A quick Vegetable Pasta that’s made with less pasta and more veggies that tastes so amazing, no one realises it’s a healthy pasta recipe!!! It’s a vegetarian pasta loaded with a whole head of broccoli, corn, zucchinis, capsicum/peppers and onion, and smothered in a garlic herb tomato sauce.
All made in one pot – from scratch, in 20 minutes. *Fist pump!*
Vegetable Pasta
There’s a time for making vegetable pasta the proper way – roasting veggies until beautifully caramelised, making a pasta sauce, cooking the pasta, then bringing it all together at the end. It’ll take close to an hour, and it’s totally fabulous.
This one pot vegetarian pasta is for all those other times.
A complete meal that covers all bases:
tons of veggies;
light on the pasta;
minimal prep;
just one pot to clean; and
absolutely delish. (The cheese helps… 😉)
Choose your own vegetables and pasta
This is a terrific versatile vegetarian pasta that you can make your own using your vegetables of choice. I’ve used a whole head of broccoli, the icy remains of frozen corn, 2 zucchinis nearing the end of their life and a capsicum/bell pepper. All vegetables I happened to have (albeit I then had to go out and buy them again to make the video 😂)
You can also choose your own pasta. This recipe will work with any short pasta – macaroni, spirals, penne, ziti (which is what I’ve used).
Jeez, I’m being flexible today, aren’t I! I figure after all the rules I set out in Friday’s Chocolate Mousse, I was due for a nice and easy “use what you want” recipe today. 😂
Though having said that, while this vegetable pasta is adaptable to whatever vegetables and short pasta you want, the liquid quantities and cook times are not as flexible so please do follow the recipe.
A 20 Minute Quick Healthy Dinner
This recipe has a nice flow to it. I start off by chopping the garlic and onion, then get that on the stove to cook slowly on a low heat so it becomes sweet and becomes an amazing flavour base for this quick healthy dinner.
In between leisurely stirring the onion every now and then, I chop the other vegetables, pop open cans and measure out the herbs and spices so it’s all ready to go into the pot by the time the onion is done.
Once the pasta is in, it takes a mere 10 minutes to finish cooking. Much longer than this and you’ll end up with soggy pasta, so basically, this has to be a quick 20 minutes recipe otherwise your pasta is overcooked! 😂
I know I’m talking up how this is a healthy Vegetable Pasta recipe but when you watch the video, you’re going to see me toss in a nice handful of cheese that’s stirred through the pasta, then a bit more to melt on top.
There’s no denying cheese makes this even tastier, but for a healthier option, opt for some parmesan instead.
Excluding the cheese, this pasta is a mere 378 calories per serving – and it’s a generous serving size, this recipe makes a big pot full!
Either way, you’re going to be yscoffing this down. Added bonus: it’s great Couch Food. (Definition: food you can eat on the couch without taking your eyes off the TV 🙌🏻) – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Sometimes it’s nice to have a visual, so watch me make this Vegetable Pasta!
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Vegetable Pasta – One Pot!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 2 zucchinis* , halved lengthwise and cut into sliced 0.8cm / 1/3″ slices
- 1 red capsicum/bell pepper* , halved and sliced
- 1 cup corn* (frozen or canned)
- 1 broccoli* , broken into bite size florets
- 250g/ 0.5lb ziti/penne , or other short pasta (Note 1)
- 800 g / 28 oz crushed tomato
- 1.5 cups / 375 ml vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Italian herb mix (or other dried herbs)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (chilli flakes, adjust spiciness to taste)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
Optional:
- 1.5 cups shredded cheese of choice (Cheddar, tasty, Monterey Jack etc)
To serve:
- Finely chopped parsley (optional)
- Parmesan (if not using cheese)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Add garlic and onion – cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes until onion is translucent and sweet.
- Turn heat up to medium high, add zucchini and capsicum. Cook 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT pasta and broccoli. Stir until tomato paste dissolves.
- When liquid starts bubbling, lower heat to medium, add pasta and stir. Top with broccoli, push in.
- Place lid on and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until pasta is almost cooked through and most of the liquid has been absorbed by the pasta.
- Stir through half the cheese (if using). Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with remaining cheese, put lid on. Leave for 1 minute until cheese is melted and pasta is perfectly cooked.
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. Don’t leave leftovers in the pot, residual heat will overcook the pasta so transfer into a serving dish.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
MORE ONE POT PASTA READER FAVES!
Life of Dozer
If only it was real….
In the realm of a healthy week night meal this recipe gets 5 stars for me. This is super easy to throw together and very well seasoned as written. My pasta was still a touch raw after the suggested cook time but I just let it continue to simmer stirring occassionally until almost cooked – cook times are never exact, lots of variables. I used red pepper, zuchinni, carrots and celery for the vegetables and lightly blended a can of whole San Marzano’s in place of crushed tomatoes.
Thanks Nagi!
Holly x
I have a somewhat strange question. Can I use cream instead of the broth? Generally I try for lower calorie, lower animal fat food, but I have a sudden urge for pasta with cream.
We loved this recipe and the versatility with using whatever vegetables are in the fridge or freezer. We had trouble getting the pasta cooked. We will cook the pasta separately next time which wasn’t the objective of the recipe. But if we cook the pasta first, and then use the same pot for the sauce, it’s technically still a one pot meal!
Thank you so much for your recipes. i was not a good cook but now can make beautiful meals.
That’s amazing!!! You’re a star in the kitchen! N x
If I want to use a whole pound of pasta, should I just double everything else too?
Hi Renee, click the number of servings and scale up to 10, all the ingredients will scale up for you 🙂 N x
This recipe is so delicious, it’s a must to cook. I couldn’t even talk after I tasted it. It’s very well balanced, the flavor is scrumptious. The measurements are perfect. I used bow tie pasta in mine, was very cute. I will recommend this recipe to all my friends. Nagi, I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes. Thank you so much for this amazing dish! You made my whole family smile!
Such a nice recipe, thank you.
I would have given it 5 stars but took me much longer than 20 mins all in all. But the taste was fantastic.
AMAZING! You should take this to a master chef it’s just pure Amazing
Just made it. omg it’s soo delicious. My family loved it! kids as well! it was definitely a hit. Different pasta than usual. you should definitely give a try!!
How many people does this serve?
Can this dish be made in big batches and frozen?
Did you have success freezing it? I want to try freezing it
Made it tonight. I would describe it as outstanding. I used a full teaspoon of the chilli flakes as we like things spicy. Absolute triumph so thanks.
Are you using dried pasta or fresh pasta in this? You don’t say in the recipe.
If dried, are you just putting it straight into the sauce and not cooking it first??
Hi Rob, the pasta is dried and not pre-cooked, it goes into the pot raw making it the perfect one pot dish! N x
Thank you for that – I wil make it today!
Just made this and it turned out great. So tasty. My husband said it was ‘restaurant quality’. I’ll definitely be making this on a regular basis.
Tried tonight and it was really good! and healthy! 🙂 I’ll try again! Thank you for the recipe!
Tried this recipe tonight and is definitely a keeper
Great recipe. Made it for the family tonight, and we all enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for sharing this, we’ll definitely be making this one again in the future.
Love how simple this meal is! Tasted amazing and everyone loved it. Thank you for your recipe.
Can this be made in the oven? Or made in advance and frozen?
Just loved it!! Too good. Made as it is no changes and turned out awesome. I am lacto vegetarian and have tried your cannelloni and now this pasta, both were delicious. Thank you Nagi!!
Absolutely loved this recipe! I’ve recently been making pasta recipes that involve cream so it’s nice to find a great healthy recipe that tastes perfect without the extra calories! My husband and I absolutely loved it, really saucy recipe and so full of flavour!
I substituted the broth for a vegetable stock cube and it worked perfectly well. Will definitely be making this for family dinners in the future!
Wahooo, that’s great to hear Shraddha!! N x