I’m not going to lie, I deeply procrastinated on writing this post, not because I wasn’t excited to talk about this pasta (trust me it’s gooooood) but because I came down with the MOST OUTRAGEOUS cold on the planet. It went from worse to can’t breathe kind of cold and lasted for a straight week.
I was pretty much glued to the couch this entire past weekend with my bestie Sarah. We had a FULL itinerary planned for our girl’s weekend, but pretty much weren’t able to do anything because I was almost dead.
Instead we abandoned all of our super cool plans, stayed in and watched Insecure, ordered sushi and Thai in two nights straight and baked cookies. Sarah even brought her Emergen-C packets to brunch on Saturday while I walked around smelling like Vick’s. Perfect weekend of doing absolutely nothing. And we loved it.
Before my sickness got crazy, we did get to check out Aire, the new ancient bath houses in Chicago! The eucalyptus steam room was INSANE and such a relaxing experience.
Ingredients in mediterranean pasta
This CRAZY GOOD MEDITERRANEAN PASTA RECIPE has goat cheese, roasted veggies and a creamy cashew pesto. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Veggies: we’re using eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, red onion and grape tomatoes (if you’d like).
- Oil: you’ll want avocado oil or olive oil for roasting up those delicious veggies.
- Seasonings: just a bit of garlic powder, salt & pepper throughout the recipe.
- Cashews: feel free to use raw cashew or cashew butter for the base of the delicious cashew pesto.
- Basil leaves: for that fresh pesto flavor.
- Pasta: I love using cellentani or cavatappi (these little swirls) but you can use any pasta variety you’d like, including whole wheat or gluten free pasta.
- Goat cheese: a bit of goat cheese adds an irresistible creamy, tangy flavor to the mediterranean pasta.
How to make roasted veggie mediterranean pasta
- First, roast your veggies. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the veggies between two trays, then drizzle each with 1 tablespoon of oil and a sprinkle garlic powder and salt and pepper, to taste.
- Toss together to coat the veggies, then spread out evenly on each pan. Roast for 15 minutes, then stir the veggies and rotate the pans and bake for 15 minutes more until veggies are tender.
- While the veggies are roasting, you can make the pesto: add the following to the bowl of a food processor or high powered blender: cashews, basil avocado/olive oil, salt and water to thin. Process until thick, but smooth. Set aside.
- Next, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package until it’s al dente. Drain, then add back to the pot.
- Fold in the pesto, roasted veggies and half of the goat cheese. Divide into bowls or meal prep containers, garnish with remaining goat cheese and extra basil leaves, if desired. Serves 4.
See how to make the mediterranean pasta:
This pasta was my effort to please Tony’s pasta loving taste buds and still satisfy my craving for veggies.
And to be honest, I LOVE pesto and goat cheese so that got thrown into the mix too. I put it into a tupperware for Tony to find and guess what? A day later a few pieces of roasted zucchini and two curly pasta pieces remain. #TYPICAL
Customize this easy mediterranean pasta
- Make it vegan by simply leave off the goat cheese or use a vegan cheese.
- Add your favorite protein. this would be delicious with grilled chicken, chickpeas, shrimp or even tofu!
- Use what you have on-hand. Feel free to mix up the veggies here, add olives for a delicious saltiness, or swap the goat cheese for feta or grated parmesan.
- Try a new grain. This recipe would be delicious using quinoa or farro, too!
How to store mediterranean pasta
Store this healthy roasted veggie mediterranean pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. It’s delicious eaten hot or cold, so feel free to dig in straight from the fridge or warm it up a bit in the microwave!
Honestly, if you love pasta, then you’re going to love this veggie packed meal. It’s incredibly flavorful, easy to make, easily gluten free and wonderful served either warm or cold.
Ways to enjoy this recipe:
- Meal prep it for lunch
- Take it to a party
- Make it for your pasta loving significant other (or yoself)
- Make it for a fancy dinner party and add grilled chicken or chickpeas
If you make this healthy mediterranean pasta recipe be sure to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation! You can also leave a comment below and rate the recipe. Thank you for making AK recipes!
Roasted Veggie Mediterranean Pasta with Goat Cheese
Bright and flavorful roasted veggie mediterranean pasta with goat cheese is the perfect vegetarian meal! This easy mediterranean pasta recipes is packed with fresh veggies, tossed in a delicious cashew pesto sauce and perfect served warm or cold as a pasta salad. Customize or serve with your fav proteins for a full meal!
Ingredients
- For the veggies:
- 1 baby eggplant, sliced and quartered
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced and quartered
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 red onion, cut into chunks
- Optional: 1 package grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the cashew pesto:
- ¼ cup cashews OR 2 tablespoons cashew butter
- 1 cup basil leaves (from 1 oz package)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons warm water, to thin
- For the pasta:
- 2 ½ cups (8 oz) cellentani pasta (or pasta of choice -- can use whole wheat or gluten free)
- ½ cup goat cheese crumbles, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the veggies between two trays, then drizzle each with 1 tablespoon of oil and a sprinkle garlic powder and salt and pepper, to taste.
- Toss together to coat the veggies, then spread out evenly on each pan. Roast for 15 minutes, then stir the veggies and rotate the pans and bake for 15 minutes more until veggies are tender.
- While the veggies are roasting, you can make the pesto: add the following to the bowl of a food processor or high powered blender: cashews, basil avocado/olive oil, salt and water to thin. Process until thick, but smooth. Set aside.
- Next, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package until it’s al dente. Drain, then add back to the pot.
- Fold in the pesto, roasted veggies and half of the goat cheese. Divide into bowls or meal prep containers, garnish with remaining goat cheese and extra basil leaves, if desired. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
This is a great dish for leftovers or meal prepping.
To store: store this roasted veggie mediterranean pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. It's delicious eaten hot or cold, so feel free to dig in straight from the fridge or warm it up a bit in the microwave!
More healthy lunches and side dishes to try:
Street Corn Pasta Salad with Cilantro Pesto & Goat Cheese
Roasted Veggie, Chickpea & Pesto Quinoa Salad
Avocado Tomato Chickpea Pasta Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
36 comments
This looks amazing and has summer picnic dish written all over it! Craving that warm weather ☀️ I hope you’re starting to feel better ❤️
Yes! This one will be perfect for summer. Great for potlucks! Thanks so much, Courtney 🙂
Making. this. tonight. 🙂
I didn’t see the grape tomatoes in the video, do you roast them or add them in fresh at the end?
I roasted them with the other veggies. Yummy!
I was going to ask the same question. I don’t usually add tomatoes when roasting vegetables so I wonder if it’s not supposed to be in there?
Hi! The tomatoes are optional, and feel free to roast them OR put them in fresh at the end (based on your taste preference.) I think both ways would be delicious!
This is delicious. I finally made it after drooling over the recipe all week. Thank you; this is going with me next time I go somewhere to share food.
So happy to hear that! And yes – this one is perfect for parties & potlucks. Enjoy!
I made this last night. Love it! Eating leftovers now, love the chickpea idea, gonna add! Goat cheese, just LOVE!
I’m so glad you loved it! And yes this is amazing for adding in your fav proteins. Goat cheese is love!!
Are the cashews raw or roasted?
I typically use raw!
I just served this recipe with the Fiesta Mango Black Bean Salad to my family for lunch…what a hit! Traditional eaaters, they are highly skeptical of anything healthy or vegetatian but they gobbled this up! Very filling as well. I forgot fresh basil at the store and ended up using jarred pesto and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, but I’m anxious to try the cashew pesto next time. Will be adding this as a summer staple.
Yay! I’m glad they liked this recipe too! The cashew pesto is SO delicious. Hope you get a chance to make it!
wow, yum, i m trying this recipe with added kidney beans (protein)…
Perfect – enjoy!
I made this recipe for my family and they loved it.
So happy to hear that!
Monique this was DELISH!!! Wow! The pesto and roasted veggies with the goat cheese was just perfect. So much flavor!!!
Isn’t it an amazing combo?? Happy to hear that you loved it!
I just made this for my week’s lunch meal prep. Holy crap, it is SO good! I added some spinach to the pesto for more veggies, left out the goat cheese to avoid dairy (although it would really be the cherry on top of this dish!), and added chickpeas for some protein. Absolutely in love and I’ve never been so excited for lunch!
Perfect! This one is great for customizing. So happy you loved it!
Have made this exactly as written! with brown rice pasta. Super good!!!!Ate hot and cold!
Perfect! So delicious hot and cold.
Ok so I just made this recipe with the same ingredients-aside from feta- but scaled down to one serving. WHAT AN AMAZING COMBINATION! I cooked everything, then set the pasta with the mixed veggies aside in the fridge for an hour. After an hour, I added the pesto & feta. I am hooked. One of my favourite pasta salads ever, and super easy to make. Thank you so much for an incredible recipe!!
Perfect! So glad you loved it!
Made this pasta dish today and it is delicious. Love all the roasted veggies and the pesto! Great combination of flavours. It will be a regular dish in my home!
So happy to hear that, Debbie!
This was a great recipe. I loved all the different veggies and the veggie to pasta ratio and the delicious addition of goat cheese. I had actually never cooked eggplant before because I thought you had to do this weird process with salting it to get out the bitterness but it was perfectly fine the way the recipe is written. My boyfriend loved it too and ate a massive portion of seconds. Thankfully there’s enough left for our lunches tomorrow so we will give it a try cold. Definitely would recommend!
Amazing! So happy you both gave this one a try 🙂 perfect leftovers!
I make this so often. It’s the perfect meal prepped lunch or dinner and is great hot or cold!
Absolutely! Glad you love it 🙂
So easy to make and so healthy!
This is the most incredible vegetarian dinner recipe! Made this last night for a family dinner and everyone loved it, even the kids! Such a nourishing, delicious, and creative recipe. I just added lots of extra roasted peppers and eggplant! Thank you!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂