Try this Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Pasta Salad – Vegan, Gluten-Free & Oil-Free!!

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Sundried-Tomato Pesto Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

12 oz lentil or chickpea pasta
½ a small red onion
½ cup olives, soaked and rinsed to reduce sodium
½ pint of cherry tomatoes

For the Sundried-Tomato Pesto

4 oz fresh basil
1 avocado
¼ cup pistachios or nut/seed of choice seeds
3 cloves garlic
6 tbsp nutritional yeast
½ lemon juiced
3 pitted medjool dates
Water to consistency
1/2 cup oil-free sundried tomatoes, soaked and rinsed to reduce sodium
1/2 cup water, or enough to create desired consistency

Optional:
3/4 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions:

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Rinse with cold water and set aside.

Add the sun-dried tomatoes to the food processor and pulse 5-6 times. Add the rest of the pesto ingredients and process until a little less than smooth.

Combine the cooked pasta, diced onions, tomatoes, and olives in a bowl. Add the pesto and mix well to combine. Enjoy!

So, if you’re someone who likes quick and easy meals, this sundried tomato pesto pasta salad is perfect. Not only is it full of healthpromoting ingredients, but it only takes minutes to put together. Great for gatherings or just for yourself. And today, I’m going to show you how to make your own. All right, so let’s talk about the ingredients we’re going to use to make this delicious pasta salad. You know, I always say a pasta is only as good as the sauce. The sauce is the boss. And this sauce is going to be really nice. It’s a sundried tomato pesto sauce. And here’s what we’re going to use. We’re going to use some fresh basil. We’re going to use some lemon, some avocado, some garlic, some nutritional yeast, some pistachios, and some sundried tomatoes. And these things are going to come together. I’ve had this sauce so many times. Come together to create an excellent flavor. You’ll love this. Let’s talk about the pasta. For starters, I’m going to be using an organic chickpea and lentil pasta. Chickpea and lentils. Only two ingredients in this pasta. Both of them organic. super healthpromoting pasta because lentils and chickpeas are so good for you. High in protein, high in iron, resistant starch. Um, you know, you can’t go wrong. So, this is a great pasta to use. We’re going to use some tomatoes. We’re going to use some olives, and we’re going to use some red onion. Now, you could use white onion if you prefer. For my nut-ree followers, to make this completely nut-ree, you can replace the pistachios with pumpkin seeds and still make this sauce. It’ll still still be delicious, but without the nuts. So, that’s a nut-ree option. Also, um I know that things like olives and sundried tomatoes typically um are high in sodium and the sun-dried tomatoes typically come in oil. I order mine online. I get a a version of um sundried tomatoes that are not uh packaged in oil and are lower in sodium to some of the other brands out there. But in my app, I show how you can minimize the sodium content of things like olives and sundried tomatoes. Also on my app, I talk about the brand of nutritional yeast I use because a lot of people are skeptical about nutritional yeast because it’s GMOed, etc. But I buy one that is certified not to be in GMO, also organic, also unfortified, so you don’t have the synthetic vitamins. You don’t have to worry about those kind of things either. Again, I go over the brands that I use in my app. Now, finally, this pasta, uh, any kind of pasta that you prefer, you can use. Again, I like the really simple ones that are made out of beans instead of refined wheat. I also talk in my app about the pasta I use. If you want to check out my app, you can go to hveating.com. hve eating.com. All right, the first thing we’re going to do is put this sauce together. I’ve already cooked the pasta. We just got to get the sauce ready and then add our ingredients. It’s going to be super simple, super delicious. Let’s get to it. All right, so the first thing I’m going to do is get my ingredients that are not going in the sauce combined and mixed up and then we’ll start making our delicious sundried pesto sauce. Now, you could use any veggies of your choice. Some other good options are diced red pepper, cucumbers, or even green onions. All right, now it’s time for that delicious sauce that I told you about. Now, I’m going to start by just chopping my sundried tomatoes a bit before I do the other ingredients. It takes a little more chopping to get these to the uh consistency and size that I want. So, I do it ahead of time so I don’t have to overprocess the other ingredients. So, sundried tomatoes. And then we go to the other ingredients. If you’re enjoying this video, please like and subscribe below. Okay, so now I’ve got my sundried tomatoes chopped up a bit here. Now I’m going to add the other ingredients. Starting with my pistachios. Okay, so once I have all the pesto ingredients in the food processor, I’m adding a small amount of water to adjust the consistency. Now I’m also adding a couple of dates that I forgot to mention earlier to add just a hint of sweetness to this sauce. Then it’s just a matter of getting everything mixed up and uh you have a delicious, flavorful meal to share or to keep all to yourself. All right, so we’re all done. That was quick and easy as promised and the results are beautiful and I can’t wait to give it a taste for you. Of course. M That is so good. You know, the the sauce is the boss, as I said, and this sauce with the pesto and the sundried tomatoes, the hint of sweetness uh from the dates really comes together to make a really nice flavor combination. Perfect for pasta. Got to make it. You’ll love it. Make your own.