This quick and easy recipe for potato and green bean pesto pasta is hearty and full of bright summer flavours. Perfect for a mid-week meal, this dish is ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes!

I first stumbled across this recipe about 6 or 7 years ago in one of those quick and easy vegetarian meals cookbooks.

At first I was somewhat skeptical about potatoes and pasta sharing the same dish and it not being a heavy, starchy mess.

I overcame my skepticism and gave it a try, much to my delight, as it turned out to be light and refreshing, and highlights the flavours of summer delectably.

Furthermore, it’s also great served cold for a refreshing lunch on a hot summer’s day.

To make this vegan pasta dish you’ll need just a handful of ingredients: vegan pesto, baby potatoes, green beans and your favourite shape of pasta.

I first made this recipe with jarred pesto, but have since graduated to making my own vegan pesto and I love it! I’ve used it for my vegan stuffed tomatoes with pesto orzo and this vegan tomato pesto tart.

You can also make vegan pesto with leafy greens such as kale and it can be more economical to do it that way so feel free to substitute your favourite vegan pesto recipe for the one below if you so desire.

Chop up your potatoes and green beans into bite-sized pieces. You’ll notice that I used flat green beans because that’s what most common in the part of the Mediterranean that I live in.

You can of course use round green beans instead.

Then just cook it all up. I’ve seen more clever cooks than me use just one pot for this recipe, staggering the times that each ingredient goes in so that it all comes out cooked at the same time.

Personally, that scares me as I’d be sure to overcook at least one of the ingredients.

So I use two pots: one for the past and another for the potatoes and beans.

The potatoes do go in first to get a head start. When they are able to be pierced by a fork but still a bit firm, I toss in the green beans for the last 5 minutes or so.

Once everything is cooked and drained, combine them in a bowl together with the pesto and toss it up.

If it seems a bit thick, you can add a couple splashes of reserved pasta-cooking water. It helps to make the pesto a bit creamier.

In addition you could also garnish with a grating of vegan parmesan. Something like this Violife Just Like Parmesan Wedge (not sponsored, I just like it!).

As I mentioned previously, this potato and green bean pesto pasta is equally delicious served hot, at room temperature, or cold so you can serve it right away or put it into a container for later.

It’s also a great, easy addition to a potluck or picnic!