This gluten free Grilled Vegetable Pasta is a fusion dish that brings together foods you might not have thought to cook on the grill. It not only works, it's a winning combination that's worth repeating year after year.
If you're aiming to eat 30 plants a week, this one dish is a great way to start the week. If you need more serve this with a simple garden salad with vinaigrette dressing and add a few more. If you're cooking with friends wow them with easy Grilled Fruit Skewers and you can hit 30 in one meal!
For the meat eaters we serve slices of this grilled flank steak recipe on top of the pasta. The chipotle chiles in the marinade go well with this dish.
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Ingredients
Gluten free cooks need to relearn everything they knew about pasta. What kinds are available (there are lots of them), and how to cook them without over cooking them. It takes a bit of effort but once you find a pasta the whole family enjoys you'll be laughing!
- gluten free fusilli
- cauliflower
- asparagus
- carrots
- red or yellow pepper
- yellow or green zucchini
- red onion
- white wine
- olive oil
- lime juice
- gluten free soy sauce
- canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, click the link if these are new to you
- brown sugar
- ground cumin
- cilantro
- garlic
- goat cheese
- pumpkin seeds
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Instructions for Grilling Vegetables
No one wants their veggies to end up under the grill so here are three ways to prevent that from happening.
- Insert skewers into peeled whole onions by holding the onion on its' side and pushing through to the cutting board. Imagine cutting the onion into four thick slices and push the skewers in between those imaginary lines. It takes practise and I put two skewers in each onion since they don't always poke through perfectly.
- Thread small vegetables like cherry tomatoes, mushrooms or baby veggies keeping only one vegetable on each skewer. This makes them easy to handle, they cook evenly and can be removed as they are done. Slide them off the skewer creating a nice presentation on your platter.
- Create a safe grilling surface on a shared barbecue with reusable grilling sheets. They can be cut to any size you need, washed with soap and water, and reused over and over. They're an upgrade from plain old tin foil which also works.
Substitutions
Chipotle chiles are smoked jalapeños in a spicy adobo sauce and there is no real substitution. A similar taste can be achieved by using chipotle chili powder. It can be found in the spice aisle at many grocery stores.
To learn more about the chilies in adobo sauce check out this post, Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce vs Chipotle Chile Powder.
Variations
Use any vegetables you have on hand and whatever is in season. The benefit of following a recipe is to help you think about buying and eating more variety. Don't get in a rut of always cooking the same vegetables.
Equipment
Reusable grilling sheets are perfect to prevent cross contact with gluten on any grill anywhere. I have a few full size ones made by Cookina. Similar ones are available for baking in the oven but they are not the same.
Storage
The sauce in this recipe doubles as a marinade, a brilliant step that makes this dinner a little bit easier. I measure the ingredients straight into a 2-cup Mason jar so there is one less bowl to wash. With no raw meat you can brush the marinade on the vegetables right from the jar leaving the sauce ready to be added to the hot pasta.
If you have leftover marinade/sauce simply put the lid on the jar and label it. Guaranteed you will not know what is in the jar in two days. Three if you're exceptionally smart.
Top Tip
Just for fun print the plant list from this post, 30 Plants a Week; Gluten Free Food Challenge, and mark off all the plants you ate in this meal. Read the pasta package, some of them contain three or four flours and they all count. We did this right at the table because I knew there were a lot of different plants in this dish.
Gluten Free Grilled Vegetable Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb gluten free fusilli
- 6 large cauliflower florets halved
- 12 asparagus spears trimmed
- 4 carrots peeled and cut lengthwise
- 1 red or yellow pepper quartered
- 1 yellow or green zucchini sliced lengthwise into thick slices
- ½ red onion sliced and skewered to hold it together
MARINADE
- ½ cup white wine
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup gluten free soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon pureed canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (or 1-2 chiles with sauce, minced)
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
FINISHING
- 4 oz goat cheese
- ½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Instructions
VEGETABLES
- Cut and set aside on a platter while making the marinade.
MARINADE
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a large pyrex measuring cup. Reserve about half to toss with cooked pasta.
- Brush all the vegetables with remaining marinade and set aside for about 30 minutes.
GRILLING
- Cook vegetables in batches on preheated barbecue, brush with additional marinade if desired. Remove vegetables from grill as they are cooked to your liking.
- Cut vegetables into bite size pieces. Can be prepared several hours in advance.
PASTA
- Bring water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse to stop cooking process.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the pasta pot. Add grilled vegetables, stir gently to reheat. Add pasta and reserved marinade, toss to evenly combine. Taste and salt if needed.
SERVING
- Sprinkle each dish with goat cheese, cilantro and pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately.
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