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Pesto pasta, meatballs and perfectly roasted glazed carrots—dinner is served! Featuring 3-ingredient roasted glazed carrots, chicken meatballs and a delicious pesto pasta, weeknight meals just easier and tastier!
The best thing about this meal is that it can all be prepped ahead of time. Each component—the carrots, meatballs and pasta—can either completely be made ahead or prepped ahead of time. That’s not all, this meal makes great leftovers for the week ahead as well!
This recipe features a batch of my baked chicken meatballs (no need to bake them off ahead of time, we will bake them with the carrots) and a batch of my carrot top pesto. However, if you don’t want to make homemade pesto, you can substitute with your favorite pre-made variety—I recommend using refrigerated pesto as opposed to the jarred variety, it’s much fresher.
Make sure to tag me @ZESTFULKITCHEN ON INSTAGRAM or comment below if you make this Pesto Pasta with Meatballs.
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Pesto Pasta with Meatballs and Roasted Glazed Carrots
Description
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound large carrots, halved lengthwise
- 1 recipe chicken meatballs, unbaked
- 12 ounces dry Cavatappi pasta
- 1 recipe carrot top pesto or pesto of choice
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400F with racks set in middle and lowest positions. Coat one baking sheet with nonstick spray and line another with parchment paper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Whisk honey, oil, pepper and salt together in a large bowl. Add carrots and toss to coat evenly; arrange in a single layer, cut-side down, on nonstick-coated baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to lowest rack in oven and roast until carrots are fork-tender and starting to brown; 30–35 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Meanwhile, form meatballs, according to recipe instructions, into 1-inch balls and arrange 1-inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to middle rack in oven and bake meatballs until browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the centers register 165°F, 10–12 minutes.
- Add a hefty pinch of salt to boiling water, stir in pasta and cook to al dente according to package directions; reserve 1 cup cooking water then drain and transfer pasta back to pot.
- Stir ¾ cup pesto into cooked and drained pasta, adding pasta water by ¼ cup as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve roasted glazed carrots, chicken meatballs and pasta together and enjoy.
