diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c
index 1d6442ef9..5dc533a7f 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/combine_query_planner.c
@@ -317,8 +317,8 @@ BuildSelectStatementViaStdPlanner(Query *combineQuery, List *remoteScanTargetLis
 
 
 /*
- * FindCitusExtradataContainerRTE is a helper function that finds the
- * citus_extradata_container in range table entry.
+ * ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE is a helper function that stores rangeTblEntry
+ * to result if it has citus extra data container.
  *
  * The function returns true if it finds the RTE, and false otherwise.
  */
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c
index fc031a27a..1fbead454 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/deparse_shard_query.c
@@ -34,11 +34,13 @@
 #include "distributed/combine_query_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/deparse_shard_query.h"
 #include "distributed/insert_select_planner.h"
+#include "distributed/query_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/listutils.h"
 #include "distributed/local_executor.h"
 #include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
 #include "distributed/multi_physical_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/multi_router_planner.h"
+#include "distributed/recursive_planning.h"
 #include "distributed/shard_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/utils/citus_stat_tenants.h"
 #include "distributed/version_compat.h"
@@ -205,58 +207,6 @@ UpdateTaskQueryString(Query *query, Task *task)
 }
 
 
-/*
- * ExtractRangeTableIds walks over the given node, and finds all range
- * table entries.
- */
-bool
-ExtractRangeTableIds(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableIdsContext *context)
-{
-	List **rangeTableList = context->result;
-	List *rtable = context->rtable;
-
-	if (node == NULL)
-	{
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	if (IsA(node, RangeTblRef))
-	{
-		int rangeTableIndex = ((RangeTblRef *) node)->rtindex;
-
-		RangeTblEntry *rte = rt_fetch(rangeTableIndex, rtable);
-		if (rte->rtekind == RTE_SUBQUERY)
-		{
-			Query *subquery = rte->subquery;
-			context->rtable = subquery->rtable;
-			ExtractRangeTableIds((Node *) subquery, context);
-			context->rtable = rtable; /* restore original rtable */
-		}
-		else if (rte->rtekind == RTE_RELATION || rte->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION)
-		{
-			(*rangeTableList) = lappend(*rangeTableList, rte);
-			ereport(DEBUG4, (errmsg("ExtractRangeTableIds: found range table id %d", rte->relid)));
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			ereport(DEBUG4, (errmsg("Unsupported RTE kind in ExtractRangeTableIds %d", rte->rtekind)));
-		}
-		return false;
-	}
-	else if (IsA(node, Query))
-	{
-		context->rtable = ((Query *) node)->rtable;
-		query_tree_walker((Query *) node, ExtractRangeTableIds, context, 0);
-		context->rtable = rtable; /* restore original rtable */
-		return false;
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		return expression_tree_walker(node, ExtractRangeTableIds, context);
-	}
-}
-
-
 /* 
  * Iterates through the FROM clause of the query and checks if there is a join
  * clause with a reference and distributed table. 
@@ -291,54 +241,16 @@ GetRepresentativeTablesFromJoinClause(List *fromlist, List *rtable, RangeTblEntr
 			int outerRtIndex = ((RangeTblRef *)joinExpr->larg)->rtindex;
 			RangeTblEntry *outerRte = rt_fetch(outerRtIndex, rtable);
 
-			/* the outer table is a reference table */
-			if (outerRte->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION)
+			if(!IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(outerRte))
 			{
-				RangeTblEntry *newRte = NULL;
-				if (!ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE(outerRte, &newRte))
-				{
-					/* RTE does not contain citus_extradata_container */
-					return -1; 
-				}
-			}
-			else if (outerRte->rtekind == RTE_RELATION)
-			{
-				/* OK */
-				ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("\t\t outerRte: is RTE_RELATION")));
-			}
-			else
-			{
-				ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("\t\t not supported RTE kind %d", outerRte->rtekind)));
+				ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("GetRepresentativeTablesFromJoinClause: RTE is not pushdown safe")));
 				return -1;
 			}
 
 			ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("\t OK outerRte: %s", outerRte->eref->aliasname)));
-			
-			int innerRelid = InvalidOid;
-			ExtractRangeTableIdsContext context;
-			List *innerRteList = NIL;
-			context.result = &innerRteList;
-			context.rtable = rtable;
-			/* TODO:  what if we call this also for LHS? */
-			ExtractRangeTableIds((Node *)joinExpr->rarg, &context);
 
-			List *citusRelids = NIL;
-			RangeTblEntry *rte = NIL;
-			ListCell *lc;
-
-			foreach(lc, innerRteList)
+			if (!CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated((Node *)joinExpr->rarg, rtable, innerRte))
 			{
-				rte = (RangeTblEntry *) lfirst(lc);
-				if (IsCitusTable(rte->relid))
-				{
-					citusRelids = lappend_int(citusRelids, rte->relid);
-					*innerRte = rte; // set the value of innerRte
-				}
-			}
-
-			if (!AllDistributedRelationsInListColocated(citusRelids))
-			{
-				ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("The distributed tables are not colocated")));
 				return -1;
 			}
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c b/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c
index 64a6f88ad..0a0b87592 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/planner/recursive_planning.c
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@
 
 #include "distributed/citus_nodes.h"
 #include "distributed/citus_ruleutils.h"
+#include "distributed/combine_query_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/commands/multi_copy.h"
 #include "distributed/distributed_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/errormessage.h"
@@ -709,17 +710,27 @@ RecursivelyPlanRecurringTupleOuterJoinWalker(Node *node, Query *query,
 			{
 				/* <recurring> left join <distributed> */
 
-				/* TODO: For now, just disable the recursive planning here. 
-				 * However, we should add further checks, i.e., left node is a subquery
-				 * that can not be pushed down with additional constrains. 
+				/* Recursively plan the right side of the left left join when the following 
+				 * conditions are met:
+				 * 1. The left side is recurring
+				 * 2. The right side is not recurring
+				 * 3. The left side is not a RangeTblRef (i.e., it is not a reference/local table)
+				 * 4. The tables in the rigt side are not colocated.
+				 * 5. The left side does not have the distribution column  
 				 */
-				if (leftNodeRecurs && !rightNodeRecurs && false)				
+				if (leftNodeRecurs && !rightNodeRecurs)				
 				{
-					ereport(DEBUG1, (errmsg("recursively planning right side of "
-											"the left join since the outer side "
-											"is a recurring rel")));
-					RecursivelyPlanDistributedJoinNode(rightNode, query,
-													   recursivePlanningContext);
+					int outerRtIndex = ((RangeTblRef *) leftNode)->rtindex;
+					RangeTblEntry *rte = rt_fetch(outerRtIndex, query->rtable);
+
+					if(!IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(rte))
+					{
+						ereport(DEBUG1, (errmsg("recursively planning right side of "
+												"the left join since the outer side "
+												"is a recurring rel that is not an RTE")));
+						RecursivelyPlanDistributedJoinNode(rightNode, query,
+														recursivePlanningContext);
+					}
 				}
 
 				/*
@@ -2588,3 +2599,35 @@ GeneratingSubplans(void)
 {
 	return recursivePlanningDepth > 0;
 }
+
+
+/*
+ * IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin returns true if the given range table entry 
+ * is safe for pushdown. Currently, we only allow RTE_RELATION and RTE_FUNCTION.
+ */
+bool IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(RangeTblEntry *rte)
+{
+	if (rte->rtekind == RTE_RELATION)
+	{
+		return true;
+	}
+	/* check if it is a citus table, e.g., ref table */
+	else if (rte->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION)
+	{
+		RangeTblEntry *newRte = NULL;
+		if(!ExtractCitusExtradataContainerRTE(rte, &newRte))
+		{
+			ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("RTE type %d is not safe for pushdown, function but it does not contain citus extradata",
+									rte->rtekind)));
+			return false;
+		}
+		return true;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("RTE type %d is not safe for pushdown",
+							    rte->rtekind)));
+		return false;
+	}
+	
+}
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c
index ac33bdd52..39efcbcb5 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/query_utils.c
@@ -15,9 +15,11 @@
 #include "catalog/pg_class.h"
 #include "nodes/nodeFuncs.h"
 #include "nodes/primnodes.h"
+#include "parser/parsetree.h"
 
 #include "distributed/listutils.h"
 #include "distributed/query_utils.h"
+#include "distributed/relation_restriction_equivalence.h"
 #include "distributed/version_compat.h"
 
 
@@ -178,3 +180,93 @@ ExtractRangeTableIndexWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableIndexList)
 
 	return walkerResult;
 }
+
+
+/*
+ * ExtractRangeTableIds walks over the given node, and finds all range
+ * table entries.
+ */
+bool
+ExtractRangeTableIds(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableIdsContext *context)
+{
+	List **rangeTableList = context->idList;
+	List *rtable = context->rtable;
+
+	if (node == NULL)
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	if (IsA(node, RangeTblRef))
+	{
+		int rangeTableIndex = ((RangeTblRef *) node)->rtindex;
+
+		RangeTblEntry *rte = rt_fetch(rangeTableIndex, rtable);
+		if (rte->rtekind == RTE_SUBQUERY)
+		{
+			Query *subquery = rte->subquery;
+			context->rtable = subquery->rtable;
+			ExtractRangeTableIds((Node *) subquery, context);
+			context->rtable = rtable; /* restore original rtable */
+		}
+		else if (rte->rtekind == RTE_RELATION || rte->rtekind == RTE_FUNCTION)
+		{
+			(*rangeTableList) = lappend(*rangeTableList, rte);
+			ereport(DEBUG4, (errmsg("ExtractRangeTableIds: found range table id %d", rte->relid)));
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			ereport(DEBUG4, (errmsg("Unsupported RTE kind in ExtractRangeTableIds %d", rte->rtekind)));
+		}
+		return false;
+	}
+	else if (IsA(node, Query))
+	{
+		context->rtable = ((Query *) node)->rtable;
+		query_tree_walker((Query *) node, ExtractRangeTableIds, context, 0);
+		context->rtable = rtable; /* restore original rtable */
+		return false;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		return expression_tree_walker(node, ExtractRangeTableIds, context);
+	}
+}
+
+
+/* 
+ * CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated checks if all distributed tables in the
+ * given node are colocated. If they are, it sets the value of rte to a
+ * representative table.
+ */
+bool CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated(Node *node, List *rtable, RangeTblEntry **rte)
+{
+	ExtractRangeTableIdsContext context;
+	List *idList = NIL;
+	context.idList = &idList;
+	context.rtable = rtable;
+	ExtractRangeTableIds(node, &context);
+
+	RangeTblEntry *rteTmp;
+	List *citusRelids = NIL;
+	ListCell *lc = NULL;
+
+	foreach(lc, idList)
+	{
+		rteTmp = (RangeTblEntry *) lfirst(lc);
+		if (IsCitusTable(rteTmp->relid))
+		{
+			citusRelids = lappend_int(citusRelids, rteTmp->relid);
+			*rte = rteTmp; // set the value of rte, a representative table
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (!AllDistributedRelationsInListColocated(citusRelids))
+	{
+		ereport(DEBUG5, (errmsg("The distributed tables are not colocated")));
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	return true;
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h b/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h
index 7817cbd3d..e68bb067e 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/deparse_shard_query.h
@@ -23,15 +23,8 @@
 #include "distributed/query_utils.h"
 
 
-/* Struct to pass rtable list and the result list to walker */
-typedef struct ExtractRangeTableIdsContext
-{
-	List **result;
-	List *rtable;
-} ExtractRangeTableIdsContext;
 
 int GetRepresentativeTablesFromJoinClause(List *fromlist, List *rtable, RangeTblEntry **innerRte);
-bool ExtractRangeTableIds(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableIdsContext *context);
 extern void RebuildQueryStrings(Job *workerJob);
 extern bool UpdateRelationToShardNames(Node *node, List *relationShardList);
 extern bool UpdateWhereClauseForOuterJoin(Node *node, List *relationShardList);
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h b/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h
index 0b216d158..51b00f551 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/query_utils.h
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ typedef struct ExtractRangeTableWalkerContext
 	ExtractRangeTableMode walkerMode;
 } ExtractRangeTableWalkerContext;
 
+/* Struct to pass rtable list and the result list to walker */
+typedef struct ExtractRangeTableIdsContext
+{
+	List **idList;
+	List *rtable;
+} ExtractRangeTableIdsContext;
+
 /* Function declarations for query-walker utility functions */
 extern bool ExtractRangeTableList(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableWalkerContext *context);
 
@@ -38,5 +45,6 @@ extern bool ExtractRangeTableRelationWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableList);
 extern bool ExtractRangeTableEntryWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableList);
 
 extern bool ExtractRangeTableIndexWalker(Node *node, List **rangeTableIndexList);
-
+extern bool ExtractRangeTableIds(Node *node, ExtractRangeTableIdsContext *context);
+extern bool CheckIfAllCitusRTEsAreColocated(Node *node, List *rtable, RangeTblEntry **rte);
 #endif /* QUERY_UTILS_H */
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h b/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h
index b4aaa4785..b7fad123d 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/recursive_planning.h
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ extern bool IsRecursivelyPlannableRelation(RangeTblEntry *rangeTableEntry);
 extern bool IsRelationLocalTableOrMatView(Oid relationId);
 extern bool ContainsReferencesToOuterQuery(Query *query);
 extern void UpdateVarNosInNode(Node *node, Index newVarNo);
+extern bool IsPushdownSafeForRTEInLeftJoin(RangeTblEntry *rte);
 
 
 #endif /* RECURSIVE_PLANNING_H */