Pasta with Arugula, Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts

Say hello to your new go-to weeknight pasta—ready in just 30 minutes! This Arugula Pasta with Tomato and Pine Nuts is a perfect balance of bright, fresh flavors and comforting warmth. Lightly cooked arugula adds a peppery bite that beautifully complements the juicy tomatoes and toasted pine nuts, making every bite both vibrant and satisfying.

🧾Ingredients in this recipe

• arugula – a peppery green in the spinach family. You can substitute with spinach for a milder flavor addition.
• shallot – a mild onion. You can substitute with half an onion.
• pepperoncini – you can find these in the pickle aisle of your grocery store. You can substitute with any pickled peppers.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

• Bring a pot of water to boil. In the meantime, start your sauce by heating the olive oil over medium/medium-high heat. Add the pepperoncino, shallot, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the shallot is translucent.
• Add the tomatoes, crushing them in your hand as you drop them in. Also, add the tomato juice from the can. Taste and adjust seasoning. If it tastes too acidic, add a pinch of sugar.
• Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cook uncovered until the desired sauce thickness. In the meantime, cook the pasta.

• Add the arugula to your colander and strain the pasta over the arugula.

• Add the pasta and arugula into the sauce and mix well. Sprinkle with pine nuts and parmesan and serve!

🍝 More Delicious Pasta Recipes

Pasta is great for easy, weeknight dinners, and it can be very versatile. It’s easy to get into a pasta rut, but we try to switch it up with recipes like this arugula pasta. Here are some other favorites of ours:

Ramp Pasta

Imbakbaka – Libyan Chicken Pasta Dish

Pasta Puttanesca

Avocado Pesto Pasta with Beets, Corn, Goat Cheese & Arugula

Pasta with Arugula, Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts

5 from 14 votes

Say hello to your new go-to weeknight pasta—ready in just 30 minutes! This Arugula Pasta with Tomato and Pine Nuts is a perfect balance of bright, fresh flavors and comforting warmth. Lightly cooked arugula adds a peppery bite that beautifully complements the juicy tomatoes and toasted pine nuts, making every bite both vibrant and satisfying.

Author: Candice Walker

Print Recipe SaveSaved!

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Calories: 599

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil​
• ▢ 2 pepperoncino minced, or other pickled peppers
• ▢ 1 shallot finely chopped, or 1/2 onion
• ▢ 5 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ 1/2  tsp red pepper flakes
• ▢ 28 oz can whole tomatoes
• ▢ 3 cups arugula packed
• ▢ 1 lb. pasta
• ▢ ¼ cup pine nuts toasted
• ▢ 2 tbsp vegan parmesan or regular parmesan, for serving

Equipment

• ▢
  Colander

Instructions

Cook Mode

1. Bring a pot of water to boil.
2. In the meantime, start your sauce by heating the olive oil over medium/medium-high heat. Add the pepperoncino, shallot, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the shallot is translucent.
   2 tbsp olive oil​, 2 pepperoncino, 1 shallot, 5 garlic cloves, salt, 1/2  tsp red pepper flakes
3. Add the tomatoes, crushing them in your hand as you drop them in. Also add the tomato juice from the can. Taste and adjust seasoning. If it tastes too acidic, add a pinch of sugar.
   28 oz can whole tomatoes
4. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cook uncovered until the desired sauce thickness.
5. In the meantime, cook the pasta. Strain the cooked pasta Add the pasta to the sauce.
   1 lb. pasta
6. Add the arugula to your colander and strain the pasta over the arugula. Add the pasta and arugula into the sauce and mix well. Sprinkle with pine nuts and parmesan and serve!
   3 cups arugula, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 2 tbsp vegan parmesan

Notes

Cooking the arugula with the pasta and pasta water cooks it just enough. If you cook it longer, it has a tendency to get slimy.

If you don’t like the chunks of tomato, you can substitute the canned whole tomatoes with a can of crushed tomatoes.

Nutrition

Calories599kcalCarbohydrates97gProtein19gFat16gSaturated Fat2gCholesterol2mgSodium341mgPotassium788mgFiber7gSugar9gVitamin A702IUVitamin C27mgCalcium151mgIron4mg

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