Potatoes, green beans, and pesto offer a delicious and interesting alternative to the usual pasta with pesto. This economical, Italian regional dish from Liguria is a staple in homes and restaurants throughout the area. It’s a seasonal dish that appears in late spring and remains popular throughout the summer and autumn. Green beans, new potatoes, and basil all come into season around the same time, so it’s no surprise that they have been used together in traditional dishes for generations.
When it comes to Italian cuisine, simplicity reigns supreme, and this recipe for patate, fagiolini e pesto (potatoes, green beans, and pesto) is a perfect example. Combining tender new potatoes, crisp green beans, and fragrant vegan pesto captures the essence of fresh, seasonal ingredients and transforms them into a culinary delight that everyone loves.
Potatoes, green beans and pesto can be served as a hot or cold side dish or as a light main course. Pasta al pesto con patate e fagiolini – the same dish with the inclusion of pasta – is another Ligurian signature dish. Patate fagiolini e pesto is even a pizza topping in Liguria!
About this recipe
While quick and easy to make, you’ll need to follow a few important steps if you want to replicate the authentic flavour of this traditional Ligurian dish. Fresh, seasonal produce is ideal, but if you’re out of season and still want to try it, frozen ingredients can be used instead.
Start by making your pesto. I recommend using my vegan basil pesto Genovese recipe, which you can find here. Use new or waxy potatoes for the best results. Cut the beans and potatoes into bite-sized pieces and then follow the cooking instructions below – how you cook them will significantly impact the final dish. Last but not least, remember that pesto should never be cooked, as it will lose its vibrant colour and tangy, aromatic flavour. Stir it in raw just before serving.
Now that I’ve given you a quick lowdown, let’s get started!
How to make potatoes and green beans with pesto
Ingredients
You’ll find the exact quantities of each ingredient in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Vegan basil pesto
I recommend making your own vegan basil pesto for this recipe – homemade always beats any store-bought version. This quick and easy vegan basil pesto Genovese is exactly what you need! If you don’t have the ingredients or time, a ready-made vegan pesto like Barilla works too. For convenience, I’ve included my pesto recipe with ingredients and instructions in the recipe card below so you have everything in one place.
Potatoes
New potatoes are a great choice in the late spring and early summer when they come into season, especially if you’d like to serve this dish cold. At any other time of the year, go for all-purpose or waxy potatoes, which remain relatively firm when cooked. If you only have farinaceous potatoes, you can use them anyway but they do tend to break up easily and can become mushy if cooked too long.
Green beans
Fresh green beans are best for this recipe, but you can use frozen ones if you want. Green beans are usually easy to find, being readily available either fresh or frozen all year round. Look for beans that are fresh, firm, and plump. Avoid beans that are shrivelled/wizened and/or have brown patches.
Instructions
You’ll find step-by-step instructions with photos in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Make the pesto
I make my pesto in a food processor first for speed and ease of preparation. Then, I finish it off with a mortar and pestle to make it smooth, creamy and emulsified. It’s worthwhile going the extra mile with the mortar and pestle because a food processor just chops everything into tiny pieces, and it will never make the pesto as smooth and creamy as a mortar and pestle does. You’ll find instructions for making the vegan pesto in the recipe card below.
Cook the vegetables
- Peel the potatoes, cut them in half, and then cut them into 5 mm slices. Rinse them and put them in a saucepan of cold salted water and bring to a boil.
- In the meantime, wash and trim the green beans and cut them in half or thirds (about 3-4 cm long).
- As soon as the potatoes come to a boil, add the green beans. Bring to a boil again quickly, then turn the heat down low, put a lid on the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the beans and potatoes are tender but still firm.
- Drain the potatoes and beans in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water.
Combine and serve
- Put the potatoes and beans back into the empty pan. Off the heat, stir in the pesto, thinning it down with a tablespoon or two of the cooking water so that the pesto glides over the potatoes and beans. Be careful not to do this over heat as it will cook the pesto and dull its vibrant, fresh flavour.
- Transfer to a serving dish or individual plates. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve.
How to serve Pesto potatoes and green beans
You can serve this dish hot (as described above), warm or cold. If served cold, this dish would be called insalata di patate, fagiolini e pesto in Italian (potato and green bean salad with pesto). I prefer eating it cold or warm because that way, the flavour of the pesto remains vibrant and tangy. Whatever you do, don’t cook the pesto because it ruins the flavour. If serving cold, allow the green beans and potatoes to cool down completely before stirring in the pesto.
Potatoes, green beans and pesto can be enjoyed as a side dish or as a light main course. It’s the perfect barbecue accompaniment for grilled or roasted vegetables, vegan sausages or burgers.
If you want to make this dish more substantial, consider making pasta al pesto con patate e fagiolini by adding pasta when you put the beans in the pan. The best pasta shapes for this dish are trofie, trenette, linguine, casereccie, or fusili. Calculate 40 – 50 g of pasta per person.
How to store pesto potatoes and green beans
You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. For the best flavour, I suggest enjoying it cold rather than reheating it.
Can you freeze pesto potatoes and green beans?
Yes, you can. Freeze any leftovers in portions and store them in the vegetable drawer of the freezer. They will keep for 1 – 2 months. Freezing will alter the flavour and texture slightly, though.
I’m sure you’ll love this delicious potato, green bean and pesto recipe! If you try it and like it, I’d love to hear about it! Let me know in the comments below, or take a quick pic and share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook @vegan_hot_stuff – I love seeing your re-creations!
Potatoes, green beans and pesto
6
servings10
minutes10
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minutesAn easy, vegan version of the classic favourite from Liguria: potatoes, green beans and pesto! The perfect side dish for summer entertaining. Serve with grilled or roasted vegetables or with vegan meats like sausages and burgers.
Recipe by Deborah, veganhotstuff.com
The quantities indicated below serve 6 people as a side.
Ingredients
400 g potatoes
400 g green beans
1 jar vegan basil pesto
- For homemade vegan basil pesto
50 g fresh basil leaves
25 g pine nuts
75 g extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 g unrefined sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 g nutritional yeast flakes
Directions
- Make the vegan basil pesto. If using shop-bought pesto, jump to step 4.
Place the basil leaves in the blender of a food processor, along with the pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. - Add the nutritional yeast flakes and vegan parmesan cheese and blend again briefly to amalgamate.
- Using a spatula, scrape the pesto out of the food processor and transfer it to a mortar. Begin emulsifying the pesto with the pestle, using a gentle and prolonged rotary motion against the bottom and walls of the mortar. Continue like this for 5 – 10 minutes until the pesto is creamy, smooth, and emulsified.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them in half, and then cut them into 5 mm slices. Rinse them and put them in a saucepan of cold water. Salt the water and bring to a boil.
- In the meantime, wash and trim the green beans and cut them in half.
- As soon as the water comes to a boil, add the green beans. Bring to a boil again quickly, then turn the heat down low, put a lid on the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the beans and potatoes are tender.
- Drain the potatoes and beans in a colander. Keep a bit of the cooking water.
- Put the potatoes and beans back into the empty pan. Stir in the pesto, thinning it down with a tablespoon or two of the cooking water so that the pesto glides over the potatoes and beans. Transfer to a serving dish or individual plates. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve either hot or cold.
Notes
- For the best results, I highly recommend you follow the vegan basil pesto recipe exactly. Every detail matters. Adhering to the specified ingredients and techniques will help you achieve a pesto Genovese that is rich, aromatic, and authentically Italian. Trust the process, and you’ll be rewarded with a sauce that elevates any dish it accompanies.
- Be careful not to cook the pesto – it will lose its vibrant colour and tangy, aromatic flavour. Stir it in raw just before serving.
- Keep some of the cooking water to thin down the pesto sauce if necessary.
- See the notes in the main blog post above for the best results.
I hope you liked this recipe for vegan pesto, potatoes and green beans! If you did, it would be great if you could give it 5 stars and leave a comment below! It helps other readers to find my content and posts and ultimately makes my blog more successful! Thank you so much for your support! Deborah xx
Before you go, maybe you’d like to have a look at some other delicious vegan recipes…
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