Roasted Tomato Pesto Pasta

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Hooray for spring! The weather may be warming up, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up my beloved pasta! However, I can at least lighten up my weekly pasta a bit. My favorite way to add a little spring to my pasta? Pesto, like in this recipe for Roasted Tomato Pesto Pasta!

Pairing fresh ingredients with pasta can really lighten up a comfort food favorite like pasta. I added in some slow roasted cherry tomatoes to add a bit of tomatoey goodness to the dish.

Barilla has a few Better for You Pasta’s to make lightening up you pasta dish even easier. I picked up a box of Barilla ProteinPLUS Rotini Pasta from Walmart; other options available at Walmart include Whole Grain Pasta, Veggie Pasta and Gluten Free Pasta.

Note: there is a great Ibotta offer right now for Buy any 3 select varieties of Barilla Products and earn $1.00 at Walmart! Details can be found at the link above.

Barilla ProteinPLUS has 17g of protein from all-natural vegetarian ingredients, so it’s a great way to add more protein to your pasta meals without adding meat or seafood.

Ingredients:

• 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
• 1 box of Barilla ProteinPLUS Rotini (or Spaghetti)
• shaved Parmesan, for garnish

To make the roasted tomatoes, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Halve all of your tomatoes and add to a jelly roll pan. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with the garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Add to the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are browned.

While waiting for the tomatoes to roast, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

While waiting for the water to boil, make your pesto. Toast the pine nuts over medium heat for a few minutes or until fragrant. Add to a food processor with the basil and garlic and process until finely chopped.

While the processor is running, add the olive oil through the chute until the mixture is well combined.

Season with salt and pepper and add in the pecorino cheese. Process until fully combined.

When the water is boiling, season with salt and add in the rotini.

Cook for 10-11 minutes and drain. Add to a bowl and mix in 1/2 of the pesto mixture.  If you’d like to add more, feel free.

Top with the roasted tomatoes and shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve with the leftover pesto, so that you can top your pasta with additional pesto.

The pesto makes this pasta recipe so bright and springy. I love the bright green color with the pretty tomatoes!

The roasted tomatoes add some sweetness to the dish, balancing out the pesto flavor.

The ProteinPLUS pasta is nice and filling too! How would you lighten up a pasta dish for spring?