Tomato basil pasta is a delicious meal option. It is equally liked by kids and grown ups. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to add this pasta recipe to your weekly menu! To name just a few, tomato basil pasta is super healthy. It is also packed with Vitamins, Antioxidants, and carries plenty of fibre to nourish your body and digestive system.

Is Tomato Basil Pasta Healthy? Health and Nutrition Facts!

Tomato Health Benefits

  • Tomatoes are packed with Vitamin A and Vitamin C, both of which are powerful antioxidants that boost skin health, vision, immune system, cardiovascular health, and also protect against cancer.
  • Tomatoes are one of the best sources of Lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant and nutrient. It protects against cancer, prostrate cancer specifically, boosts heart health, and also supports eye sight and skin health.
  • The yellow jelly around tomato seeds stops platelet aggregation, prevent heart attacks, strokes, and restricts blood vessel problems.
italian basil benefits

Basil Health Benefits

  • Basil is a potent herb, one of the most recognised health ingredients in Ayurveda for immunity and anti-aging.
  • Basil is known to promote mental health and intellect. It is a powerful adaptogen that naturally increases our body’s ability to handle stress.

Other Health Benefits

  • Garlic is a known herb. It is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and blood purifier. It protects against heart diseases and skin diseases.
  • Red capsicum provides Vitamins A, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C. It is also a rich source of fibre for healthy digestive system.

Cooking Tips for Better Nutrition from Tomatoes

  1. Cook the tomatoes well before eating. This increases the bioavailability of Lycopene from tomatoes.
  2. Eat tomatoes with their skin, pulp, and seeds. In short, eat them whole!
  3. Add little oil to tomatoes when cooking. This increases the absorption of Lycopene from tomatoes into your bodies.
tomatoes benefits pasta recipe

Tomato Basil Pasta recipe variations

  • We used cherry tomatoes as they are usually sweeter. This can be replaced by regular tomatoes along with a teaspoon of jaggery or brown sugar or 2 carrots, finely chopped.
  • There are multiple variations of basil available in the Asian market such as Thai sweet basil, lemon basil, Italian basil, and Holy basil – tulsi. All of the above basil variations are super healthy and fragrant. However, Italian basil gives the best results in terms of taste and flavour combinations for the tomato basil pasta recipe.

Healthy Cooking Tips

  • We used white flour pasta for this recipe as it is popular with kids and smoother in texture. Wholemeal pasta goes very well for this recipe. Wholemeal pasta has additional health benefits of more fiber and B Vitamins. It is recommended for Diabetics and for those suffering from Hypertension.
  • You can also add corn from fresh corn cob to this recipe. Fresh corn is crunchier, healthier, and tastier than frozen version. You can add corn at the same time when you add other veggies to the pasta sauce. If fresh corn isn’t available, replace corn with frozen corn, fresh green beans, and or carrots.
  • Do not use honey as heated honey is considered to be an incompatible food in Ayurveda.
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Tomato Basil Pasta with Vegetables

Tomato basil pasta is easy to make with just few steps. It takes only 15 minutes to turn this pasta from cooker top to table! You can easily customize this recipe. Add the ingredients of your choice and those available in your refrigerator.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 people
Author: Nidhi Bansal
Cost: $5

Equipment

  • Pan
  • Cheese Grater
  • Knife
  • Cutting Board

Ingredients

  • 250 g Cherry Tomatoes
  • 1 large Red Capsicum
  • 1 Medium Zucchini Yellow or Green
  • 5 Regular Garlic Cloves
  • 300 g Pasta
  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil Extra Virgin
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper Replace with few fresh peppercorns to grind
  • 2 tsp Salt To taste. We use rock salt or sea salt.
  • 1 Cup Fresh Italian Basil
  • 100 g Cheese Optional. Use mozzarella, or gouda, or parmesan.

Instructions

  • Cook pasta per instructions on the packet. This should take around 10 – 12 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, you can cut the veggies and prepare the pasta sauce.

Cooking the Pasta.

  • Usual steps would be to boil water in a pan.
  • Add 1 teaspoon cooking oil and 1 teaspoon salt.
  • When water is almost boiling, add the pasta.
  • Partially cover the lid so that pasta doesn't boil out of the pan.
  • Let it cook till it turns soft.
  • Check with the help of a fork to see if the pasta is soft enough.
  • If yes, close the heat and drain water out of the pasta using a colander.

Cutting the Veggies

  • Mince the garlic. Keep aside.
  • Finely chop tomatoes, Zucchini, and Red Capsicum. Keep together and aside.
  • Coarsely chop the basil and keep aside.

Steps to make Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

  • Heat olive oil in a pan.
  • When the oil is slightly hot, add the garlic and let it roast till it turns golden brown.
  • Add salt, tomatoes, Zucchini, and red capsicum. Mix it well and cover.
  • Reduce the heat when the tomatoes, Zucchini, and capsicum are almost mashed up.
  • Add the basil, mix well and close the heat.
  • Grate the cheese and keep aside.

Mixing the Pasta with the sauce

  • Add the pasta to the veggies and mix well.
  • Top the pasta with the cheese, mix well.
  • Grind peppercorns on the pasta and serve! Enjoy.
    tomato basil pasta

Notes

This tomato basil pasta recipe can be made vegan as well, just eliminate the cheese and replace it with 1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil. This can be added in the end, right before serving.
Cooking Tip: Slightly roast the garlic in oil before adding other ingredients. This provides a delicious flavour of garlic that makes the whole dish highly appetising.

We would love to hear from you! If you try this recipe, do leave a comment and rate the recipe! Don’t forget to take a photo, tag @medhyaherbals, and hashtag it #medhyaherbals on Instagram. Eat Well, Feel Happy, and Look Awesome!

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