This dish originated because I’m usually the only one eating plant-based in my house on pasta night and I prefer something a little more creative than plain pasta and sauce. Because of the variety of veggies, this dish is packed with nutrients (including vitamins A, C, K, fiber, plant protein and antioxidants), it has no dairy and is free of gluten since the ‘noodles’ are made from spiralizing sweet potatoes.
If you are trying to stay away from starchy foods, zucchini noodles would work well. That said, and as much as I love zucchini noodles, it’s the sweet potato that adds an element of flavor to the dish that zucchini can’t (plus they add more bulk to the meal). If you plan to prepare veggie noodles often and do not have a spiralizer, I recommend this one from Amazon. https://amzn.to/34TDzWe
The combination of the white beans, sweet potato noodles, fresh basil and garlic really give this dish a nice flavor, but I add a dash of red pepper flakes just to give it a little extra flare. The most time consuming part of this dish is chopping veggies, the rest is just a quick saute on the stove-top and you have a delicious healthy meal!
Italian white beans and veggies
Lightly seasoned sauteed veggies w/ white beans create a fresh Italian style meal.
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato, spiraled (or sliced julienne style if no spiralizer available)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in fourths
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 baby portobella mushrooms, chopped
- 1/4 cup red, yellow or orange bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup cooked white cannellini beans
- 2-3 fresh basil leaves, chopped, or 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup water or broth (as needed)
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 In a saute pan, bring olive oil to medium heat.
- Step 2 Add minced garlic and saute about 1 minute, not allowing it to burn
- Step 3 Add onion and peppers and saute about 2-3 minutes.
- Step 4 Add tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Step 5 Toss in beans, basil, spinach, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste and allow to cook on medium for another 3 minutes adding water as needed to prevent drying out.
- Step 6 To serve, garnish with a couple sliced kalamata olives and pumpkin seeds or slivered almonds.