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….
Delicious and easy. Will make again. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
You’re so welcome Kara, thanks so much for letting me know you loved it! ❤️ N x
Super easy, yummy and pretty healthy! Added a can of drained lentils to up the protein a little – worked really well. Have frozen a few portions for a rainy day.
Okay, I don’t know where I went wrong with this. I kept having to cover and recover the pasta to get it to cook through, and the broccoli still wasn’t really cooked by the time the pasta finally was. It tasted good at the end, but I’d love to hear how I could do it better next time.
Just be sure that everything is cut to the specified size Shoshele!! N x
Loved the recipe but I had the same problem with the pasta !. Next time I’d preboil the pasta for 5-8 mins the broccoli it put in the steamer for 8 mins before adding which was great …
i cooked my pasta before and then added it to it instead of cooking it in the sauce and it turned out good.
Hi Shoshele, sorry you had issues here – did you chop the broccoli into small pieces? Maybe they were a little too large & took longer to cook. I keep the lid on when cooking my pasta – did you have the lid on? N x
This was such a tasty dish and I got the thumbs up from family! Making it without cheese adds it’s challenges so I added homemade breadcrumbs with lemon zest, garlic and olive oil and it added a really nice zing to the dish! Thanks so much
Great idea in place of cheese every once in awhile.
Hi Nagi, made this dish tonight, so delicious, amazing flavours! Vegetarian granddaughter loved it, thanks for another tasty recipe.
Cooked this last night ( was caught out with people needing dinner!) Used what veggies I had: beans, brocollini, carrots, frozen peas….DELICIOUS !!! Thank you!!!!
Hi Nagi, Can you make a Hamburger and Potato and cheesey casserole? I just love the segments of Dozer!
Hi just acme across and very excited to try the recipe today! If i use water i stead of stock, what adjustments could i make for flavor? No veg stock anywhere near me now. Thanks!
Hi Fora, how about vegetable stock powder? N x
I have made many of your dishes with great results, so thought I would try this. I must admit, I had no idea it would be so FABULOUS! Everyone, including a fussy 13 year old guest, loved this and wanted more. The cheese definitely takes it to next level greatness. I am now making for dinner again, and will make more than last time as I know it will be delicious as leftovers also.
How much pasta do I use?
I regularly make pastas with the same type of ingredients and they taste nowhere near this good – it is quite unbelievable! Maybe the veg stock is the ingredient I’ve been missing because this was really beyond tasty.
I’m so glad you loved it Claire! N x
Made this tonite with carrots celery mushroom and red pepper. Really tasty with right amount of chili kick. The stir through cheese made it really creamy too. Yum yum yum!
This recipe looks amazing! Going to try it today. I have one question- what is tomato paste? Do you get it in stores or you make it at home
Hi Juilee, it’s a concentrate tomato sauce that’s made from reduced tomatoes – bought from the store. N x
can i use water instead of vegetable broth?
Made this in the Instant Pot. Used a whole pound of pasta (feeding teenage boys) and added an extra cup and a half of water, but otherwise did not change anything. Mixed in the pasta and put the broccoli in an even layer on top without stirring. Cooked on high for 5 minutes, quick release and added 1 c of cheese. Perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!
Wow Nagi! Cooked this for the whole family last night who are regular pasta eaters and we were really blown away by how delicious the flavours are in this recipe! It has soooo much flavour. Amazing. Definitely a new favourite. I didn’t have the same veggies (used mushroom, capsicum, zucchini and kale) and used a pizza cheese blend and it was so so good.
It is my first time to cook pasta without meat and this recipe tastes unbelievably good. Guess it will be a regular in our monthly menu.
What I like about this recipe is you can use any veggies available on your fridge and get the same mouth-watering taste. I used cauliflower instead of broccoli but still get the same flavorful result. Try it too and enjoy!
Yes – it’s so versatile Cole!! N x
My Partner and I are trying to transform our diets to largely plant based and this was the first meal we made to kick off that journey. It was amazing!!! I’m so happy I found this recipe and didn’t make something that would have put me off. Absolutely delicious.
That’s great to hear Natina, you can also switch out the protein in lots of my recipes so make them plant based meals 🙂 N x
Delicious and too easy!
I’m so glad you love them Zeinab! N x
Would love a suggestion…..so many great recipes like these but my daughter is allergic to tomato. Any ideas how I could replace it in dishes like this?
Hi Amanda, sorry not for this recipe unfortunately – tomato is a significant ingredient in this pasta! N x
Hey, my grandson is allergic to tomatoes so I did a funny juggle with less stock, but using Nagi’s carrot soup instead and it worked brilliantly. A double Nagi whammy!