Saturday, January 22, 2011

Pesto Cavatappi - My version of Noodles and Company's


Description:
I love the Pesto Cavatappi at Noodles, and for awhile now, I've thought it couldn't be that difficult of a recipe to replicate at home and save a few bucks. I did a bit of research, and decided to try and make a version with a little less calories than the Noodles version.

I thought this came out wonderful. It wasn't as green as the dish is at the restaurant, but it still tastes delicious. Noodles must add tons of pesto to their mushroom sauce to make theirs that green. I saw the calorie count on the side of the pesto jar and couldn't bring myself to use more than a spoonful. I replaced non-fat yogurt for the traditional heavy cream, although the next time I make this, I may try using non-fat cream cheese.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C cavatappi noodles
1 T olive oil or just enough to coat the bottom of your skillet
1 T Smart Balance spread or use butter
1 1/2 C sliced mushrooms
2 T white wine
2 T non fat plain yogurt
2 T pesto
1 large or 2 smaller Roma tomatoes, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, mashed and diced

Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook your cavatappi noodles according to the packaged directions to al dente

Lightly coat the bottom of your skillet with olive oil and melt the Smart Balance or butter. Add the mushrooms to your skillet and saute. Once the mushrooms are tender, stir in the splash of wine, yogurt, pesto, tomatoes and garlic. Lastly add your cooked cavatappi and stir/toss to coat. Heat until the pasta is once again hot. Sprinkle Parmesan on top if desired.

4 comments:

Kelly M said...

Looks delicious, I'm going to try this. Thanks for sharing!

Terri D'Orsaneo said...

Looks yummy!! Thanks for the recipe!

Stormmie aka Kim said...

mmmmm

Dawning Petersen said...

Update! I made this again and added several handfuls of ready to eat baby spinach. It was amazing!