ONE-POT PASTA WITH PESTO AND PEAS

april 11, 2016 by celebrating sweets 29 comments

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A fast and easy one-pot dinner of pasta with store bought basil pesto and peas. Ready in under 30 minutes with 4 basic ingredients.

Hello there! How was your weekend? I was lucky enough to spend my weekend 
eating my way through visiting Portland. I attended my first food bloggers conference. It was inspiring, fun, and delicious. I stepped out of my comfort zone (card carrying introvert here), and I’m so glad I did. I felt honored to be in the same room with people whose work I’ve admired for years.

Now I’m back home and looking towards the week ahead. This will definitely be a week that I rely on fast and easy meals (hello, cereal for dinner). I’m playing catch-up after being out of town, plus, my husband is wrapping up tax season, which is a super busy time at work for him. It will just be the kids and I for dinner this week, and that means easy, easy, easy! Right, mamas?

This here is a fast and easy meal made in one pot, in under  30 minutes, using only 4 ingredients. This is an ideal meal for nights when you want something hearty and comforting with minimal dishes and no prep!

This meal is made up of pasta, store-bought basil pesto, and frozen peas. Here’s how to make it:

• Cook pasta in boiling water. During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, add a bag of frozen peas to the cooking water.
• Drain
• Return pasta and peas to the pot and stir in pesto and parmesan cheese

That’s it! Easy peasy! Get it pea-sy?! Ha! Ok, I’ll stop. 😉

Another fantastic thing about this recipe is how adaptable it is. You can make it with just the 4 basic ingredients, or you can add other veggies or meat. I occasionally add asparagus, broccoli, or cherry tomatoes. I also serve it topped with sliced sausage or rotisserie chicken. You can serve this dish hot or cold. Leftovers make for a great chilled pasta salad.

Lastly, I’d like to quickly address the parmesan cheese that you see below. I am a huge fan of Whole Foods, and one of my favorite items is their parmesan cheese. My family goes through nearly a tub a week (and by “my family” I’m mostly referring to myself). Whole Foods is notpaying me say this,* nor is this post sponsored by them. I just really, really love this stuff and I want you to go get some, or come over to my place and we’ll eat pasta with pesto and loads of parm.

*Dearest Whole Foods: If you would like to pay me, please do. My husband is convinced that we are keeping your stores in business. When I look at our bank account, I kind of have to agree (ouch). But I still heart you. xo

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5 from 5 votes

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ONE-POT PASTA WITH PESTO AND PEAS

A fast and easy one-pot dinner of pasta with store bought basil pesto and peas. Ready in under 30 minutes with 4 basic ingredients.

 Course main

 Prep Time 5 minutes

 Cook Time 20 minutes

 Total Time 25 minutes

 Servings 6

 Author Allison - Celebrating Sweets

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound pasta I prefer short pasta like small/medium shells
• 1 pound frozen peas
• 6 ounce container basil pesto
• parmesan cheese salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil Add salt and the pasta. Boil accordingly to pasta package instructions. During the last 4-5 minutes of cooking time add the peas.
2. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in pesto. Add parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.

RECIPE NOTES

-This pasta can be served warm or chiilled. If serving chilled, I like to add raw cherry tomatoes.
- You can also add asparagus or frozen chopped broccoli to this dish. I usually add them to the boiling pasta water during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- If desired, the pasta can be topped with cooked sausage or rotisserie chicken.