bowtie pasta salad

Written By Angelica Pupillo

Who doesn’t love leftover pasta for lunch?? This recipe gets more delicious the longer it is in the fridge, making this the perfect lunch box food to prep on the weekend for a week of yummy lunches for your teen! This is a great way to add some beans to your teens’ diet, which is going to give them fibre and a nice hit of plant protein too!

recipe (serves 4-6)

ingredients

  • ½ cup pinenuts, roasted

  • 1 cup parsley

  • 2 cloves garlic, roasted*

  • Generous grating parmesan

  • Pinch chilli flakes (optional)

  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

  • 300g bowtie pasta

  • 1x 400g can butterbeans, rinced and drained

  • 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes

  • Salt

  • Olive oil

* To roast your garlic, keep it in the skins and pop it on the same tray as your pinenuts. Roast for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the skin before popping the cloves into the food processor.

method

1. In a food processor, pulse together the pinenuts, parsley, garlic, parmesan, chilli flakes, lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil and a pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Set aside.

2. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

3. In a large bowl mix together the cooked pasta, your homemade pesto, the butterbeans and the sundried tomatoes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. That’s it!

Tip: If you want to make this recipe even simpler, you can sub out the homemade pesto for a store bought one. Here are a couple I’d recommend, La Molisana Pesto Al Basilico or Jamie Oliver’s Green Pesto

hungry for more?

For more recipes like this, download our teen lunchbox eBook, packed with ideas to keep your teen energised in 2025.

Angelica Pupillo
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