Peas and Pesto Potato Noodles

Peas and Pesto Potato Noodles

Whenever I’m planning dinner, I always think, “Okay, I need a starch, a protein and...

Peas and Pesto Potato Noodles

Whenever I’m planning dinner, I always think, “Okay, I need a starch, a protein and a vegetable.” I don’t know why that’s been engrained in me, but it has – and that’s the way I form my meals.

I definitely don’t follow the “eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner” mantra. If I eat a small dinner, I tend to munch at night.

Everyone’s different, but if you’re like me, today I have a “veggie and starch” combo that takes care of 75% of the dinner meal plan.

Peas and Pesto Potato Noodles

There are always new articles popping up – whether from celebrities or acclaimed sources – that offer different point of views on what to eat for dinner.

The celebrities all say, “Oh, I don’t eat after 7pm.” I remember reading a quote by Eva Longoria that said, “I don’t eat carbohydrates after 3pm.”

I would die.

Peas and Pesto Potato Noodles

I try to work out 4-5 times per week (sometimes more) and I really push myself at the gym (see my sweaty post-workout selfies @Getinspiralized) – I need fuel! Sometimes, I just need to crush an almond butter-banana sandwich before the gym, and sometimes I don’t make it to the gym until 7pm!

Anyway, this pesto dish is perfect for a quick dinner – just pair it with your protein of choice and you have a flavorful meal, complete with a starch, vegetable, and protein! Actually, peas are a great source of protein.

Peas and Pesto Potato Noodles

I love potato noodles because you end up eating less of the actual potato and getting more “bang for your buck” in general. If you were to cube a medium Yukon gold potato, you’d get half a cup of cubes. When you spiralize that same potato, you get over 2 spiral cups!

Plus, who doesn’t love pesto?

May I also point out that this dish is perfect for those who poo-poo on spiralized veggies? I mean, they can’t say no to potatoes and pesto, right?

How do you plan your meals for the week?

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 6 points

Inspiralized

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1.5 pounds yukon gold potatoes peeled, Blade D, noodles trimmed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup frozen garden peas
  • For the pesto:
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 2 packed cups of basil
  • 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add in the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in the potato noodles and season with salt and pepper. Toss and then cover and cook, uncovering occasionally to toss, for 7-10 minutes or until potato noodles are cooked through. Place in a large mixing bowl.
  • While the potatoes cook, in a food processor, place all of the ingredients for the pesto and pulse until creamy. Taste and adjust to your preferences, if necessary. Set aside. Also, cook your peas according to package directions.
  • Once potato noodles, peas and pesto are done, combine in a bowl and toss thoroughly to combine. Serve immediately or place in refrigerator and serve later, chilled.

 

with love, Ali

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comments

  • Blade "D?" Ali you started this website with a "normal" spiralizer. Please consider posting the blade for the old fashioned one that most of us have. I know there is a conversion chart here somewhere, but having it within the recipe would be so nice and quick and easy. Especially as there are only 2 out there, yours and the original. Thanks much!! And this recipe looks awesome!!! It's on next weeks planner!!! :)
    • You can find a guide to all the letters on my Get Started page! Thanks!
      • I only see letters A-C...am I missing something? Generally, I just don't worry about it and use whatever blade seems closest.
      • it is under "the inspairalizer" tab. "D" is "spaghetti noodles" while our "C" is considered "linguine". I guess the "D" blade are thinner noodles???
      • Blade D is only referenced to in blade selection of her new spiralizer, but we aren't shown what that exactly looks like. Based on the recipe, I would guess it is just a size variation of B or C. I agree, it would be helpful if Ali could just make a note of this somewhere in the get started section for those of us who only have the original. Her new spiralizer looks great, but I won't be replacing my original until it breaks!
  • This sounds yummy, but I started spiralizing to avoid carbs and lose weight. Am I wrong in thinking I should be avoiding 'white' potatoes? Are spiralized potatoes better than pasta because they aren't processed, perhaps? Thanks for your advice, I am a novice at this! :-)
    • Potatoes are a 'white' carb and should be avoided by those watching carbs closely. I personally will try this with zuccini noodles. Looks great!
  • Actually your get started page does not have a chart that I can find comparing the blades on the two spiralizers. All I can find is a description of the blades on the old one. What would be the equivilant on the old one to your blade D? At the very least you could describe the thickness of the potato noodle- thin or thick. Thanks so much.
    • Adele - you can see by the picture the noodle shapes! This is a thin spaghetti. Blade D yields thin spaghetti, per the Get Started page. It would get too complicated if in every recipe I listed the equivalent blade for every type of spiralizer on the market, that's why I have my own and the equivalent chart for reference! Sorry I can't be of more help - you can always reach out to me via email if you're confused, I'm happy to help! Generally, you can eyeball it!
  • I have been eating pesto, pea, and chickpea zucchini noodles every day for lunch for the past few weeks! I absolutely love it! Potatoes sound like a great addition!
  • Everyone - there are pictures and a description of each blade here: http://www.inspiralized.com/the-inspiralizer/ (the inspiralizer tab). Being in the UK I can't get the Inspiralizer :'-( My spiralizer only has an equivalent of blades A, D and a slightly thicker version of D. I still manage with the recipes ok but will you ever be shipping these to the UK, Ali?
    • Yes, I'm also very interested in the inspiralizer! I hope they ship to Europe soon...
  • Spiralizing is supposed to be fun - don't get too caught up in all of the Blade letters, that's simply just a guide! You can use any blade for all of my recipes!!
  • From everything I've read from actual nutritionists and real science, so long as you follow the calories in < calories out guidelines, it doesn't matter WHEN you eat. I also work out at night, so big dinners are a MUST. These potato noodles sound so good!
  • Love Ali and her blog and recipes. I do agree, Ali, with the sentiment that, although I recognize that you'd like folks to buy your spiralizer, it makes sense to make recipes easy for those of us early followers who bought (gasp) Paderno models. This whole email chain makes it sound like there are obstacles in your new recipes to those who aren't going to throw out their Paderno spiralizers. C'mon. I know you'd prefer those new to spiralizing to buy yours. But to maintain the integrity you've demonstrated, can't you figure out some way to create less frustration among the first generation of your followers? You need to strike a balance between the many many followers who helped make a cookbook commercially viable and your (legitimate) desire to hawk your wares (your spiralizer).
    • Eggo - based on the shape of the noodles in the images, it's clear which blade is which, that is what I'm trying to convey - if you see a thin spaghetti noodle, it's "Blade C/D" basically and if it's a big ribbon noodle, it's Blade A. The other ones in between aren't equivalent - the Inspiralizer makes new and inventive noodle shapes, so it's hard to compare. Luckily, I rarely use those, since I know many don't have the Inspiralizer that follow this blog! Hope that helps.
  • hi Ali! just received my inspiralizer a couple of days ago and I'm hooked:). I made this recipe tonight. I used hazelnuts for the pesto. I accidentally overcooked the potato noodles (still getting the hang of it;), so they were a lil on the "mashed potato" side, but omg, it was so good! thank you. keep em coming:)
  • Hi! Made this tonight, both my gluten free hubby and picky real pasta fanative 10yr old loved it! I had to add a little of the water from steamed peas to thin the pesto and used walnuts instead if pine nuts bc it was all I had. Some boiled shrimp on top and delish!
  • This was great. I must admit I did a small change. I didn't have any peas so I substituted bacon. You may say Bacon, that's not a veggie, but it sure was good. I'll make it the proper way next week to take to my book group meeting. I am sure it will be just as delicious. Thanks again Ali for a wonderful recipe.
  • I made this last night for my family, it was a hit!
  • Love this recipe! Delicious — fun to make and eat. I think it will be a fall-back for me.
  • Hi Ali, First of all, thank you so much (truly from the bottom of my heart) for your webpage, recipes, and inspiralizer!! It's been a Godsend and I LOVE making these dishes. I must have done something wrong tonight because my pesto came out awful. It was powdery (to which I had to add way more olive oil) and black...and all I could taste was crushed powdery basil :-( I'm thinking it was the basil I bought. What do you use when you have to use 2 cups of packed basil? Again, thank you so much for these recipes. Tonight's only a setback. Tomorrow I'm back in the kitchen spiraling away!
  • I love this one!. I make it a lot with some variations of ingredients and blade size depending on time and hunger. I like to add zucchini noodles with it to bulk it out a little and add either chilli flakes or preferably fresh chillies for a nice bit of bite :) (Occasionally I add bacon when cooking the potato for when I want to be a lil' naughty)