Be Green: St Patty’s Festivities Plus Buckwheat Veggie Pasta with Pesto & Chicken Sausage

Good afternoon ladies! Hope you all had an amazing weekend, and a happy & green St. Patty’s Day. I spent the weekend catching up with old friends, eating good food, wining, and roaming the packed streets in South Boston. (I even got to catch some of the parade this year!)

[Ladies’ night apps: green grapes, herbed goat cheese, When Pigs Fly sourdough]

[The Boy & I]                                                             [best friends]

While I didn’t get around to Green Eggs ‘n’ Ham or dying our milk green (boo to artificial coloring), I did make a delicious green pesto pasta the other night that I’ve been dying to share with you ladies. Even better, it’s both gluten and dairy-free!

Buckwheat Veggie Pasta with Pesto & Chicken Sausage (Dairy & Gluten-free)

Makes 4 large servings

  • 8 oz. bag of buckwheat pasta
  • 2 links all-natural chicken sausage, sliced into thin circles (We used garlic-flavored)
  • 1 c. frozen green peas
  • Half a bag frozen spinach
  • 2 c. frozen broccoli
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 TB cold-pressed coconut oil (for cooking)
  • salt, pepper & seaweed gomasio to taste

For pesto:

  • About 2 c. fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
  • 3/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • few shakes of nutritional yeast (to give it that “cheesy” flavoring)
  • sea salt & pepper to taste

Note: Aim to use organic ingredients when you can!

1. Cook pasta according to directions, until cooked through but still slightly firm. In the meantime, heat large skillet with coconut oil and sauté garlic and onion on medium heat for about 2 minutes.

2. Add frozen vegetables, and continue to cook. In the meantime, prepare the pesto by adding all the ingredients to a food processor and pulsing until mixture is smooth. Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and nutritional yeast to your liking and give it a good stir.

3. Once vegetables are no longer frozen, add in the sliced chicken sausage and stir. Drain the pasta, and slowly stir into veggie mixture. Then add in pesto, mixing until the veggies and pasta are evenly coated. Add salt, pepper and seaweed gomasio to taste and dig in!

What did you do this weekend to celebrate St. Patty’s Day? What’s your favorite go-to healthy pasta dish?

5 Responses to “Be Green: St Patty’s Festivities Plus Buckwheat Veggie Pasta with Pesto & Chicken Sausage”

  1. Kelsey Says:

    You all look so wonderful!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe Rachel- can’t wait to give it a try!

  2. Rachel @Healthy Chicks Says:

    @Kelsey Thanks Kelsey, hope you like the dish 🙂

  3. jobo Says:

    YUM!! that looks so good! must try. You and the boy are adorable!

  4. Rachel @Healthy Chicks Says:

    @jobo you should, such a great combo! hehe thanks…we’re such goofs 🙂

  5. Healthy Chicks» Blog Archive » These are a Few of My Favorite Things: Fitness, Food, Fashion & More {Spring Edition} Says:

    […] The Boy made Fish Chowder), super-green smoothies, raw nuts & homemade pesto (check out my dairy-free version here). I adore food, and am continuously playing in the kitchen and trying out new recipes. […]

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 18th, 2013 at 11:43 am and is filed under Food & Recipes, Health & Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.