Hi everyone! Looking over my posts, I realize that my dinner offerings have been minimal, at best. This post will begin to remedy that.
Dinner is a dilemma more often than I (usually) care to admit. When 6 p.m. rolls around, I relish the idea of a cozy cup of tea and a cookie—not a pile of vegetables. This is further exacerbated if I’ve already been cooking and testing for various jobs and projects for much of the day.
If I were still single, the tea, cookie (and likely a nap, too) would work, but other people in the house are hungry (and I know I will be, too).
.
So dinner is on, and last night it was a warming pasta, one that is well worth sharing. It’s pasta with broccoli, spinach, walnuts and white beans.
The pasta appeals for several reasons. First, it’s delicious! Second, it’s high in protein thanks to the addition of both white beans (pureed in the sauce) and walnuts. Third, it is packed with green vegetables, which will make anyone feel virtuous.
Here’s to simple, nutritious, high-protein dinners!
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Broccoli Spinach & Walnut Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 22 mins
- Yield: 4 main-dish servings 1x
Description
High protein pasta made with broccoli, spinach, white beans and walnuts. It is easy, frugal, and vegan.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounces farfalle pasta (or other medium-size pasta shape)
- 4 cups bite-size broccoli florets (from 1 small head broccoli)
- 1/2 cup canned white beans, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic
- large pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach (thawed), squeezed of excess liquid
- 2/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- Optional: vegan or regular grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes or until broccoli rabe is tender-crisp and pasta is al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return pasta mixture to pot.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor, process the beans, broth, yeast, garlic and pepper flakes until completely smooth; set aside.
- To the pasta mixture, add bean mixture, spinach and walnuts. If necessary, stir in enough of the reserved pasta water to moisten. Serve sprinkled with cheese, if desired.
Notes
* For the white beans, you could use Great Northern beans, cannellini beans or white navy beans.
* If the pasta you’re using takes less or more than 8 minutes to cook, adjust the total cooking time according to the package directions and add the broccoli rabe for the last 3 to 4 minutes.
- Category: Dinner, Entree, Pasta
Just made this and it was very good. My two girls ate it up and asked for more. Thanks.
Thanks, Jenny! Can’t wait to visit your blog and see what you’ve been up to!
This pasta looks incredible Camilla. I love pasta and broccoli together! Have a great weekend!