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Looking for a lighter one pan pasta dish that’s overflowing with veggies and gets dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes? Meet this super simple pasta primavera recipe, your new summer go to pasta dish!
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Why you should make pasta primavera now!
Because you can make it in 30 minutes and have a super satisfying and delicious meal on the table that your family will love! Really, one pan pasta recipes are a real time saver in our house. Having a few flavor combinations that are tried and true make putting together dinner every night so much easier.
While I suggest a great combination of vegetables here that remind me of spring and summer, you can use what you have on hand. Kind of like in my Everything Bagel Roasted Veggie Bowl recipe where you can choose whatever combination of vegetables you like.
Asparagus, spinach, leeks, purple carrots, broccoli or green beans would all be great additions or substitutions in this dish. Just be sure you add them at the right time so they cook well with the pasta and everything finishes cooking at the same time.
Ingredients
A few notes on the ingredients:
- Pasta shape: You can use any shape pasta you like, however farfalle and other flat noodles are more traditional. Think fettuccine primavera, linguine primavera and farfalle primavera. I would stay away from "tubular" pasta like penne and rigatoni.
- Parmesan: I typically buy mine already grated from Trader Joe's, but you could easily grate your own. Just stay away from the shelf stable variety, it won't work quite right.
- Onion & Garlic: You can grate your own or use the frozen cubes I talk about here. I love them and think you will too.
How do you make simple one pan pasta primavera?
To make this simple pasta primavera dish, you’ll first chop up all of the vegetables. Prepping your ingredients ahead of time is one way to keep things simpler in the kitchen. You want everything to be about the same size so that it cooks at the same rate.
Then the cooking can start. Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat and add in the butter and onions. Let that saute until the onions are translucent, but not browning. Then add in the garlic cubes and let them cook for about 30 seconds.
Now it’s time for the fun part. Add in the water, the pasta and the salt and give it all a good stir together.
After the pasta cooks for a minute or two add in the vegetables in the following order, leaving about two minutes between additions: carrots, sugar snap peas, zucchini, sweet peas. The veggies all cook at a slightly different rate, and you want them all to come out perfectly cooked in the end.
Quick Tip: If you see that your pasta is absorbing the water too quickly and the pasta is still too al dente for your taste, add more hot water about ½ cup at a time. It’s okay if you have a little extra liquid when your pasta is perfectly cooked, don't drain it! It will just make for a looser, creamier sauce in the end.
Once the pasta is cooked and the vegetables are cooked (about 15 minutes in total), add in the remaining ingredients (Parmesan cheese, butter, salt and pepper to taste) and stir them in to form a light primavera sauce. Serve and enjoy!
And that’s it! You’ve made easy pasta primavera in one pan in under 30 minutes!
FAQ’s
The beauty of this one pan pasta primavera is that you can use any spring vegetable that you like. In a classic pasta primavera recipe you’ll find spring peas, asparagus, zucchini, and broccoli, think fresh green veggies.
However, the flavor profile of the rest of the dish really can be customized to the vegetables you know your family will eat or the ones that you can find easily at your local farmers market or grocery store.
You can use almost any pasta shape you like in this recipe. However, farfalle primavera, linguine primavera, fettuccine primavera all seem to work really well. I like using a flat pasta in this dish instead of a tubular one like penna. I’ve also heard that gnocchi primavera is delicious, although I’ve not tried this recipe with gnocchi, yet.
If you are looking to make this an even more complete meal you could easily turn this recipe into pasta primavera with chicken. If you don’t keep kosher, use a rotisserie chicken, shred it and stir it in at the end. If you do keep kosher, Morningstar Farms makes great chicken strip substitutes that work perfectly in this simple pasta dish.
Another alternative is pasta primavera with salmon. Simply cook your salmon the way you like (we like it grilled or simply broiled with lemon) and either serve it on top or flake it and stir the salmon into the pasta dish at the end. If you don’t have fresh salmon, canned salmon will work as well. Drain it, check for any bones or scales and then mix it into the primavera sauce at the end.
One simple tip:
- You are going to want to make sure your saute pan is big enough to mix all the veggies and create the sauce right there in the pot. Use one bigger than you think!
Looking for other easy one pot pasta recipes? Check these out!
When you try this recipe and love it 😍 let me know by leaving a comment below or 5 ⭐ rating!
📖 Recipe
Simple Pasta Primavera
Equipment
- Large Saute Pan
Ingredients
- ¼ cup onions diced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 12 oz pasta I like farfalle the best
- 4 cups hot water (more if needed)
- 1 zucchini sliced thin
- 1 cup carrots diced or sliced thinly
- ½ cup sugar snap peas sliced on diagonal
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic or 1 frozen garlic cube
- ¾ cup Parmasean cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt or to taste
Instructions
- Before you get started,cut up all the vegetables you are using. You'll want to make them similar in size so they all cook at the same rate.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add in the butter and onions.
- Saute until the onions are just translucent, then add in the garlic and let it cook for about 30 seconds.
- To the onions and garlic, add in the pasta, water, and salt stir well to incorporate and bring to a low boil.
- After the pasta cooks for a minute or two add in the vegetables in the following order, leaving about two minutes between additions: carrots, sugar snap peas, zucchini, sweet peas. The veggies all cook at a slightly different rate, and you want them all to come out perfectly cooked in the end.
- Once the pasta is cooked and the vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes in total), add in the remaining ingredients (Parmesan cheese, butter, salt and pepper to taste) and stir them in to form a light primavera sauce.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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