This is one of my all-time favourite pasta salads! Its super healthy, fresh and filling. I made an easy high-protein pesto sauce using cannelini beans in my food processor and then tossed it through my pasta and veggies! I used nutritional yeast to obtain the cheesiness and of course the fresh basil packs a punch of flavour! This would be a great salad to bring to a BBQ, picnic or even to work/school.
Here is the recipe for the both pesto sauce and the pasta:
HIGH-PROTEIN PESTO PASTA SALAD
(gluten-free, oil-free )
High-protein pesto sauce:
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of fresh basil
1 cup of cannellini beans, drained
¼ cup of pinenuts
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of almond milk
½ teaspoon of sea salt
2 heaped tablespoons of nutritional yeast
METHOD:
Combine everything into a food processor, then blend until smooth
*Storage tips: store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days
Pesto pasta salad:
Serves: 1
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup of cooked pasta (I used chickpea pasta)
- 1/4 cup cooked pumpkin
- 3-4 cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/2 cup vegan high-protein pesto sauce (Recipe above)
METHOD:
In a bowl, stir all ingredients together until the pesto sauce Is evenly coating the ingredients.