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Pesto Pasta with Green Beans and Potatoes

July 31, 2017 By justalittlebitofbacon 14 Comments

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Are you someone who still loves carbs? Yes? Then I have a great recipe for you today! Pesto pasta with green beans and potatoes is a classic dish from Liguria which seems like too much at first glance. Pasta AND potatoes? Just taste it and you’ll realize it works.

This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Yes, I still love carbs.

No one is taking pasta out of my Italian American hands! In fact, you will be seeing more pasta dishes here since I think it will be fun to bring more focus on all the great ways to enjoy pasta. Quick pastas, slow pastas, cold and hot pastas. Now I feel like I’m writing a Dr. Seuss book…Say! What a lot of pastas there are. 🙂

This particular pasta dish is one I came across many years ago. It’s not anything like what we cooked at home growing up, but I liked the idea of the potatoes and the green beans tossed with pesto pasta. I’m always on the lookout for great vegetarian meals, like my Cauliflower with Orecchiette and Pine Nuts, which I can add to my repertoire. As soon as I tried it, I knew it was a keeper!

It’s so amazing when a recipe is great right out of the gate without needing much in the way of improving. (Not that I could resist making a few changes over the years.)

This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Should I tell you the tale of the two peach dishes I made this past week?

A disaster and a home run. Oh, yes there are disasters here in my kitchen just there are in many other kitchens! Maybe yours sometimes too? Trying something new doesn’t always work out.

For the disaster, I decided to make a peach bread. Seemed easy enough. Make a quick bread and add peaches. So I found a recipe for peach quick bread in my travels around the internet and made it. Hmmm. I don’t know if it was the recipe or if I didn’t follow it carefully enough, but there was dough bubbling over the sides getting all over my oven and I managed to pull it out while it was still raw in the middle. Not my best day. Next time I’ll use my own banana bread recipe and switch it to peaches.

For the home run, I decided to make a peach buttermilk bundt cake. My mom had asked me to make my Strawberry Rhubarb Bundt Cake and bring it up when we were visiting last week. However, I had peaches! Lots of peaches. 🙂 So I switched the recipe to peaches, changed the flavoring up a bit, made a maple glaze, and topped it with toasted pecans. And it was so tasty with caramel notes and lots of peach flavor and a tangy sweet glaze!

While I am totally going to turn that disaster into a home run, it’s so nice when it works the first time.

This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

For this pasta dish, so long as you keep the basics the same – potatoes, green beans, pasta, and pesto, you can add your own stamp to the recipe.

Maybe you grow (or find at the store) romano beans, which are flat green beans also called Italian green beans, or want to mix some yellow beans in there. Maybe you prefer a waxier or starchier potato than the yellow potatoes I love in the dish.

There are also different types of basil to add to your pesto and different pesto variations. I sometimes add baby spinach to mine. More veggies in the mix and the spinach keeps the pesto green longer than basil alone.

One variation I do love and do every time I make this recipe, is to add some balsamic vinegar to the pesto. I find it brightens the flavor and adds a little zip to the pasta so I always remember to add that in!

This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Another change you can make is to the pasta. I prefer a wide noodle, like a fettuccine or a pappardelle, with the pesto. However, I have seen people use penne or linguini or rotini. If you want to be very traditional, find some trenette! You might have to order it, but that is the pasta of Liguria.

Traditional, or with a little variation added to the mix, this pesto pasta with green beans and potatoes is worth trying! It’s one of our favorites and I hope it becomes one of yours.

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.

This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Pesto Pasta with Green Beans and Potatoes

This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Total Time55 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 575kcal
Author: Just a Little Bit of Bacon

Ingredients

Balsamic Pesto

  • 2 cups packed basil leaves
  • 3 tbsp pine nuts
  • 2 medium garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup (1/2 oz) shredded parmesan
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Pasta and Vegetables

  • 4 medium yellow potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 12 oz green beans, cut into 1 - 1 1/2 inch pieces
  • 10 oz fettuccine

Instructions

Balsamic Pesto

  • In the bowl of a food processor, puree the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and balsamic until finely chopped. With the processor running, add the oil in a stream until it is all incorporated. Scrape the pesto out of the processor and into a bowl. Add the parmesan cheese and mix it in. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Pasta and Vegetables

  • Everything cooks in the same pot of water. Don't dump out the water until the very end.
  • Fill a large pot with water. Add the potatoes and a couple of tablespoons of kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the potatoes have begun to boil, cook them for 12-15 minutes, or until a knife easily pierces the potatoes. Use a spider or slotted spoon (or a mesh strainer) to scoop out the potatoes into a bowl.
  • Add the green beans to the pot and cook them for 5-6 minutes, or until tender. Scoop them out into the bowl.
  • Add the fettuccine to the pot and cook according to the package directions. Before draining the pasta, scoop out 1 cup of pasta water into a cup. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta and add to the bowl.

Assemble the Dish

  • Add the pesto and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the bowl with the past and vegetables. Toss well so that the pasta water and pesto emulsify into a creamy sauce. If needed add more pasta water a little at a time so that the sauce is creamy but not watery.

Notes

  • You can cook all the ingredients together in the pot instead of doing them one at a time. I prefer to cook separately and use a skimmer to scoop out the potatoes and then the green beans when they are done.
  • For a quicker dish, you can use store bought refrigerated pesto in place of the fresh pesto. Just add a tablespoon or two of balsamic to the pesto.
This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
This vegetarian main course is based on a classic dish from Liguria where pesto sauce is paired with pasta, potatoes, and green beans. Easy, one pot meal! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

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Filed Under: italian comfort food, italian recipes, main courses, pasta love, recipe, vegetable dishes, vegetarian, vegetarian mains Tagged With: basil, green beans, pasta, pesto, potatoes

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Comments

  1. Julia says

    August 5, 2017 at 1:45 pm

    5 stars
    I love pasta so I looking forward to seeing more pasta recipes! 🙂 This recipe looks delicious and also love your pics!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      August 5, 2017 at 2:01 pm

      Thanks, Julia! We make a lot of pasta here so I know I can come up with lots of great recipes. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kelly Mahan says

    August 4, 2017 at 9:49 am

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing your recipe with us, it looks so freaking delicious!! I’m definitely going to try it =)

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      August 4, 2017 at 4:29 pm

      You’re welcome! It’s a favorite here, so I hope you try it.

      Reply
  3. Marie | Yay! For Food says

    August 4, 2017 at 1:30 am

    5 stars
    I’ve never thought of combining pasta and potatoes together, but it totally works! So delicious. I am a big fan of making my own pesto too; I need to add balsamic vinegar the next time I make a basil pesto. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      August 4, 2017 at 8:57 am

      Never argue with Italians about food. They know what they’re talking about. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Luci's Morsels says

    August 3, 2017 at 11:55 pm

    5 stars
    This is the perfect, weeknight meal. I love how simple this is, but still flavorful and healthy. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      August 4, 2017 at 8:56 am

      Thank you! It is a great weeknight meal.

      Reply
  5. Jenn says

    August 3, 2017 at 11:14 pm

    Oh yes, I LOVE my carbs! This dish sounds perfect! We have been eating a ton of pesto lately and the combo of pesto, pasta, greens beans, and potatoes sounds right up my alley! Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      August 4, 2017 at 8:16 am

      I’m glad to see carbs aren’t completely out! Thank you!

      Reply
  6. Lisa Bryan says

    August 3, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    5 stars
    Love all the flavors in this dish. Simple, yet stunning and I’m sure tasty! And green beans are my favorite veg. 🙂

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      August 4, 2017 at 8:15 am

      Thanks! We love green beans too.

      Reply
  7. Sarah @ Champagne Tastes says

    August 3, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    I have lots of food disasters when I try to bake.. I’ll stick with the pasta recipe! This sounds carb-licious- and I still love carbs so I’m in!!

    Reply
    • justalittlebitofbacon says

      August 4, 2017 at 8:13 am

      It can be dangerous for cooks to bake since we’re used to being more casual about amounts and times. 🙂 The pasta recipe is much harder to screw up so it’s a good one to stick with.

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Annemarie

Welcome to my kitchen! I’m a Italian-American girl who loves fresh foods, local ingredients, and all sorts of comfort foods. Here you will find Mediterranean flavors and recipes from a New England perspective.

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