Sun Dried Tomato & Red Lentil Rotini

This post is sponsored by Barilla but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Our family eats a lot of pasta. Like, lots of pasta! It's pretty much a staple food in our home. If I ask the kids what they want for dinner, the answer is almost always some sort of pasta dish.

I've always been a big fan of pasta, but all those carbs really aren't the best thing to be eating so often. In recent years there have been all sorts of healthy pasta alternatives hitting the market, but like so many "healthier" options, a lot of them have been lacking when it comes to taste or the texture hasn't felt quite right.

Barilla, one of my all time favorite pasta brands, has the solution to this with their Red Lentil pasta made from just one ingredient. You guessed it... red lentils! The texture feels just the same as regular wheat pasta when cooked. The pasta keeps its shape and there is no mushiness like I've experienced with other grain free pasta options. The taste is great too and the red color, well, that just makes it a little more fun, right?

We put Barilla Red Lentil Rotini to the test with a recipe that Ava came up with by herself and the results were delicious!

A little while back Ava wanted to pasta for dinner for the family and she came up with her own recipe for the sauce. It's so good we've been making it for lunches and dinners ever since. It's pretty simple and only contains a few ingredients, but it packs of ton of flavor. It's a really flexible recipe too. I never really measure the ingredients, so the amounts I've listed below are an approximation of what I usually use. You can add as much or as little of each ingredient as you like.

Here's how to make Ava's Sun Dried Tomato & Red Lentil Rotini...

Ingredients (Serves 2)
Half box of Barilla Red Lentil Rotini
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes in oil
Handful of fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced Garlic
Parmesan for serving (optional)

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of salted water to the boil.

Once boiling add the Barilla Red Lentil Rotini and boil for 7 minutes for perfect al dente pasta. If you prefer more tender pasta, boil for a minute or two longer.

Drain well and set aside.

While the pasta is boiling you can start preparing the sauce...

Finely chop the sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil.

Melt the butter in a large pot over a medium heat.

Once the butter has melted add the garlic and stir to cook until softened.

Add the sun dried tomatoes (including the oil) and basil.

Stir the ingredients together and cook for about a minute, stirring continuously. You don't want the tomatoes or basil to brown. It will smell so good!

Once the sauce is done, pour the cooked pasta into the pot and give it a good stir.

Serve it up with a little grated parmesan cheese and a few fresh basil leaves on top. Doesn't it look good?

Buon Appetito!

If you're looking for a grain free, gluten free option packed with fiber, Barilla Red Lentil pasta is it! It's a great source of plant based protein, is non-GMO certified, and as I mentioned earlier, it tastes great! This recipe is perfect for vegetarians and as Barilla Red Lentil pasta is vegan friendly, you can easily switch out the butter in the recipe for extra virgin olive oil and skip the parmesan cheese for a vegan friendly recipe too.

You can purchase Barilla Red Lentil pasta by clicking here. I'd love to hear what you think about this grain free alternative to regular pasta!