Pesto Pasta with Cherry Peppers and Sun Dried Tomatoes
This easy and delicious pasta comes together in under 30 minutes! It is made gluten-free with lentil noodles, with the option to make it nut free as well by using pepitas in the pesto in place of nuts. Cherry peppers add the tang that makes this pasta so tasty, and fresh lemon juice is essential.
It’s always a good time for pesto.
This versatile food is easy to make, infinitely customizable, and ridiculously delicious. Better yet, it offers an opportunity to pack greens into your diet in a creative way — no salad necessary! (Though I do love a good salad, and plan to bring you several).
Personally, I am partial to pesto on bread and pasta over all else. Typically, that spells gluten — but not in my book. It is my firm belief that dietary restrictions should never limit a person’s enjoyment of food — there are just too many delicious possibilities for dissatisfaction to be allowable.
This is where my gluten free, nut free, and vegan pesto pasta recipe comes in! Made with red lentil noodles, it packs quality plant protein AND fiber — an essential dietary element most Americans are sorely lacking in. As a bonus, it is more energizing and filling than typical gluten-laden pasta. Who DOESN’T want the comfort of a pasta dish WITHOUT the heavy “food coma” and GI irritation gluten often brings to the table?
If you have never tried cherry peppers, this recipe is here to rock your world. I first tried these delightful jarred bulbs as a substitution for another ingredient in a recipe, as suggested by Google, and now I always have them on hand. Similar to pesto, cherry peppers are versatile and effortlessly enhance the flavor of pastas, sandwiches, salads, and rice-based dishes alike.
If you already have pesto in your fridge, this recipe will come together in under 15 minutes! And if not, pesto can be whipped up quickly in a food processor, adding 10 minutes or less to your total cook time.
I hope you love this dish as much as I do! If you make and enjoy this recipe, please show me the love with a rating and comment. I’d also love to hear about your favorite pesto variations in the comments!
Gluten Free Pesto Pasta with Cherry Peppers and Sun Dried Tomatoes
Equipment
- Food processor (if making homemade pesto)
- 4 to 6 qt saucepan
- Colander
Ingredients
For pasta
- 8.8 oz package Barilla rotini red lentil noodles
- ½ cup pesto
- ½ cup sliced cherry peppers
- 2 tbsp diced sun dried tomatoes (about 3 from jar)
- ¼ cup lightly packed sliced basil
- ¼ cup pasta water to loosen
- Juice from ¼ lemon
For homemade pesto
- 1 cup tightly packed basil, cilantro, or spinach
- ¼ cup nuts of choice, or pepitas to make nut-free
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil ideally California Olive Ranch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 cherry peppers optional
- 2 sundried tomatoes optional
Instructions
- If making homemade pesto, blend all pesto ingredients in a food processor.
- Bring 4 to 6 qts of water to a boil and salt generously. Add lentil pasta and cook according to package instructions, stirring occasionally. My pasta was perfect in 7 minutes.
- While pasta is cooking, slice cherry peppers, sun dried tomatoes, and basil.
- Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water once pasta is done cooking, and drain off the rest. Transfer pasta back to the pot and add pesto, peppers, tomatoes, basil, and pasta water. Mix to combine. Squeeze the juice of ¼ lemon over the pasta and sir again. Enjoy!