How good is Mexican pasta! There’s no particular reason to call it that except for the fact that the recipe for the sauce is very similar to that of Chili con carne. In fact, most of the ingredients are there: Mexican beans, peppers, spices. The minced meat is missing because this recipe is vegan and adding soy mince would really be adding too many proteins in my opinion…
And it tastes great even without the mince, trust me. It’s a pasta dish that serves as a complete meal. I’ve also added arugula to include a vegetable from the cruciferous family, which have many benefits, but I won’t list them here otherwise, we’ll discuss the recipe another day!
Also, since I’ve tried it, I assure you that Mexican pasta is very good even when cooled down, like a pasta salad. Not fridge-cold but at room temperature. So if you bring lunch to work, this is a great idea for you.
I’ll also leave you some other ideas of one-dish pasta before moving on to the recipe:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
For alternative ingredients, read the FAQs at the end of the recipe.
- 5.64 oz pasta
- 7.05 oz red beans (the English name is kidney beans)
- 7.05 oz tomato pulp
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 carrot
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp curry
- to taste hot chili pepper
- 3.53 oz arugula
- to taste salt
- Total points = 22 WW points
- Points per serving = 11 WW points
Tools
- Knife
- Pan
- Pot
Steps
Start by preparing all the vegetables: slice the onion thinly, chop the garlic into small pieces (if you want to remove it at the end of cooking, just cut it into 2 parts), dice the peppers and carrot.
Pour the 2 teaspoons of oil and the onion into the pan. As soon as it begins to fry, lower the heat and add chili pepper and curry. Spices taste better when toasted for a few minutes at the start. If it dries too much, add a little water.
Add garlic, carrot, and peppers, a little salt, and stir. Cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes to flavor the vegetables.
Add the tomato pulp and the rinsed and drained beans. Cover and let cook over low heat.
Meanwhile, prepare the pasta. When the pasta is almost cooked, add the arugula to the pan, mix and turn off: it just needs to wilt and not cook. Adjust the salt.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it, pour it into the pan with the sauce and mix well.
Our Mexican pasta is ready! Very colorful and so fragrant!
Really a meal that fills you up with few Weight Watchers points. Considering it’s complete, 11 WW points are just right for a meal!
As I said before, this pasta is delicious served both freshly cooked and at room temperature. So this is an ideal meal to bring to work or for a picnic. Try it and then let me know if you liked it.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
I can’t find red beans…
I recommend using red beans typically found in Mexican recipes, sometimes you find them under the English name: kidney beans. If you really can’t find them, you can also use borlotti beans, but the result will be creamy while the red beans stay crunchy during cooking and do not get mushy.
I can’t find yellow peppers…
I prefer to use peppers of different colors to create a colorful dish, but common red peppers are just fine!
I can’t find arugula this season…
Then use spinach, which is nutritious even though it’s not a cruciferous. The cooking method will be identical: just 1 minute to wilt them. If you’re more daring, you can use the tender part of black cabbage leaves, letting them cook for just a couple of minutes. This way, you also have a cruciferous in the dish!
Which type of pasta is best suited?
Pasta in this diet is always 1 point for every 10 g uncooked. You can use the pasta you prefer! I usually use whole wheat pasta, and for this dish, I generally choose penne or fusilli. But nothing stops you from using another type or even gluten-free pasta if you can’t tolerate it.
How do you store it?
If there’s any left, or you want to prepare it the day before, put it in a container in the fridge, and it will last at least 3 days. But take it out of the fridge a few hours before: I think it’s better at room temperature than fridge cold. I don’t know if it can be frozen; aside from lasagna, I never freeze pasta… You can freeze the sauce but without the arugula, which is better added afterward!
