With all the various gluten free pasta alternatives out there (some perhaps tastier than others!), this green bean spaghetti is one that I haven’t come across as frequently as the pastas of the more popular persuasion, such as chickpea, lentil, or black bean. I may have been living under a rock, but glad I ran across the green bean spaghetti in the specialty aisle, quite randomly. The little one and I were racing through to get a few other staples (nuts, seeds, tea), all the while trying to keep everything inside the shopping cart instead of being thrown or ripped open. Grocery store trips get very interesting for us sometimes.
Pastas always catch my eye, as I am a HUGE pasta lover, and have been for as long as I can remember. Don’t get me started on the joy that is Mom’s spaghetti with meat sauce. This green bean spaghetti stood out a bit due to its light green color. Since I am looking to explore healthy options for the kids, pretty much all the time, this seemed like a great time to experiment!
Mine can be fussy eaters at times, but they do give almost everything a try…even the green stuff! So we literally threw the spaghetti package into the trolley, and raced on.
Fast forward a few days to today, and I broke out the package to check the cooking directions. According to package directions, this cooks in 4-5 minutes and there was not a suggestion to rinse after cooking. I set a timer for 4 minutes after I added the spaghetti to the boiling water, and it was definitely tender at that point. Judging by the texture, it seemed that cooking any longer could have resulted in a sticky situation.
Overall, the texture is somewhat rougher than regular pasta, similar to some other types of gluten free pasta that I have tried. The taste was faintly reminiscent of green beans, while after adding some olive oil, spinach sauteed in garlic and salt/pepper/italian seasoning, the green bean flavor became less noticeable.
This was a winner with the little guy, not so much with my older one. However, mom is going to have this on repeat to have a yummy alternative to regular pasta. With the recipe below, this was super tasty.
Green Bean Spaghetti with Peas, Spinach, & Sun-Dried Tomato
INGREDIENTS (3 servings)
- 1 8-oz. package green bean spaghetti
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 3 large handfuls baby spinach
- 2-3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 T italian seasoning
- 1 cup thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes
- 1.5 cups cooked frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
- juice of 1/2 lemon
DIRECTIONS:
- Cook green bean spaghetti according to package directions. Once drained, add 1 teaspoon olive oil, stir, and set aside.
- While the pasta water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, prepare the other ingredients.
- Add remaining olive oil to a large saute pan and add the spinach, garlic, and italian seasoning. Cook about 2-3 minutes over medium heat until spinach is wilted and garlic is fragrant, stirring often and not allowing the garlic to become brown.
- Add cooked peas, sun-dried tomatoes, cooked spaghetti, and stir to incorporate.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the lemon juice and serve!
Looks tasty 🙂
Thanks so much!!! Definitely pleasantly surprised by green bean spaghetti 🙂 Nice to find another option!