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Pesto Pasta with White Beans

October 25, 2019 By justalittlebitofbacon Leave a Comment

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Fast, simple, and vegetarian! This recipe for pasta with white beans and pesto is a satisfying dinner which will help you follow the Mediterranean diet AND enjoy more meatless meals. Bonus!

There is no chopping and no fussing, just simple ingredients. Here is your new favorite ‘I have to make dinner in 20 minutes and I don’t want to cook recipe.’ You’ve got this.

Top down view of a plate of orecchiette pasta with white beans showing the tender beans, cooked pasta, and creamy pesto sauce.

Hello, all!

Trying to follow a Mediterranean or flexitarian diet these days? Me too! And that means I’ve been working on all sorts of vegetarian, meatless, and meat-light dinner recipes. And, while being vegetable centric is easy in the summer, I know it can be more difficult once cold weather sets in.

Which is why I have been helping you out with winter salads, vegetable soups, and vegetarian noodle dishes! I recently posted an amazing pressure cooker squash soup which will keep you warm all winter long and today I have a super simple vegetarian recipe.

Why make this recipe?

  • It’s super easy! So long as you have a few simple ingredients in the house you can go from thinking about dinner to eating in 20 minutes.
  • It’s adaptable! Want more veggies? You can add some chopped veggies of your choice into the water with the pasta. Have a different pesto? You can use it instead. Like other beans? Open a can!
  • It makes great leftovers! Dinner tonight and lunch for a couple of days. Win/win!

A spoon holding up some pasta with white beans all tossed with a creamy pesto sauce.

What do you need?

  1. Pasta. I love the shape and size of orecchiette and would recommend that type for the dish. However, you can use any short variety which will let you scoop up a little of everything into one bite.
  2. White beans. The creaminess and size of cannellini beans make them perfect for the recipe.
  3. Pesto. Homemade will give you the biggest flavor boost. However, it does make the recipe less simple (I get it!) so feel free to use any pesto you have. Fresh, frozen, storebought. It’s all good. (Note: with storebought I’ve noticed I need a little more to make a good sauce.)

Homemade sauce variations to use

I have two variations and either would be great in this recipe:

  • Homemade Green Olive Pesto
  • Parsley Walnut Pesto (this is the version I used for the photos)

Step by step on how to make the recipe.

How to make this

To make pesto pasta with white beans, cook the pasta until it al dente. Drain and simmer it with some water from the pot and white beans until you have thick sauce. Add the pesto and stir to combine.

About all I would note is to make sure you save some water from the pot since you are going to cook that together with the drained pasta and beans to get your sauce going. Once you add in the pesto that will complete the sauce. Without the water you won’t really have sauce but just herbs sitting on noodles.

Add-ins

You can keep in simple and stick with the big three, or add-in other ingredients.

  • Toasted Nuts. In the photos I paired the recipe with my parsley walnut pesto and I kept out some of the nuts when making the sauce to toss with my pasta. You can toast up your choice of nuts (whatever you think goes well with what you are using). Walnuts, almonds, and pine nuts are popular choices.
  • Shredded cheese. Shredded parmesan or romano cheese makes a tasty topping.
  • Chopped veggies. You can add chopped broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, and so on to the pasta as it cooks (add them about 3 minutes before the pasta is done); stir in some frozen peas with the beans towards the end; or add chopped tomatoes at the end. Last time I made the recipe I added in a cup of chopped broccoli I had hanging around.

A large serving bowl of orecchiette and beans tossed with pesto. A serving spoon in the bowl.

Simple Vegetarian Pastas

Here are some of my other vegetarian pasta dinners:

  • Simple Farm Stand Summer Pasta
  • Vegetarian Mediterranean Spaghetti with Feta and Artichokes
  • Spaghetti with Browned Cabbage and Breadcrumbs
  • Pesto Pasta with Green Beans and Potatoes
  • Orecchiette with Cauliflower and Pine Nuts 

If you try my recipe for Pesto Pasta with White Beans, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

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.

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

You'll love this simple and fast vegetarian dinner! Pesto is tossed with pasta and white beans and a little pasta water for a creamy sauce and a satisfying meal. Use store-bought pesto for a super quick meal or make your own pesto. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #italianrecipes #vegetarian #vegetariandinners #pasta #pastarecipes
Print Recipe

Pesto Pasta with White Beans

You'll love this simple and fast vegetarian dinner! Pesto is tossed with pasta and white beans and a little pasta water for a creamy sauce and a satisfying meal. Use store-bought pesto for a super quick meal or make your own pesto.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time20 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pasta with white beans, pesto pasta
Servings: 4
Calories: 525kcal
Author: justalittlebitofbacon

Ingredients

  • 12 oz pasta, such as orecchiette
  • 1 14-oz can cannellini beans, drained
  • 1 cup homemade parsley walnut pesto, or storebought basil pesto

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  • Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the package directions.
  • Scoop out 1 cup of water then drain the pasta.
  • Add the drained pasta, 1/2 cup of the water, and cannellini beans to the empty pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Take the pasta off the heat and add the pesto, stirring to make a creamy sauce. Add more water if needed. Serve.

Notes

  • Walnuts: If using store bought pesto, toast and add some walnuts to the dish. 1/2 cup of walnuts toasted at 350F for 5 minutes give the recipe some extra oomph.
  • Pesto: You can use frozen pesto in the recipe. Just defrost before tossing it with the pasta.
Two view of recipe in serving bowl with text overlay - Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Pesto.
A dinner bowl of pesto topped pasta with text overlay - Pasta with White Beans.

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    How to Make Spring Greens Pasta
  • Simple Farm Stand Summer Pasta
    Simple Farm Stand Summer Pasta
  • Simple Vegetarian Black Bean Soup
    Simple Vegetarian Black Bean Soup
  • Pasta with Browned Cabbage and Breadcrumbs
    Pasta with Browned Cabbage and Breadcrumbs
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Filed Under: 10 ingredients or less, 20 minute meals, 5 ingredients or less, italian recipes, main courses, mediterranean recipes, pasta love, quick dinners, recipe, vegetarian mains Tagged With: beans, pasta, pesto

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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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