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Home » Specific Diets » Vegetarian

Published: Sep 2, 2022 by Jacqui

Spaghetti with green beans.


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A traditional green bean pasta from Puglia.

Spaghetti with green beans is a popular and traditional vegetarian pasta dish in Southern Italy. It is perfect for warm days when meals need to be light and easily prepared. Although best made when beans and tomatoes are in season, you can make this dish all year round. Great way to get kids to eat their greens!

spaghetti with green beans

 Spaghetti con fagiolini alla Pugliese.

Fresh green beans are widely available throughout Italy in spring and summer (from May to the end of September). Italians mostly serve them in a salad, as a vegetable side dish or, like this recipe, with pasta.

spaghetti with green beans. Green bean pasta recipe from Puglia.

In Italy, this green bean pasta is called spaghetti con fagiolini alla Pugliese, meaning spaghetti with green beans Puglia style. So, as you may imagine this is a recipe from Puglia, Southern Italy. It is usually made with fresh green beans and fresh tomatoes when both are in season. The beans are partly cooked in the tomato sauce and so they absorb the flavour of the sauce.

Italians eat fagiolini alla Pugliese without pasta as a side dish too. You can use this recipe the same way. Just reduce the amount of passata and serve the sauce without pasta!

ingredients for green bean pasta sauce in white bowls on wood board.
Step 1 Gather your ingredients. fresh tomatoes and green beans, red onion, garlic, chilli pepper and tomato passata.

A great way to get the kids to eat their greens!

Green beans are a really healthy addition to any meal. They contain few calories because they are low in protein, fat and carbohydrates, but they are rich in nutrients and vitamins.

Recipes with green beans, like this one, are also ideal for children because they are a source of fibre. Although a lot of youngsters do not like to eat green veggies, this dish will have the kiddies asking for more!

Sliced tomatoes in white bowl, blanched green beans in white bowl. Peeled and chopped onions and garlic in white bowl and grated cheese in white bowl.
Step 2 prepare the ingredients.

A little green bean history.

Green beans, also known as string beans or snap beans, have been a staple food for thousands of years. This member of the Phaseolus Vulgaris species originated in South America. From there, native tribes took it to Central and North America. However, here in Europe, green beans didn’t arrive until Christopher Columbus brought them over in 1493!

Apparently, Greece, Italy and Turkey were already cultivating green beans in the 17th century. Today, Italy, Spain and Belgium are the most important European green bean growers!

tomato pieces in skillet with onions, garlic and chilli pepper (peperoncino)
Step 3 Sautè the onion, garlic and chilli pepper in olive oil. Then add the tomato pieces.

More red, white and green!

Italians love their ‘tricolore’ dishes, in other words; red, white and green like the Italian flag! The red is, of course, usually tomatoes, the most used fruit in Italian cuisine! The green can be a variety of herbs or veggies, very often it is basil. And the white is, needless to say, cheese! There are countless types of cheese produced and eaten in Italy and many of them are used in cooking.

blanched green beans in skillet with tomatoes, onions and garlic
Step 4. Blanch the green beans in boling water then add them to the tomatoes.

In Puglia, this spaghetti with green beans usually includes marzotica ricotta or a strong ricotta called ‘scuanta’, both of which are produced in Puglia. Some people use cacioricotta, which is what I used.

tomato passata added to skillet with green beans and tomatoes.
Step 5 Cook the beans and tomatoes together for 5 minutes. Then add the tomato passata.

This ricotta cheese is made in a number of different regions,  Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia and Lazio, and is more widely available. It has quite a delicate and delicious taste and is made from sheep or goat milk, a mix of both or from even cow or buffalo milk . You can also use pecorino, ricotta salata or even Parmigiano.

Is this green bean pasta recipe vegetarian?

This recipe is vegetarian if you use a vegetarian cheese. Italian pecorino and Parmigiano aren’t vegetarian because they make them using animal rennet. I’m not sure about the types of hard ricotta I mentioned but fresh ricotta is vegetarian, so aged ricotta should be too. Check the label.

ready green bean and tomato sauce in skillet.
Step 6 Mix everything together and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Making this green bean pasta recipe.

Like many Italian spaghetti pasta recipes, this one is pretty easy to make. It also involves very little prep. All you need to do before cooking is wash and cut the tomatoes into pieces, peel and chop the onion, peel the garlic and wash and top and tail the beans.

cooked spaghetti in skillet with green bean and tomato sauce
Step 7 Cook the spaghetti al dente, drain it and add it to the pan with the beans and tomatoes

Then, partly cook the beans in boiling salted water for just a couple of minutes. You can keep the water to cook the pasta in. While the water is boiling, sauté the onion, garlic and chilli pepper (if using) in olive oil. Then add the tomato pieces, let them soften and then put in the blanched beans.

cooked spaghetti with grated cheese and chopped parsley on top of green bean and tomato sauce in skillet.
Step 8 Add some grated cacioricotta or pecorino and chopped parsley. Then mix the pasta and sauce together.

Cook everything together for 5 minutes and then add the passata and season. Simmer the sauce for 10-15 minutes and it’s ready! Finally, cook the spaghetti al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce with some grated cheese and parsley. Mix and serve with more cheese.

ready green bean pasta in skillet
Step 9 Serve immediately with more grated cheese.

Let me know what you think.

I love pasta recipes which make use of fresh ingredients  and are quite easy to make. This recipe certainly falls into that category. You can also make it with other types of pasta. I also like to use vermicelli or spaghetti alla chitarra. Whichever you use, I’m sure you will love this green bean pasta as much as I do!

spaghetti with green beans.

If you make this recipe I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Buon appetito!

This recipe was first published in 2017. It has been updated with new photos and text.


spaghetti with green beans

Spaghetti with green beans

Jacqui
A delicious and healthy green bean pasta recipe from Puglia in Southern Italy, this spaghetti with green beans is easy to make and great way to get kids to eat veggies. You can serve the bean sauce as a side dish without pasta too.
5 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Total Time 1 hr
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian, Puglia, Southern Italian
Servings 4
Calories 553 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g fresh green beans 14oz
  • 400 g spaghetti 14oz
  • 250 g ripe fresh tomatoes 9oz cut into quarters
  • 200 g tomato passata 9oz less or omit if serving without pasta
  • 1 garlic clove peeled
  • 1 fresh or dried red chilli pepper/ peperocino optional
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • cacioricotta or pecorino cheese grated
  • salt for pasta water and to taste
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Wash the green beans and cut off the thinner parts at each end. Peel and slice the onion very finely. Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters depending on how big they are.
  • Pour the oil into a large frying pan or skillet, heat it and fry the garlic clove, onion and whole peperoncino until the onion starts to soften. Then add the tomato pieces and cook until they start to soften too.
  • In the meantime, in a pot with plenty of salted water, partly cook the green beans for a few minutes. Drain the beans and add them to the pan with the onion and tomatoes.
  • Continue cooking for 5 minutes then add the tomato passata and mix everything together. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • When the sauce is almost ready, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet. I used the water I cooked the beans in. If you are using fresh pasta the cooking time will be very short.
  • Remove the garlic clove and red chilli pepper from the sauce. Drain the pasta and add it to the green beans and tomato sauce.
  • Add a generous sprinkling of grated cacioricotta and mix well. I also added a handful of chopped fresh parsley or you can use basil. (both are optional)
  • Serve with more grated cacioricotta or pecorino sprinkled on top.

Notes

You can also make this recipe with other types of pasta and if you can’t find the right cheese use any semi-hard ricotta or pecorino.
You can serve the beans and tomatoes as a side dish or use short pasta to make a pasta salad. For a side dish reduce or omit the tomato passata.
Leftovers can be turned into a delicous frittata!
Keyword authentic Italian pasta recipe, green bean pasta, green beans

What to do with leftovers.

If you have extra sauce, you can serve it as a side dish with meat or fish. However, leftover ready mixed spaghetti and green beans makes a great pasta frittata. Just keep it sealed in the fridge and then fry it in olive oil or butter until the pasta starts to crisp slightly. Then add beaten eggs mixed with grated cheese.

This frittata is hard to flip so I brown the top under the grill.

A slice of frittata made with leftover spaghetti with green beans on a white plate.
A slice of my frittata made with leftover spaghetti with green beans!

Pin for later.

spaghetti with green beans

Other easy pasta recipes to try.

  1. Assassin’s spaghetti from Puglia
  2. Easy gorgonzola pasta with olives
  3. Spaghetti al limone with ricotta and basil
  4. Pasta with tomato sauce allo scarpariello
  5. Walnut sauce pasta

If you are interested in learning how to make homemade pasta and different types of gnocchi, check out my shop page for some great video online courses from my friends in Rome! Nothing beats learning to make pasta from Italians! Plus while you’re there why not order a copy of one of my pasta recipe cookbooks or checkout some recommended pasta making tools? All great prezzies for pasta lovers!


More Vegetarian

  • Pasta Recipes for Lent.
  • Homemade Fried Rye Flour Ravioli
  • Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi Recipe from Piemonte.
  • Sardinian Fregola with Chickpeas.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shashi at SavorySpin says

    September 15, 2022 at 10:43 pm

    This was perfect for a quick lunch today – thank you!

    Reply
  2. Debbie says

    September 12, 2022 at 3:36 am

    This Spaghetti with green beans is a perfect example of sometimes the simple dishes are the best. My husband and I loved this . That red chili pepper really added punch of flavor.

    Reply
  3. Jamie says

    September 12, 2022 at 1:41 am

    My family loved this for dinner last night! The green beans were perfectly cooked and the sauce was fantastic. Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Katie Crenshaw says

    September 11, 2022 at 10:06 pm

    I needed an inspiration for my meatless Mondays. I tried this recipe and really loved how it turned out. The flavors went so well together and it was very filling. I will be making again.

    Reply
  5. Sean says

    September 10, 2022 at 4:17 am

    This recipe was a new one for me to try and I absolutely loved it!

    Reply
  6. Bernice says

    September 09, 2022 at 6:26 pm

    I certainly would never have thought that this would be a traditional dish! I love how great food travels all over the world and really appreciate that you take the time to talk about the history of a dish in your posts.

    Reply
  7. Natalie says

    September 09, 2022 at 11:21 am

    Making a pasta meal is the only way to sneak veggies to my kids, lol. They love it, we all to, thanks!

    Reply
  8. Ann says

    September 07, 2022 at 9:01 pm

    I have never made a dish like this before, but it sounds delicious! Love the idea of adding green beans to the spaghetti!

    Reply
  9. Kathryn says

    September 05, 2022 at 11:40 pm

    This green bean pasta is so delicious and I love the flavor of green beans with tomato sauce! Such a perfect dinner, thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  10. Gloria says

    September 05, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    I will just about add anything to pasta. We love green beans. This sounds like dinner tonight. Easy and delicious.

    Reply
  11. Gabriela says

    May 20, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    What a gorgeous recipe! So simple and so satisfying! I used ricotta salata and it turned up wonderful.
    Thank you!

    Reply

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Buon giorno and welcome to my pasta project! My name is Jacqui. I’m originally a Londoner but in 2003 life’s journey brought me to the beautiful Veneto region of Italy where…

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