Lemony White Bean Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Baby Greens
on Oct 25, 2024
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Simple pantry staples and fresh ingredients make this white bean pasta an easy vegetarian dinner recipe. It has sun-dried tomatoes, cannellini beans and baby greens. You simmer orecchiette and then sauté the beans with garlic and seasonings. All the ingredients come together with grated pecorino cheese, toasted walnuts and fresh herbs.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
After you make this orecchiette once, it will end up in your rotation of quick & easy vegetarian pasta recipes. One of the great things about this pasta is that 2 of the ingredients are things you might already have in your pantry: canned white beans and jarred sun-dried tomatoes. Together they make a great team for both taste and texture.
This is an any-season-appropriate pasta recipe. When it’s not tomato season, I have a hard time using fresh cherry tomatoes or another variety, but I don’t always want pasta sauce with canned tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes are fantastic because you can chop them, and they become a feature ingredient in your pasta even in the middle of winter.
Garlic and fresh lemon are incredible in pastas tossed in olive oil. There’s a reason why this is such a classic pairing. It involves very little work and yields big results.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Orecchiette is a small, ear-shaped pasta. I love how it scoops up the beans and the chopped tomatoes. Short pasta shapes are best. You substitute with penne or fusilli.
- Cannellini beans are my first choice for beans in this pasta because they are big and plump, but you can also use navy beans or great northern beans, which are smaller.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Use the ones that are jarred and packed in oil rather than the sun-dried tomatoes that you have to soak and rehydrate. Take a fork to get them out of the jar leaving the oil behind, and then chop them.
- Baby arugula and spinach: I love this mix for the peppery, mustardy taste you get from the arugula, which adds complexity than if you only include spinach.
- Garlic: The recipe calls 3 garlic cloves, minced. If you are a garlic person, then add another one.
- Lemon: The zest is how you get the real citrus boost, but I also squeeze in the juice too.
- Red pepper flakes, kosher salt & black pepper season the pasta.
- Pecorino is a hard Italian cheese that’s saltier and stronger than Parmesan. If you only have Parmesan cheese at home, then you can substitute. If you are vegan, use a plant-based, dairy-free cheese. Or leave out the cheese and sprinkle the final dish with nutritional yeast.
- Walnuts: Toast the walnuts to bring out their flavor. Just put them on a sheet pan in a 350-degree F oven for 5-7 minutes.
- Parsley: I finish the pasta with chopped fresh herbs. You can include minced chives too for some onion flavor.
- Olive oil: I use extra-virgin olive oil for sautéing the beans, and then I stir in another tablespoon with the pasta and lemon juice and zest.
How To Make This White Bean Pasta Recipe
1. Cook the orecchiette. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Follow the recommended cook time on the package. You want it to turn out al dente, so it has good bite. Then drain it in a strainer.
2. Sauté the beans. Warm the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the beans, stirring occasionally, until they are warmed through, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Give them a minute to sauté. At this point the beans will get very fragrant. Then stir in the pasta, lemon juice, lemon zest and olive oil. The pasta and beans will take on some of the color from the tomatoes.
4. Fold in the leafy greens, pecorino cheese, walnuts and fresh parsley. The heat in the pan will quickly wilt the greens. Transfer the pasta to a single serving dish or onto individual plates and sprinkle with more grated pecorino and walnuts.
Serving
Even though the pasta recipe already has greens, I always serve it with a salad. Try this better-than-a-restaurant house salad, lemon arugula salad with parmesan or an Italian chopped salad. I will give you bonus points if you have garlic bread too.
Storage & Leftovers
You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Let it cool to room temperature first. Reheat the pasta with a splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat or in the microwave. You also can eat it cold, especially for lunch. Add more baby arugula and spinach and drizzle in either lemon vinaigrette or balsamic vinaigrette.
Recipe Tips
Don’t overcook the orecchiette. This is important for any pasta dish. The noodles should have some toothy bite. Read the package instructions.
Avoid cooking the pasta in advance. It will lose its good texture. Also, if you let the cooked pasta sit too long, it will stick together.
Always use fresh lemon juice. You need an entire lemon for the zest and juice. Don’t be tempted to skip the zest and use bottled juice. You will miss out on that wonderful lemon flavor.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Chickpea Spinach Pasta
Lemon Spaghetti with Mushrooms
Burst Tomato Pasta
Skillet Gnocchi with Roasted Red Peppers
Lemon Pepper Kale Pasta
Mushroom Spinach Penne Pasta
Lemony White Bean Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Baby Greens
Ingredients
- 8 ounces orecchiette
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon, zest & juice
- 2 cups baby arugula and spinach
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese plus more for serving
- 1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente according to package instructions. Drain it in a colander.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beans and sauté stirring occasionally until they are warmed through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, cooking until fragrant about 1 minute.
- Stir in the pasta, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Let it bubble for 30 seconds.
- Fold in the baby greens, pecorino, walnuts and parsley. The greens quickly wilt from the heat.
- Top with additional cheese and nuts before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
