Save your syns with this delicious pea pesto - at just 1 Healthy Extra A choice and 1 syn per serving, it is perfect for smothering over pasta.
One thing I love is basil pesto over pasta, but it can work out pretty high synned. Most varieties or store bought pesto are a shocking 4.5 syns for one measly tablespoon. Which barely gives a taste of the amazing flavours of basil, garlic and parmesan that make pesto so amazing.
There is really no need to skimp on the portion with this pea pesto, as half of this whole recipe, is a decent sized serving for one.
The peas give it a lovely creaminess and amazing flavour when combined with basil, garlic and parmesan as part of your Healthy Extra A serving.
For the peas, I recommend using fresh English peas if you can get some in season, if not frozen peas will work fine also.
I cook the peas in some stock to give them some flavour and then reserve a little of the stock, just enough to allow them to blend in a blender, once cooked.
I use my Nutri Ninja Blender with Auto IQ to puree the peas once cooked. This blender is amazing. The auto iq technology feature, mean it blends to a set pattern depending on what it is your are making. There is also an optional add on for a food processor bowl, which is perfect for chopping and grating vegetables.
Click here to view the Nutri Ninja Blender with Auto IQ Technology on Amazon
To make the pesto, I also use my Cuisinart Mini Food Processor, to blitz the basil, parmesan and garlic till finely ground. Once you have done that, you can then fold in the pea puree. Don't blend it all together, as you don't want the pesto completely smooth, you want it to still have flecks of basil, parmesan and garlic. So it's important to just fold everything together till just combined.
Once combined you can then stir in the extra virgin olive oil. You might try to skip this to save the syns, but in all honesty it needs it, it does two things - adds to the flavour and helps the pesto to coat the pasta.
Looking for some over sauce for pasta? Check out this delicious pasta sauce recipes:
- Syn Free Creamy Garlic Pasta
- Low Syn Creamy Chicken and Tomatoes
- Marinara Sauce
- Tomato and Basil Sauce
- Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce
- Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pasta Sauce
- Syn Free Roasted Tomato and Basil Sauce
- Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce
and don't forget to check out my FULL RECIPE INDEX with over 500+ delicious Slimming World recipes.
Once all ready this Pea Pesto and pasta is perfect served on a bed of mixed baby greens for some speed foods. A delicious meal for lunch or dinner.
Low Syn Pea Pesto Pasta
This recipe is gluten free, vegetarian, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendlyExtra Easy - HEa and 1 syn per servingGreen/Vegetarian - HEa and 1 syn per serving (use vegetable stock)WW Smart Points - 15 (7 just for pesto)Gluten Free - use gluten free pasta
Ingredients
- 1 cup of fresh English peas (or use frozen)
- 1 clove of garlic
- chicken or vegetable stock to cover
- 60g (2oz) of parmesan, grated
- big handful of fresh basil (approx 1 cup)
- 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 160g of pasta of choice (can use gluten free)
- Salt to season
Instructions
- Add peas to a saucepan and loosely cover with stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 mins.
- Reserve some of the stock, and then drain.
- Add peas to a blender, and keep adding in a little bit of the reserved stock until it blends to a smooth puree. Set aside.
- Add the pasta to a saucepan of boiling salted water and cook till al dente.
- In the meantime add the basil, parmesan and garlic to a mini food processor and blitz till fine.
- Fold in the pea puree. Season with salt to taste.
- Mix in the extra virgin olive oil.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain, then spoon in the pea pesto and toss to coat.
- Divide between two plates and enjoy with your choice of speed. I like to serve over a bed of mixed baby greens.
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only.
Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. Also double check syn values of sinned ingredients as different brands can vary.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 487Total Fat 12.5gSaturated Fat 6.3gCholesterol 23.7mgSodium 658mgCarbohydrates 67.3gFiber 7.2gSugar 5.7gProtein 17.5g
Cleardee says
Easy to make recipe using mostly store cupboard staples ( frozen peas). I found that 60g pack of fresh basil yielded one cup.. Although the amount produced does not look a lot, it goes a long way to coat the cooked pasta, rather than rest on top like a sauce!
Elizabeth says
Just made pea pesto for lunch as my children were on a shop bought sauce. The girls had a taste and it got the thumbs up from them too. Will be making again, quick,easy and tasty.
Sara says
Hi, can this sauce be frozen? Look yum!
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
I've not tested so I couldn't say for sure. I don't see why it wouldn't freeze okay though.
Gabby says
I made this without the Parmesan because I can vegan and it’s so tasty!!!
Kathryn says
Yum! I made this today and used it as a dip, delicious. I didn’t have fresh basil, so used some dried basil instead (you don’t need as much) and it worked great. Thanks for another lovely recipe!