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Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

January 16, 2023 by Nick Quintero 13 Comments

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Arugula pesto is easy and tastes great with pasta and tons of other green veggies. Serve this vegan dish at room temperature or hot. Either way, you'll love this vegan arugula pesto pasta meal prep!

Just look at this pasta dish. It's glowing with the promise good health! Admittedly, we don't do a whole ton around here with pasta, but this one, we can get behind big time. Can you even count how many different veggies are in there? No, because they're all green! We've done the counting for you for this healthy meal prep, so don't worry. Broccoli, zucchini, peas to start. You can fill in the rest for this vegan pasta meal prep. 

What is Pesto? 

Pesto is basically a sauce and it's traditionally made with basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive oil, but you can make pesto with any kind of green. Here we use arugula for a peppery bite, but you can also make pesto with carrot greens, parsley, or spinach. To make this vegan pesto, we use nutritional yeast for its nutty taste, to substittue the Parmesan, and walnuts add nutrition and are far less expensive than pine nuts for making pesto.

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

 

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep Ingredients

For the pasta . . . 

  • 8 oz pasta of choice
  • 2 tsp. avocado oil, or oil of choice
  • 2 cups sliced zucchini, halves or quarters
  • 2 cups frozen green peas
  • 4 cups broccoli florets, steamed or roasted
  • 8  tbps. arugula pesto, or more to taste

For the arugula pesto . . . 

  • 1 cup lightly toasted walnuts
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 cups baby arugula
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp. ground black pepper

How to Make Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

All those ingredients for the pesto combine in the bowl of a food processor. Combine them and process until smooth. You cook the pasta according to package directions, save a little of the water to thin out the pesto if needed, and then cook the veggies, too in a skillet while the pasta cooks. 

Substitutions and Alterations 

Use whatever kind of pasta you like but we are partial to short and stubby types, such as this rotini. Penne, ziti, or campanelle would work. The short pasta is especially good if you decide to serve this as a cold or room temperature pasta salad. It's versatile. 

Feel free to use any kind of plant-based gluten-free pasta here instead, such as a chickpea or quinoa based pasta. 

How to Serve Arugula Pesto Pasta

Meal prep this for the week and it's good for 4 to 5 days. You can certainly reheat this healthy meal prep in the microwave, just keep an eye on it. The stovetop works well too. Either way, add a bit of water to the pasta (or olive oil) to make sure it does not dry out (microwave) or stick to the pan (stovetop).

You can freeze any leftover pesto. We love to use ice cube trays for this task, and then once the pesto is frozen into cubes, pop them out of the tray. Transfer to a zip-close plastic bag and label it with the contents and date. Then, when it's time to use it again, just take it out of the freezer and pop it right into the pot with cooked pasta. The heat from the pasta will defrost the pesto; just keep stirring until it's combined.

Tips for Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

You can make the pesto a day ahead of when you want to cook this meal and prep it for the week (or for immediate consumption!). 

READ MORE: More Pasta! 20-Minute Chicken Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet!

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

(Vegan) Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep  blog

Vegan Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

Arugula Pesto Pasta Meal Prep

Pasta of your choice is dressed with a quick homemade arugula pesto and tossed with zucchini, green peas, and broccoli. This vegan pasta dish tastes great chilled or hot.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Meal Prep, Pasta
Servings: 4 meals
Calories: 635kcal
Author: Nick Quintero

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces pasta gluten free, if needed
  • 2 teaspoon avocado oil
  • 2 cups sliced zucchini
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 4 cups broccoli florets steamed or roasted
  • 8 tbs arugula pesto or more, if desired

Arugula Pesto (makes about 1 cup)

  • 1 cup lightly toasted walnuts
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cups baby arugula
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoon fresh squeeze lemon juice
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Pasta

  • Cook pasta al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of cooking water and drain the rest.
  • While pasta is cooking, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Then add sliced zucchini and cook for 3-5 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Cook frozen peas according to package instructions.

Arugula Pesto

  • Place walnuts, garlic, arugula, nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with thte blade. Pulse for a few seconds until walnuts are roughly chopped. With the food processor running, slowly pour in olive oil. Continue to process until mixture is well combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast to your preference.
  • In a large bowl, combine pasta, zucchini, green peas, broccoli, and arugula pesto. Add 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water to moisten the miixture. Add additional pasta water asdesired, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add additional arugula pesto as desired. Serve pasta chilled, at room temperature, or hot.

Notes

WW Smart Points= Green:17  Blue:14  Purple:14
__
Nutrition for 1 out of 4 meals:
28g Protein | 62g Carbs | 34g Fat | 14.5g Fiber | 635 Calories

Nutrition

Serving: 1meal | Calories: 635kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 34g | Fiber: 14.5g
Tried this recipe?Mention @mealpreponfleek or tag #mealpreponfleek!

 

Comments

  1. Ashley K says

    January 15, 2019 at 5:04 am

    Seems easy enough to make and is an easy way to make my Italian husband happy :). Thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Miriam says

    May 17, 2019 at 12:21 am

    This was so delicious! Becoming a regular staple. Damn good pasta.

    Reply
    • Sarah Kesseli says

      May 17, 2019 at 6:54 am

      That's so great to hear, Miriam! Thank you for sharing your feedback with us!

      Reply
  3. Reyna says

    May 20, 2019 at 1:19 pm

    Will the recipe work without walnuts?

    Reply
    • Meal Prep on Fleek says

      May 20, 2019 at 2:16 pm

      Hey Reyna - we haven't tried leaving them out but if you try leaving them out and don't care for it, you could always add them back in. Also, other common swaps in pesto include pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pistachios or almonds.

      Reply
  4. Ash says

    June 21, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    Where does the 2 tsp of avocado oil come in?

    Reply
  5. Ashraful says

    June 22, 2019 at 9:45 am

    Where does the avocado oil come in?

    Reply
    • Sarah Kesseli says

      June 25, 2019 at 1:49 pm

      The avocado oil is used in step 2 of the recipe.

      Reply
  6. Suzanne says

    September 18, 2020 at 1:44 pm

    This looks so good! Do you use this pesto in any other recipes?

    Reply
    • Sarah Kesseli says

      September 23, 2020 at 7:54 am

      We do have a few pesto recipes on the site! You can search and find them.

      Reply
  7. Vanessa says

    September 18, 2020 at 1:45 pm

    Thanks for sharing! Does the pesto keep long on its own?

    Reply
    • Sarah Kesseli says

      September 23, 2020 at 7:54 am

      Hi Vanessa, It will keep up to 7 days in a sealed jar!

      Reply
  8. Sonia says

    May 22, 2024 at 9:12 am

    5 stars
    I made this to eat throughout the week and it is so good! This will be joining my rotation of meal prep. Thanks!

    Reply

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