Gluten Free Pesto Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Olives
This Gluten Free Pesto Pasta with fresh tomatoes & olives is such a crowd pleaser. It works well as a side dish or can be served as a main with some added protein (such as crispy chickpeas or grilled chicken).
Prep Time35 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Course: Pasta Salad
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 -10 servings, as a side
Calories: 447kcal
For the Pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil (64 g)
- 1 cup fresh parsley (37 g)
- 1 ½ cups kale, stem removed and chopped (115 g)
- 2 cups spinach (69 g)
- ¾ to 1 cup oil I like doing half olive oil and half avocado oil
- 2 clove garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- ½ jalapeno seeds removed if you prefer
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Peeled skin of ½ lemon or zest of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Make the Pesto:
Let’s blanch greens! To do so, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Also prepare a bowl of ice water on the side.
Place basil, parsley, kale & spinach into the boiling water for 15-20 seconds, then carefully remove with a slotted spoon or colander into the ice water. This may need to be done in two batches. Allow to sit 1 minute, then remove the greens from the water and squeeze out any excess water with your hands.
Place blanched greens into a bowl on the side.
Combine all the pesto ingredients except for the blanched greens & olive oil. Blend for 30 seconds. Begin with adding ½ cup oil and blend until combined.
Next, slowly add greens in 3 additions, blending in between each addition. Slowly add the remaining oil throughout the blending process (either ¼ or ½ cup depending on if you feel the pesto needs more), making sure to pause the machine and scrape down the sides every so often.
Blend pesto until smooth and creamy.
Prepare the Pasta:
Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Strain and rinse with cold water.
Place the pasta into a bowl and mix in the quartered tomatoes & olives.
Taste pasta and add more salt or pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 970mg | Potassium: 301mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3222IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg