INGREDIENTS
1 whole bag of brown rice penne noodles
2 cups of cherry tomatoes
2 cups of basil, lightly chopped
4 cloves of garlic
¼ pine nuts
The juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup of vegan parmasean cheese
1 pinch of sea salt
¼ cup olive oil (+ more for toasting the pine nuts)
HOW TO MAKE
If you have raw pine nuts, start by toasting them on the oven. Add some olive or avocado oil to a pan, heat it to medium heat, and allow the pine nuts to toast for about 3 - 5 minutes. Be sure to stir regularly so they don’t burn.
Next, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Halve the cherry tomatoes and add them to the baking sheet with a drizzle with a little oil and a pinch each salt and pepper. Bake them for ~20 minutes. Once they’re done, set them aside.
In the meantime, make your pasta by boiling a large pot of water (add a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt to make sure the noodles don’t stick together.) Once boiling add a whole bag of penne and cook for ~8 minutes. Drain them and set them aside.
Now, make the pesto by adding basil, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice, vegan parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts and and salt to a food processor and blending to combine until creamy.
Once it’s ready, grab a big mixing bowl. Add the cooked pasta, the roasted tomatoes and the pesto altogether and mix it up!
Feel free to add more vegan parm on top for some extra pizzaz!
ENJOY!