As soy is this month’s Health Unwrapped ingredient, I wanted to get a little bit more creative with my recipe options. In my ‘Does Soy Cause Cancer?’ post I mentioned the studies that show soy protein can be good for heart health. What are our options with soy? Tofu? Not everyone’s bag. Edamame? I love it and have several recipes using it, but I can’t do a full month of edamame recipes. Dairy alternatives? Sure, but that’s not exactly the highest protein option. Then I saw some edamame spaghetti when I was doing my food shopping and thought it was perfect for this series. So, I’m sharing a lime & basil edamame spaghetti recipe. Spoiler: it’s a pesto pasta recipe but I’m telling you to serve it with edamame spaghetti because…soy protein.
Edamame Spaghetti?
Regular readers will know by now that when it comes to pasta and noodles, I like to opt for the protein options anyway. Lentil and pea pasta are staples in my house, I use black bean noodles with stir fry style dishes, so trying this spaghetti for this recipe felt like a very natural choice anyway.
Being gluten intolerant and vegan, I can’t have ‘regular’ pasta anyway and the protein alternatives typically contain 20-25g of protein per serving, so it’s a great swap for vegans, especially those like me who don’t eat meat alternatives. Or anyone else watching their protein intake for that matter.
Per 50g serving, this edamame spaghetti contains 21.5g of protein. The studies I mentioned in the introduction stated that somewhere between 25-50g of soy protein a day was good for cholesterol, so a serving of this recipe sets you well on your way to achieving that.
Protein pasta is usually more expensive, but I always think it’s worth it for the extra nutrients. The Explore Cuisine Edamame Spaghetti I used to make this is currently £2 in Asda (or £3.35 from H&B…).
Nutritional Information
Unfortunately, I can’t get the full micro-nutrient information for this one as it’s unclear how much edamame goes into making the spaghetti, and UK food labels aren’t required to show micronutrients. However, the recipe in total provides 24.7g of protein and 13g of fibre. Between the almonds and the pesto, you get the full RDA of vitamin K per serving, a quarter of the RDA of vitamin E and just under half (46%) of your daily vitamin A, as well as 50% of the RDA of potassium. All for 371 calories a serving.
Lime & Basil Edamame Spaghetti Recipe
A fresh and zesty simple pesto recipe served with edamame spaghetti and toasted almonds for a light and nutritious quick meal. And as it’s a good source of protein and healthy fats, it should keep you going for quite a while too.
The batch of pesto makes 5-6 servings (nutritional information was calculated based on 5), so you will have a little bit left over after this.
I added mine to a kale salad, if anyone was looking for a serving suggestion.
The best part about this dish is that it’s bowl-ready in 5 minutes. That’s including prep. At least it’s definitely less than 10. The edamame spaghetti only requires 3-5 minutes to cook, your almonds will only take a few minutes to toast and you can blend your pesto together in just a minute, so this is great for a quick work from home lunch or a busy midweek dinner.
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and vegan. It does contain nuts and soy.
Lime & Basil Edamame Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 100 g fresh basil leaves
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 heaped tsp chilli flakes
- ¼ cup cashews
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 200 g edamame spaghetti
- 4 tbsp flaked almonds
Instructions
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Add your edamame spaghetti to a saucepan, cover in boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes until al dente.
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While the pasta is cooking, toast your almonds. Heat a frying pan to low-medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing occasionally, until crisp and lightly toasted.
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Meanwhile, add all remaining ingredients to a blender or food processor and mix until smooth.
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When the pasta is ready and drained, stir in the pesto, roughly 1 tbsp per person and cook on a low heat for 1-2 minutes to warm through. Divide into four bowls, then top each bowl with a tbsp of toasted almonds each to serve.
Serve and enjoy!
Do you guys like the look of this pasta recipe? Has anyone ever tried edamame spaghetti before?
Until next time,
Sophie
I love this spaghetti recipe Sophie, it looks so delicious! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing this! It looks very nice and I like how you’ve used a variety of flavours! I’ve never tried edamame spaghetti before but I like the sound of it.
This looks amazing! I love edamame and my hubby is diabetic so I’m curious what the carbohydrate count is on these noodles. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds really good! I’ve never tried edamame before.
I’ve not tried edamame spaghetti before, but it looks sooo good. I love how you can make it in no time at all as well, definitely helpful when you have a busy day and it’s hard to fit in lots of cooking! I actually can’t remember the last time I just had spaghetti to be fair. xx
I did not know that edamame spaghetti existed. I love edamame so I know I would love the edamame spaghetti, especially with the cashews in it. Yum, Yum!
Ooo this just looks and sounds delicious! I love the pasta that is veg based rather than pasta base. I haven’t heard of edamame version, so I will have to keep a lookout for it!
Thanks for sharing another yummy recipe!
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
I’ve never heard of edamame before but think you might have me sold. The nutritious value plus the fact that this can be done in five minutes is a winner! Looks delicious.
I’m always in the basil mood, lovely idea..
Like you said on twitter, these photos are just too good!! I saw this in my reader and was literally pulled in by the picture before the title :’) I finally have tried zucchni & butternut squash spirals lately, so this looks like the next veggie pasta I need to try x
This is certainly an interesting new type of pasta! I don’t know if we have it here in The Netherlands yet but I will look. Edamame is a huge favorite in our house and I have been giving it to my kids since they were babies. It makes a nice snack for them. I also love frying them unpeeled with chili and garlic!
I saw this yesterday and I’ve been dying to make it since. The flavour combination of lime and basil sounds right up my street. Great recipe as always x
These look amazing! I never heard of edamame spaghetti but they sound like a must-try! I never thought about lime and basil together, sounds like a great combo! Thanks for sharing x
This sounds so good, I need to try this recipe!
https://volumesofbeauty.com/
Oh this looks absolutely delicious! I’ll have to go this a go – I reckon J will really enjoy it too xx
Great post! This looks absolutely delicious, and I love the additional protein and how quick this would be to make. I’d love to try this. Thank you for sharing!
5 min. type of dishes are my favorite. I have tried these spaghetti a few years back. They are ok…don’t have that amazing taste of regular spaghetti.
http://www.fashionradi.com
This looks delicious! I’m looking for some new recipes I can start making and this one is just perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Antonia || Sweet Passions
OMG wow! This looks amazing. I love edamame and can easily eat a whole bag of them in one sitting! this pasta recipe is so simple and I’m sure would be a staple in my household. I’ll keep a look out for this but I’ll pin for later. Thanks for sharing xx
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
I’d never heard of edamame spaghetti before but this recipe looks so tasty! My sister is gluten intolerant so I’m always happy to find gluten alternatives! Great recipe and post!
This basil spaghetti looks so good, love how you added lime!
I’ve seen edamame spaghetti in stores but not tried it yet — this looks delicious so I’m going to work it into dinner plans next week!
I don’t think I’ve tried edamame spaghetti before – one for me to keep in mind! Food looks yummy!
Yum!! Edamame spaghetti sounds delicious. Never thought it can be turned into spaghetti and not feel as carby as traditional spaghetti. Love that it’s easy to make and even better that it adds to the aesthetics of the dish. The next green spaghetti might be matcha, but less likely haha. Thanks for sharing!
Nancy ✨ mdrnminimalists.com
thanks for sharing this!!
looks so delicious!!!
These spaghetti look very delicious. Thank you for sharing recipe.
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I bought some edamame noodles before, I haven’t tried them tho lol they are still in my cabinet. I really like the idea of this pesto, I just have the hardest time making it, and I’ve used both the blender and food processor, and it comes out too smooth/creamy, but I’m trying to look at more ways to make it without those things. 🙂
Amazing recipe. I don’t really try fancy spaghetti, but now you had me curious, and will have to try this recipe.