Add this fresh tortellini salad recipe to your weekend menu, stat! It features cheesy spinach tortellini tossed in my all-time favorite green goddess dressing, layered with lemony fresh greens and seasoned spring or summer vegetables.

This pasta dish manages to be light yet hearty at the same time, which is a real feat. It’s quick to make, but looks impressive. It’s versatile, too—you’ll see quite a few vegetable options below. Choose raw vegetables for the simplest preparation, as I did for these photos, or incorporate some quickly blanched vegetables, like asparagus, to expand your options.

My healthy homemade green goddess dressing comes together quickly in the blender or food processor. I suggest doubling the ingredients so you can serve the extra as a veggie dip or refrigerate it for upcoming green salads. It’s really delightful to have on hand.

Choose spinach tortellini over basic cheese tortellini to incorporate even more greens. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. This vegetarian pasta salad is a real crowd pleaser!

The post Green Goddess Tortellini Salad appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Honestly, I didn’t know green beans could be this good. Inspired by a classic French recipe (haricots verts amandine), this green bean recipe features buttery toasted almonds, tender shallot and a squeeze of lemon.

I hope this recipe title caught your attention, because these green beans will be the standout on any plate. I have to stop myself from eating the whole pan myself, and I never thought I’d say that. Give me the choice between this dish and green bean casserole, and there’s no contest. Green beans amandine for the win.

This side dish is simple enough for weeknight dinners, but fancy enough for the holidays. I wrote the recipe to yield enough for about four people. You can very easily double the recipe for a crowd as long as you use a Dutch oven to contain the beans.

Haricots verts amandine translates to “almond green beans.” It’s often anglicized to “green beans amandine,” which then mistakenly turns into “green beans almondine.” I can see why, but I attended too many years of French class not to point this out!

I can’t say I remember eating these green beans during my semester in Bordeaux, France. Just one more excuse to go back when we can. I’ve tested these ingredients and techniques over and over again so you can enjoy this dish at home.

You won’t need to bother blanching the green beans—this dish magically comes together in one skillet. The recipe requires a bit of patience and some stirring, but it’s 100 percent worth the effort. Keep this recipe handy, because it goes with just about everything!

The post Best Ever Green Beans appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Have you tried roasted green beans? They’re new to me, so I’m excited to spread the word with this recipe! Roasted green beans are a light and healthy side dish to accompany heavier meals. They’re also a great way to entice kids to eat green vegetables—our toddler daughter eats them like French fries.

Green beans are one of the quickest roasted veggie options since they’re ready after just 15 minutes in the oven. Like all roasted vegetables, roasted green beans taste intensified and caramelized, like more sophisticated versions of their raw or steamed states.

Roasted green beans are quite simple to prepare. Here are a few tips before you get started:

• Start with vibrant, fresh green beans. They should have firm, even skin and snap easily. Don’t bother roasting old, starchy green beans.
• Pat your green beans dry before tossing with oil. Drops of water on the outside will turn into mushy spots in the oven.
• Don’t crowd the beans. If you want to double the recipe to serve a larger crowd, split the beans across two pans.
• Roast the green beans at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, the perfect temperature for achieving golden edges without overcooking the beans.
• Stop roasting when the beans are crisp-tender with some caramelized spots, about 14 to 16 minutes. No need to roast green beans to oblivion.

Watch How to Roast Green Beans

The post Perfect Roasted Green Beans appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

You know how most vegetable soups are pretty tired and “blah”? Not this one! This hearty homemade vegetable soup is full of fresh, wholesome flavors.

I’m excited to share this vegetable soup recipe with you. It’s honestly the best I’ve ever had, and I hope you’ll agree. You just might have all the ingredients you’ll need to make this easy soup on hand already.

I can think of so many reasons to make this soup. Warm up with a big bowl of veggie soup on a cold day. Make it for someone who’s under the weather. My husband has a cold and it’s snowing outside as I type, so this soup is just what we need right now.

Prepare a batch and you’ll have a healthy side dish ready to go for the rest of the week. This soup is a great way to lighten up heavier meals, especially as we get into the holidays. Did I mention that it’s vegetarian, vegan and gluten free for all to enjoy?

The post Seriously Good Vegetable Soup appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Finally! It’s about time this blog offered a traditional minestrone soup recipe. Minestrone is a hearty Italian vegetable soup made with tomato-y broth and pasta or rice. I’ve been working hard on this recipe and I’m so excited to share it with you.

Minestrone was traditionally made to use up leftover vegetables, so feel free to use any seasonal vegetables and greens you have on hand. I used potatoes and spinach for the soup you see here, and it was absolutely delicious.

I listed some alternatives in the recipe, including yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, green beans or peas. That means that you can make seasonal minestrone on cool days from fall through spring!

I used canned beans here instead of cooking my own, which cuts the cooking time down to a reasonable weeknight level. The remaining ingredients are basic pantry items, including canned tomatoes, pasta, basic spices and onions.

The post Classic Minestrone Soup appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

I didn’t intend to eat green beans for dinner last night, but it happened. I’ve learned a new trick to cooking them that yields tender-but-not-waterlogged (and definitely not mushy) green beans. I tossed my perfectly cooked green beans in a lemony sauce with savory toasted almonds, creamy and salty feta, and fresh basil.

I couldn’t stop myself, not that I wanted to. Who am I? This is coming from a girl who used to refuse her grandmother’s home-grown green beans as a kid.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from Sarah’s Instagram account (I love her stories). She shared a few snaps of a green bean salad with feta, and it looked so summery and delicious. I should have just asked for her recipe, but instead I took the more difficult route and created my own version.

I borrowed the cooking technique from America’s Test Kitchen. Instead of simmering the green beans in water, you cook them in a skillet, covered with a small amount of water, then uncover, raise the heat, and cook until it has evaporated. You end up with green beans with a lot more flavor than the watery, simmered variety. Try it!

Watch How to Make Green Bean Salad

The post Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Did you grow up with green bean casserole on your Thanksgiving table? I actually did not. If we were at Grandma’s house, she made her usual green bean side with home-grown green beans, bacon and onions, which I refused to eat because I only liked canned green beans. C’mon, little Kate. If we were at our house, Mom heated up canned green beans with nothing else, which was exactly how I liked them.

Turkey and Great Grandmother Lucille’s twice-baked cream cheese mashed potatoes recipe were constants either way. I really need to figure out a more redeeming version of that recipe, because it puts all other mashed potatoes to shame.

My first experience making green bean casserole was in college when I signed up to make it on our Friendsgiving menu list, for reasons that I still can’t explain. This was before I knew how to cook, so I Googled the recipe and went with one of the top picks.

Canned mushroom soup, canned green beans, canned fried onions. Easy enough to manage, but I was put off by the canned mushroom soup. I didn’t like the final result much, but my friends did, probably because that’s what they had grown up eating.

That’s the extent of my green bean casserole story, until now! I have a mostly homemade green bean casserole recipe for you that’s made with fresh green beans and mushrooms (over 2 pounds of them). I love it. The rich mushroom flavor really shines through and makes this vegetarian casserole dish taste spectacular.

The post Almost Homemade Green Bean Casserole appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Make this salad once, and you’ll crave it all summer long. It’s an unexpected riff on classic quinoa salad, perfect for summer potlucks and barbecues. It’s hearty but fresh, and one to try even if you’re not the biggest fan of green beans (this recipe might change your mind).

I’m obsessed with this salad’s contrasting flavors and textures, and I love how they come together. The salad features blistered green beans cooked to perfection with some sweet red onion and garlic, freshly toasted slivered almonds for a savory crunch, tender cooked quinoa and sweet raw corn, creamy feta and tangy tomatoes.

Toss it all in a zippy lemon-basil dressing for an unforgettable salad experience.

The post Blistered Green Bean and Corn Quinoa Salad appeared first on Cookie and Kate.