Cheesy pea pasta salad recipe
Fill your kids' lunchboxes with this bright and vibrant pasta salad – perfect for a healthy lunch option at school. Served with a crisp tomato and cucumber salad and an apple for added sweetness, this will be a hit.
See method- Serves 2
- 5 mins to prepare and 10 mins to cook
- 481 calories / serving
- Freezable
- Vegetarian
- Healthy
Ingredients
- 120g penne
- 200g frozen peas
- 4 tbsp 50% less fat soft cheese
- ½ lemon, zested and juiced
- 70g reduced-fat salad cheese
- 4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ¼ cucumber, sliced into half-moons
- 60g iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 apples
Each serving contains
- Energy
- 2030kJ 481.0kcal
- Fat
- 11g
- Saturates
- 5g
- Salt
- 0.8g
- Sugars
- 22g
of the Reference intake
Carbohydrate 68.0gProtein 23.0gFibre 9.3g
Method
- Cook the pasta to pack instructions; drain, reserving 2 tbsp of the cooking water.
- Meanwhile, blanch the peas in boiling water for 3 mins. Drain, then transfer ¾ of them to a food processor with the soft cheese, lemon zest and juice; blitz until smooth. Crumble in the salad cheese and remaining whole peas, then mix well.
- Return the pasta to the pan with the reserved cooking water and add the pea and cheese mix; stir to combine. Mix the tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce and drizzle over the oil. Divide the pasta between 2 lunchboxes, with the tomato salad and an apple each.
- See more Easy recipes for kids
Freezing and defrosting guidelines
Freeze pea 'pesto' only. In order to enjoy optimum flavour and quality, frozen items are best used within 3 months of their freezing date. For more tips on freezing and defrosting food, read our article Love Your Freezer.
Cooking for children
There are no reference intakes for children and all of these recipes are based on recommendations for an adult woman's portion size. In children of different ages, there is variation in their energy (calorie) requirements and nutrient recommendations. If you are interested in which portion size is best for your child, you can visit the School Food Standards.
