Pesto Penne with Spinach & Blistered Tomatoes

Update August 2020: This pasta is never better than right now with Summer basil and tomatoes! Enjoy!

Update May 2020: Warm weather is finally here and we are still staying home, so, like many of you, we are looking for fresh, warm weather meals that are EASY!

This Gluten-Free Pesto Penne with Blistered Tomatoes and Spinach checks all the boxes!

It comes together in 20 minutes, is super simple and delish!

Tonight I made it without spinach because I didn’t have any in the house and it was still so good!

And this is the kind of meal that gets better and better all summer long as the produce gets fresher and fresher.

Hope you love it as much as we do!

Original post…

This super quick and easy pasta dish is bursting with the flavors of Summer!

All you need is Gluten-free Pasta, Homemade Basil Pesto, fresh Baby Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes.

This simple dish comes together in 20 minutes.

You simply cook the pasta, make the basil pesto  and saute the tomatoes while the pasta is cooking, and then after draining the pasta, toss the cooked pasta, pesto, spinach and tomatoes all in the same pan as the tomatoes or back into the pasta pot and toss until the spinach wilts.

That’s it!

For the basil pesto, our favorite simple recipe is below (as well as a vegan nut-free pesto below) or you can use a store bought one.

But the main reason we first made this recipe was because our garden was bursting with basil and this is a delicious way to use it!

We now make it all the time with store-bought basil and it is still so yummy!

The basil pesto recipe shown here is made with 8 ingredients: fresh basil, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, raw unsalted almonds, garlic cloves, rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

And it couldn’t be easier!

Using a food processor (we’ve had a basic Cuisanart – Amazon affiliate link forever and it’s great for this!), pulse the basil, garlic and almonds a few seconds to get them break down a bit.

It will smell amazing immediately! And the almonds give it a little texture which is so satisfying!

Then add the salt and pepper and pulse again.

Pro tip: Scrape down the sides to make sure it’s all blended well.

Next, add in the Parmesan cheese and with the food processor running stream in the oil.

Pulse in the rice wine vinegar (just a touch but adds a nice brightness!) and your done!

The pesto smells amazing and tastes even better! I could literally eat it by the spoonful!

I tend to make the pesto in the 10 minutes the tomatoes saute and pasta cooks, so the dish comes together really quickly!

You could also make the pesto ahead of time.

And it’s sooooo delicious!

Together, this pesto with the pasta, spinach and blistered tomatoes is packed with flavor and delicious!

Hope you love it as much as we do!

PIN it!

Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment if you try.