Pasta With Green Beans, Tomatoes & Pesto

Pappardelle pasta with green beans, cherry tomatoes and parsley pesto. This simple pasta sauce is ready by the time the pasta is cooked and it couldn't be easier. It's simple, fresh, flavourful and suited to weeknights!

Pasta.Is.Life.

We know you agree with us and that's why you're here for a yummy pasta recipe, right? Well you will not be disappointed!

This pasta with green beans, burst cherry tomatoes and pesto is SO good we've eaten it twice in the last week.

It so happens to use the parsley pesto We posted and omg it's like a flavour bomb for pasta…add some cherry tomatoes and green beans and woah it's good.

How To Make Pasta With Green Beans, Tomatoes & Pesto

Choose the best quality cherry or grape tomatoes and cut them in half. Saute them with green beans to create a sauce, add a pinch of chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) salt and pepper.

We used fresh pappardelle pasta and it worked great with this pasta sauce but you could use any long pasta shape, fresh or dried for this recipe.

Once the pasta is ready toss it with the tomato sauce and pesto, done!

Kitchen tip

• Remove the pasta from the water with long tongs instead of draining. This way the excess pasta water emulsifies the sauce without diluting it too much. Alternatively, keep 1-2 tbsp of water, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce if necessary.
• Don't cook the tomatoes on too high a heat, they start to caramelise and go sticky instead of saucey. Keep them on a medium heat.
• Trim the green beans at each end and cut them in half before cooking.
• Make the pesto in advance (even the day before and keep it in the fridge).

Other Quick Pasta Recipes You Might Like

• Pasta with puttanesca sauce
• Mushroom spinach pasta
• Pasta Amatriciana – Bucatini, tomato, guanciale
• Smoked salmon pasta carbonara

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 15 oz (450g) fresh pappardelle pasta
• 1 batch parsley pesto
• 9.5 oz (200g) cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
• 3.5 oz (100g) green beans (cut in half with ends removed)
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.

2. Meanwhile make the sauce, add the cherry tomato, green beans, chilli flakes, salt and pepper to a large pan and cook on a medium heat until the tomatoes soften and start to create a sauce.

3. Add the fresh pasta to the boiling water and cook according to packet instructions (around 3 mins). Once cooked remove with tongs from the water to the tomatoes and toss to coat.

4. Add the pesto and toss again until completely covered in the sauces. Serve.

Kitchen notes

• Remove the pasta from the water with long tongs instead of draining. This way the excess pasta water emulsifies the sauce without diluting it too much. Alternatively, keep 1-2 tbsp of water, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce if necessary.
• Don't cook the tomatoes on too high a heat, they start to caramelise and go sticky instead of saucey. Keep them on a medium heat.
• Make the pesto in advance (even the day before and keep it in the fridge).