Squash Noodles with Kale Arugula Pesto and Roasted Chickpeas {Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free}

Light, healthy and insanely delicious, this vegan dish is packed with vegetables and tons of flavor!

So yeah, summer started.  As much as I love making healthy meals like this and I wish I could make them all the time, I just need to keep it real.  I barely have time to cook anything in the summer.

My husband grills a ton of stuff for me on Sundays which definitely helps.  But with 3 boys that eat A LOT (and I seriously mean A LOT) all that food goes really fast.  During the week, I have so many baseball games and I don't always have dinner prepared.  Take last night for instance, my kids came home at 8:30 and there weren't enough leftovers for dinner so two of them ate oatmeal for dinner.  And guess what? They were still hungry.

And then the guilt hits me.  Why didn't I make something earlier?  Or prepare something in my slow cooker?  Why can't I be more organized?

So, I shook it off and spiraled some squash and decided to make something healthy.  I was on a kick where I was spiralizing everything and then I just kind of stopped.

I wanted to make something clean, healthy with all fresh ingredients.  And the more vegetables the better.

Then I realized, I've been on a roasted chickpea kick, so why not add some of those?

I made this for my whole family and guess what?  Only me and my husband ate it.

Shrug... more for me.

Darn kids.

They just might be eating oatmeal a lot this summer.

And for all of you non-vegans out there, I used nutritional yeast in place of parmesan cheese (or asiago) but you can easily substitute your beloved cheese of you'd like. Nutritional yeast is indeed a type of yeast that is packed with B-vitamins, folic acid, selenium, zinc, and protein. I like it for its cheesy taste and for the fact that its vegan.  Try it! It's a fantastic plant-based alternative to cheese.

Squash Noodles with Kale Arugula Pesto and Roasted Chickpeas

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: main dish

Servings: 4 -6 servings

Author: Lauren Kelly

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 large yellow squash
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 15 ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
• ▢ Pesto:
• ▢ ⅓ cup walnuts
• ▢ ¾ cup kale
• ▢ ¾ cup arugula
• ▢ ½ cup fresh basil
• ▢ 1 clove garlic
• ▢ ½ cup olive oil
• ▢ ½ lemon juiced
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• After the chickpeas are rinsed, drained and thoroughly patted dry, place in a medium bowl.
• Remove any excess "skins" by picking through with your hands.
• Add the salt and garlic and stir well.
• Lay in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes.
• Shake the pan to mix up chickpeas.
• Add tomatoes, stir and place back in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
• Place roasted chickpeas/tomatoes on parchment paper and allow them to dry.
• Place squash into the spiralizer or use a peeler and create long strips.
• Heat oil into a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Add squash and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender.
• Place the ingredients for pesto in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.
• Make sure to scrape down the sides of the blender to incorporate all of the mixture.
• Place pesto and roasted chickpeas onto of zucchini noodles and serve immediately.

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I hope you enjoy this!